Kung Fu Rider: Move PS3

Kung Fu Rider: Move PS3

Developed by Sony

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

The PlayStation Move is set to be a phenomenon – the iconic glowing balls on the ends of the comfy and cool Move Controllers enable a whole new set of control options for PS3 gamers. But controls are nothing without games to play and Kung Fu Rider brings office chairs and the Chinese Mafia in a fast-paced, arcade-action package to the PlayStation 3.

You fancy some comically off-the-wall in-game movement mechanics with the motion-control technology of the PlayStation Move system? If you’ve played or seen ‘PAIN’ on the PS3 then you might have some ideas as to just how far Sony are willing to go in terms of brining creative new experiences to gamers.

This is the tale of Toby and his lovely assistant Karin who together run a detective agency… So far so normal-ish, but then due to a case they are working on the two become targets for the mob and their only chance of escape is to take to the streets on their office chairs!?

"Erm, Street Fighter called - they want Chun Li back!?"

You come in here as either Toby or Karin and the Move controls are your way of ‘driving’ his or her office chair – accelerate by waggling the Move up and down, swing left and right to steer, flick upwards to jump… There is a lot of hidden depth in the controls, especially when you add in various button combinations which allow you to Kung Fu your enemies or limbo under cars.

Yep it’s a madcap chase game that will see you bouncing through the mean streets, kicking mafia goons out of the way as you speed past. Choosing from branching routes and taking in crazy stunts such as aerial grinding on railings or pulling off gravity defying jumps are the order of the day.

There will be a lot of trial and error as you learn a course (for anyone who has played games like SSX back in the day Kung Fu Rider evokes a similar sense of speed adrenaline).

There are a limited number of courses though and the learning curve can be unforgiving, plus if you’re not a gamers who can cope with repeatedly replaying areas trying to improve each time then you might find Kung Fu Rider a bit limiting. Sure there is fun to be had in the multiplayer co-op mode, or in comparing scores for bragging rights – there are online rankings too…

Kung Fu Rider is nutty game that is very nearly genius, a good game but also a flawed one. If it were £10 then I’d recommend it whole heartedly, but for a full price release it drops points because you only hit the sweet ‘Kung Fu’ zone every now and then which is a shame.

Darkmatters rating: ööööööö (7 speeding kung fu kicks out of 10)

Check our SPORTS CHAMPIONS MOVE review