Darkmatters hearts Yoostar 2

Here's Darkmatters hot tip for pure movie / game crossover fun for 2011:

Yoostar 2

Yoostar 2 allows you to 'enter' hundreds of famous movie scenes, record your performances, and upload them to impress your friends and family who can view and rate them online.

The magic is created via the Playstation Eye camera which allows Yoostar2 to produce Hollywood 'green- screen' style effects without having to turn your front room into a movie set with green screen backing.

I was dubious but after watching the trailer below (via IGN) it really looks like you'll be literally able to step into well-known movie scenes and 'be' your favourite actors / characters... I'm so going to 'be' KICK-ASS, Neo, Maverick and the Terminator for starters!?

Yoostar 2 has the potential to be the ultimate party game - featuring multiple gameplay modes, including a party mode that allows a group of players to perform in quick succession and a progression mode where players face a series of challenges and unlock new scenes.

The menus etc are controlled with the Playstation Move so this is just another reason to pick one up!!

Review HERE

More YooStar 2 Videos

Check out the official site HERE

Imagine finally getting to 'act' with Leia...

Random Princess Leia Appreciation

PS3 PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour Review

PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour (PS3 – Move controller compatible)

Developed by O-Games / Redoubt

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

As legendary darts commentator Sid Waddell once said: “The atmosphere is a cross between the Munich Beer Festival and the Coliseum when the Christians were on the menu.” Yes it’s PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour being played using the PlayStation Move motion control technology and it’s getting a bit tense…

I’m stepping up at the Oche, my PlayStation Move held like a ‘dart’, I aim at the treble twenty – I need this then double 17 to finish – there is an audible hush from the crowd (well my two sons and cat) as I let fly…

"Only the best looking men step up to the Oche"

PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour on PlayStation 3 is the nearest thing you’ll get to actually picking up some darts and throwing them towards a dartboard… The game is uncanny in accurately capturing your gestures and measures your throw – which means two things:

1. If you’re cack at darts in real life – you’ll be hopeless at it virtually

and

2. It’s a brilliant laugh when played against friends and family for bragging rights.

I’m told that professional darts players have a preferred land angle to their dart, which allows them to plan their shots to the board to allow the maximum possible room on the board for that third dart into the Treble Twenty zone – alas that doesn’t apply so much to me as I scored one 180 hand in all my review games!? You see PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour isn’t for noobs or the hand / eye uncoordinated (me). This game brings such a whole new level of realism to the PS3 that you almost expect to catch the whiff of beer and large men with moustaches coming from your sleek black games machine. Graphically – this is amazing, the glamorous dart venues such as Bolton are brought to high definition life whilst the facial hair and worry lines of the competitors are meticulously rendered. The darts themselves and the target board are crisp and detailed.

If the motion control of the Move is highlighting your weakness then you can still play with the trusty DualShock which uses a Tiger Woods style control stick back / forward flick that works nicely but doesn’t feel as ‘real’ as the Move.

PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour features international superstars like Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Mervyn King, Simon Whitlock and Jelle Klaasen – all packing detailed character models. You’d be right if you thought that this really is the definitive darts game for fans of the sport.

O-Games has also brought online 1-on-1 matches to the PlayStation 3, as well as PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour featuring a raft of downloadable content support on PSN: including new players, events and darting accessories.

"Leave it woman, I've got some darts to play!"

If darts is your thing you might want to check out how PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour is teaming up with PDC darts referee Russ Bray in a Facebook search for the public’s own interpretation of Bray’s famous ‘180!’ catchphrase. Entrants are encouraged to film a short video of themselves saying ‘180!’, and then share it with the official PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour community by uploading the video to the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pdcworldchampionshipdartsprotour  to win some prizes.

It takes a little practice but you’ll be taking part in tournaments, including the Grand Slam of Darts, a new fixture in the PDC events calendar in no time. The atmosphere is enhanced with the commentary from TV’s ‘Voice of Darts’ Sid Waddell and John Gwynne; top level match referees, Bruce Spendley and Russ Bray; and Master of Ceremonies, John McDonald.

Basically – if you want darts action without the actual darts – this should be your next purchase – I’ll see you online!

Overall: Darkmatters rating: ööööööö (7 top flight moves out of 10)

Darkmatters PS3 ‘Move - Golf Off’

Darkmatters PS3 ‘Move - Golf Off’

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11


Vs

John Daly’s ProStroke Golf (both played with Move Controllers).

Developed by: Tiger Woods – EA Sports, John Daly – OG International

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


As a lifelong fan of Tiger Woods golf games it was with interest that I tried out this year’s newest challenger. Yes it’s time to ‘Grip it and Rip it’ with John Daly in John Daly’s ProStroke Golf – which is the first golf game built from the ground up to use the funky PS3 Move Controller.

So will Mr Woods take this challenge lying down (with or without a glamorous companion) or have EA Sports slapped enough Move features into their already built game to keep the PS3 ‘Move-ers’ happy?

John Daly:

Let’s look at John ‘The Bear’ Daly’s effort first: Featuring the unique and critically acclaimed ProStroke control that allows players to craft and control real golf shots like never before. Sam Torrance and Peter Kessler provide lively commentary across 12 varied and challenging courses, populated with interactive spectators to bring a rich match-day atmosphere to life, well I say ‘rich match-day experience’ but that only applies if you haven’t experience Tiger Wood’s!? Away from the tournaments and exhibitions you can get stuck in to a Challenge Mode offers a series of golfing trials presented by John Daly himself. It is a fun mixture of different disciplines of the game, from putting and approach play to the world famous ‘Long John drive’. Where Daly shines is with the great controls – using the Move controller this is the best / most realistic golf experience in a video game to date. The physics in particular are awesome, you can open or close your shot (to swerve the ball left or right) simply by twisting your wrist slightly – as you would in the real game. It is both immensely impressive and massively challenging too, because as any golfer knows – one really bad shot can screw up your whole round!?

John Daly’s ProStroke Golf is very immediate – you can jump straight in: No levelling up required before a player is allowed to reach their full potential, it’s all about how good you are in real life!?? Sure you can play Daly’s golf with a DualShock 3, but the Move is really the best way to play this title – just be ready to put in a lot of practice!! It can take a while to even unlock the first tournament due to the game mimicking your real golf skills… perhaps that says more about my golfing prowess than I’d like but hey…

Graphically Daly can’t touch Tiger – the courses are nice enough but the crowds, effects and players are far better in the EA alternative. Online options are a bit limited for Daly too but they work if you find someone of a similar level a fascinating match can be had. Sound effects and commentary aren’t all that either – it’s bird noises and chirping insects and that’s it…

So for a highly realistic but pretty no thrills golf experience John Daly is your man.

Tiger Woods:

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 sees the grand master Woods who has had by far the best console golf game for years now – rise to the challenge of John Daly. Woods adds Move support which his functional but not as good as ‘The Bear’s’ but also adds the Ryder Cup and best of all - fun. It is refreshing to see a sports game not get too complicated and concentrate on the silky smooth play mechanics that have served them so well up until now.

Take your pick from the wealth of options - stroke play, match play, skins, long drive competitions as well as Ryder Cup, PGA tour and some wicked skills challenges. Tiger not only looks and sounds better than Daly’s effort but also has some killer online playability like play 12 vs. 12 games and Live Tournaments.

If you’ve played and enjoyed any of Tiger’s games up until this year – get ready for the same classic experience with the expected amount of polish and added ability to build up FedExCup points and role play like experience points to improve your various attributes. There is a new ‘True-Aim’ option too which helps with active swing control and the ‘Focus’ which allows for super accurate putting or an extra few percentage points of power on a drive when used.

Tiger is the choice for non-move owning golf fans or those who value production over realism.

Darkmatters Verdict

Both these games are pretty excellent in their own right – either will satisfy and provide hours of golfing goodness. If you’re looking for a pure Move experience then you should check out John Daly as it will give you a fantastic insight into your own ‘real’ play style.

Final scores: The two titans of virtual golf each deliver good golfing experiences. Tiger is slicker and better looking, Daly rocks the best Move controls by a long drive… the choice is yours…
Tiger Woods – Overall: Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (9 awesome classy birdies out of 10)


John Daly – Overall: Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (9 long drive 'Moves' out of 10)


Of course for massive golf fanatics you probably need to buy both!

PS3 Move already 2.5 million units ahead of Kinect

"The force is strong with the PS3 Move"

PlayStation Move shifts 2.5 Million units in 30 days...

Matt Adcock

Sony must be pretty please with the number of people 'Move -ing' as it was announced that the PS3 Move controller has shifted over 1 million  in the U.S. and Canada, plus 1.5 million units in Europe (sourced from the L.A. Times), since launch last month.

With the Move launching in Asia this week, it will be interesting to see how well it sells in the run up to Christmas.

Of course the Kinect 'look no controller at all' camera for the Xbox 360 hasn't actually launched yet so being 2.5 million behind is a temporary state of affairs.

The Move's combined sales seems to have exceeded some analysts' expectations:

"It's ahead of what I thought previously," said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. "I think that they are a lock to sell 3 to 4 million by Dec. 31, and a lock to hit more than 5 million by fiscal year end" on March 31.

With LOVEFiLM being launched on PS3 next month - allowing people to view pretty much any film on demand - it looks like PS3 and Move are going to have a very happy Christmas!?

Check reviews of:

MOVE...

Sports Champions...

Start The Party...

Tumble...

Anticipated Move titles The Fight, Sly Collection etc

Start The Party PS3 Move

Start The Party: Move PS3

Developed by Sony

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

PlayStation Move launches this week in the UK (17th September) and there are some cool, varied games available right from the start. If you want Sporting fun – there’s SPORTS CHAMPIONS, if you want Kung Fu Craziness – there’s KUNG FU RIDER… But what if you just want to see yourself wielding a big sword, tennis racquet, hammer, pointer, fan, razor, helicopter!? That’s where you need Start The Party.

You know those parties you go to where nothing is really happening, there’s no way to break the ice with the cute girls/guys (delete as appropriate) and you really wish you could be jumping about spearing frantic fish like a caveman, showing your caring side by rescue birds from falling out of their nest or proving how brave you are by hunting for ghosts? Sony know how you feel and Start The Party brings all this and more as augmented reality transforms the PlayStation Move motion controller into everything from a helicopter to a flashlight.

Mini-games are the order of the day, if you remember the PS2 ‘EyeToy’ which was basically doing what the Kinnect will do when it launches in a couple of months – wave those hands suckers… sorry, here is what motion control is all about… Take one PlayStation Eye, synch the cool PlayStation Move controller and then take a photo of yourself, record your voice and take on your family and friends in more than 20 fun mini-games.

But are they fun? Some of those PS2 EyeToy games were a bit lame right, not having a controller is bit crap really – so can PlayStation Move bring the noise and make motion controlled mini-gaming fun??
Well – poke me up the backside with an augmented reality hand… Yes!!

Start The Party is an absolute blast, you get to see yourself onscreen at all times while playing, and the motion controller you’re holding appears as whatever device you need to complete the game… I tried Start The Party both solo (which is ok but can get a bit ‘samey’ pretty quick) then again with a crowd of young players at our church with the PS3 rigged up to a projector and big screen – and that is where it tore the roof off with everyone having a fantastic time!!

"you should see the face she makes when accidentally mashing one of the little birds with her fan!"

The list of games is fun and varied – chop flying fruit with a giant sword, brush the teeth of crocodile with a big toothbrush, shine your virtual torch at ghosts as they try and rush towards you, zap robots with a tazer, spear fish, blow birds, save citizens from dinosaurs with helicopters etc etc… Each game is quick to pick up, although there are brief tutorials for those who really need to told how to squash bugs with a tennis racquet…

Is Start The Party worth buying? Absolutely –if you want to try and beat high scores and put yourself on the world wide leaderboard step up. Mostly though this is a game you’ll put on and play with pals, it gets competitive, it gets messy and it’s brilliant fun!

Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (8 fun augmented realities out of 10)

Check our SPORTS CHAMPIONS MOVE review

Check our KUNG FU RIDER review

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