PlayStation 3
Published by Sony Computer
Entertainment Europe
Developed by Zindagi Games
Sports games are a natural fit for motion
controllers and yet it's by no means an easy thing to create a game that
both fully utilises a motion controller and feels natural. Out of the
multitude of sports games designed for motion controllers (be that for
the Wii remote, Kinect or PlayStation Move) only a precious few have
been worthy of both your time and money. Mercifully Sports Champions 2
is one of those rare titles.
Sports Champions 2 offers six sports, three
game modes and support for up to four players. Pleasingly the games can
either be played with one or two PlayStation Move controllers and when
playing with just a single controller five out of the six games control
absolutely fine. The three game modes are: Cup Play, Free Play and Party
Play. The sports on offer are: boxing, bowling, archery, golf, skiing
and tennis. All of the sports except skiing are intuitive and whilst
there are tutorials for all of the sports it's only with skiing did I
feel as though the tutorial was absolutely necessary. In both tennis and
boxing you're moved automatically but you have full control over your
choice of shots, punches and block placements in both games. Whether
you're doing an uppercut or performing a backhand swing, the controls
feel accurate.
The controls in the golf game are the most
responsive I've experienced in a motion-controlled golf game to date.
One of the shortcomings of most motion-controlled golf games is that
whilst drives, and chips generally feel good the putting action isn't as
smooth as it should be. That's definitely not the case as putting feels
both accurate and fluid. The bowling surpasses what you'll find in the
Wii Sports games and feels much more realistic when imparting spin on
the ball. I felt like I had more control over my shots in the tennis and
delicately chipping the ball over the net felt just as gratifying as
serving an ace. Archery is a sport I'd imagine would require you to have
two controllers but even with a single controller it still works
surprisingly well and felt natural. Skiing in itself isn't a bad
experience it's that the actions you're asked to perform can be carried
out simply by standing there and putting the controllers in the relevant
positions. Out of all the sports on offer here it was the one that
didn't immerse me in the experience.
As a single-player experience Sports
Champions 2 is enjoyable. The single-player Cup Play mode offers up an
assortment of bronze, silver and gold challenges for each of the
available sports. The early challenges are essentially tutorials with
controls and techniques explained to you before taking on the main
challenge. During a challenge you're rated for your performance. You’re
given points for fancy manoeuvres such as putting a lot of spin on the
ball in bowling or gaining a birdie in golf. These points accumulate and
fill stars. The amount of stars you completely fill is what you're
awarded at the end of the challenge with the maximum on offer being
three. For each of the sports you'll need to amass eighteen stars before
you can unlock the next tier of challenges. After completing challenges
you're given the opportunity of taking a victory picture and uploading
it either to Facebook or making it available on the PlayStation 3 XMB.
You'll also have the opportunity to compare your performance with others
thanks to the online leaderboards. As you progress through the
challenges you'll unlock additional decals, hairstyles and equipment
which gives you increased customisation options for your avatar.
The most enjoyable part of the game is the
multiplayer experience that’s on offer in the Free Play and Party Play
modes. The fact that there are only six sports to play is compensated
for by the number of game variations that have been included. Archery
for example has six different variations (plus an option which
randomises these variations) and these all help to add replay value to
the game and enrich the multiplayer experience. Free Play is a mode for
one to four players and allows you to pick a sport, choose from up to
three locations, multiple game variations and whether to play at night
or in the day. Party Play can be enjoyed by two to four players and can
be played in a hotseat fashion with just one controller although doing
so does limit the choice of sports. You have a choice of either playing
a short, medium or long game which contains 3, 5 or 7 games
respectively. You can also customise your games if you wish.
One thing stands out when looking at the list
of modes on offer is the absence of an online mode. In truth the absence
of online play is a disappointment but let's put it into perspective.
When I think about games of this nature that I've played before I can
honestly say that they are at their best when you are in the same room
as your opponents. Watching each other play is a big part of the fun
which is something you can't replicate when playing online.
The presentation of Sports Champions 2 is
absolutely fine. The character models have a rather simplistic look to
them but nevertheless they get the job done. Performance throughout the
game is fine with smooth frame rates and acceptable load times. In a lot
of games like this you usually have to keep calibrating your
motion-sensing controller but there's none of that here after the
initial calibration that’s done when you first load up the game. You can
switch from sport to sport and player to player without the need for
recalibration which is excellent.
All tutorial information in the game is given
in text and thanks to the text instructions you're always aware of what
needs to be done in the game’s challenges. There's no commentary here
and in the events all of the information is shown visually. In fact
there are no problems here that hamper the game's accessibility. You are
asked to take a picture of yourself and record a sound (which can by
something as simple as a hand clap) for yourself prior to starting a
Party Play multiplayer game but it's of no real importance as it's
always easy to tell whose turn it is by simply looking at the screen.
I have to admit to being rather surprised by how good Sports Champions 2 is. Of the six sports on offer here five have been handled really well and are both enjoyable and intuitive to play. The only disappointment here is the skiing which is neither enjoyable nor intuitive. Even with that disappointment in mind however, there's still over eighty per cent of the content here which feels right and in my opinion that is impressive. Some may think the absence of an online mode is disappointing but as I said earlier, it's not a major problem with a game of this type. If you're looking for a game to while away a few minutes or hours with family and friends this winter then Sports Champions 2 is easy to recommend.
