Sports Champions

This is one of the best PlayStation Move launch titles. Its rivalry with Wii Sports is clear, and although the latters wins overwhelmgly in charm, Sport Champions options are very praisable.

Yes, there are moments of brilliance here - Archery, Bocce and Gladator Duel do absolutely demonstrate that the technology is sound - it's just presented in such a bland manner that you could be forgiven for thinking Move was only ever designed to be a curious peripheral targeted at the EyeToy market, and it wasn't until Microsoft's arm-flapping last year that they decided to take it mainstream.

Easily the best of Sony's launch games for PlayStation Move. A solid and much better looking challenger to Wii Sports, and while not all the disciplines are equally fun, some of them are surprisingly gripping. We spent five hours playing Boccia and still wanted more, and that's saying something.

As an example of the kind of control Move is going to allow in future titles, Sports Champions is easily the best of the launch line-up, but compared to the obvious competition (Wii Sports Resort) it's lacking content.

Right now it's the best demonstration of what PlayStation Move is capable of.

Sports Champions is really rather good on the whole. Table Tennis is exceptional, Archery is great and games like Gladiator Duel and Bocce are fun while showing off some of Move's potential.

Disc golf and bocce are the highlights in this collection of small sports games. A bit short on content but still the best Move game so far.

Unoriginal and blandly presented, but an effective vindication of Move - with at least half of the games being the best ever adaptations of their sports.

Presentation is what lets Sports Champions down, and not just when it comes to the characters. The environments appear bland, empty and dated.

Sports Champions is the only game in the initial Move-line-up that makes it clear how impressive the abilities of the controller are, as well as having enough gameplay to make it all worthwhile. The sports are varied and work accurately, although the presentation could've benefited from a bit more spice.

Sports Champions is a nice experience, and is the demonstration of the PlayStation Move qualities. Some design problems with a couple of mini-games ruin the overall experience, but it's a pretty launch title.

This is the game to get if you're set on buying a Move controller or two. It's a shame that we couldn't have more involved experiences at launch, but Sports Champions should tide you over until the mythical bunch of 'second generation' Move games arrive.

Sports Champions manages to stand up in its own right, proving a commendable showcase for Move's impressive level of on-screen gesture replication, and highlighting the strength of Sony's tech over Nintendo's Wii Remote, even with MotionPlus attached. [Issue#101, p.124]

It's a decent enough showcase for the hardware, and most of the games are genuinely fun, especially with friends, but it's hard to recommend without reservation when you consider how much it'll all cost.

Sports Champions as a stand alone game unfortunately has the same fate as the Wii's launch title 'Wii Sports,' it's fun to play for a while and cool to show off the tech to your friends, but it really lacks substance to keep you around in comparison to other sport titles.

It remains an early PS Move highlight, but one that can't boast the charm or accessibility of its Wii rivals, despite the improved tech. [Nov 2010, p.92]

All sports are at its base well recreated, with the exception of Volleyball. However, it is a game limited in content and which does not offer much to the players.

Sony is four years late with its Wii Sports clone and give us only a half-decent motion-controlled sports game.

Sports Champions really offers a lot of good fun, either alone or with friends. Most of its games are technical and interesting to play (table tennis, frisbee and archery are excellent!). It also uses well the PlayStation Move, an impressive precision accessory that offers really good and realistic feelings. Still, the game lacks a bit of variety, events, game modes... and you will have to buy at least two PS Moves and a camera to play, which will probably makes you hesitate!