EyeToy: Play

"My arms ache..."

EyeToy: a great innovation, or a pointless cash in? It's gotta be the former. Sure, you may all think that the use of a camera to play games on the screen is unoriginal and boring...think again. Sony London carried this off excellently, providing 12 addictive games and lots of extra features (playrooms; where you can interact with a number of objects on screen without the pressure of the timer, being one).

These games...what are they? Twelve games where you must touch things at the right time, not touch things, rub things out and more.

Some of these are fantastic fun, such as Boxing Chump (where you hit the character on the right, aiming to reduce his health) and Kung Foo (where you hit a number of enemy ninjas before the reach the centre of the screen), whereas others can become rather monotonous.
Yet I loved this game. Why? The graphics are nothing special, but then again - they don't need to be - you're not really going to be staring at the backgrounds for large amounts of time. A handy feature is that you can use a controller to navigate the menus if you wish. The game's easy to pick up and play - making it good for casual gamers, but also those who are not - your arms may ache after prolonged playing, but it's worth it - good exercise, too, compared to sitting on the coach all day. It's amusing at points (probably expected from the 'cartoony' graphics), and features some good voice acting from Burt Kwouk during the help sections on each game.

Yet it is not just good alone. Bring some friends over, get out EyeToy:Play, and have just as much fun as with TimeSplitters 2, if not more. The game features a competition multiplayer mode whereby you aim to get the highest score in as many games as possible. The game's excellent longevity shines through.

So why only an 8/10? It isn't a AAA title - it has its flaws (most notably the fact that not all of the games are so great as the others), yet it's still a great game: recommended to anyone and everyone: it isn't incredibly expensive, yet it also isn't incredibly cheap. It's worth the price.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/04