There’s charm to this party game, but it proves to be less fun than reading the tabloid mags it’s influenced by
Format: PS3 Dev: SCE Cambridge Studio Pub: Sony Out: 29/10/10 Players: 1-4
As if there aren’t enough Z-list wannabes desperately trying to get themselves noticed already, this game for Sony’s new motion controller lampoons the path of TV nobodies and the celeb-hungry glossy magazines.
Upon starting TV Superstars, you get the sense this party game might actually be more than the sum of its parts. And the first sight that gives you this sense is the presentation and personalisation. With the help of the PlayStation Eye camera, you can have your own face mounted onto a comic body, complete with catchphrase, in moments. It’s a little novelty that certainly has positive implications for custom made characters. Chicken-legged host Amber Bell greets you with a Cheshire Cat smile, promising fame, cheap wine and starry-eyed admirers – the drug-fuelled parties go unmentioned, this is a family title.
So it’s disappointing that when you get into any of the six party games, dressed up as familiar daytime TV shows, all you find is one or two new ideas, while the majority has been cribbed from the Wii. Frockstar and the optional advertising shots represent the very bottom of this motion control party sampler. In both you must move the motion controller to follow on-screen diagrams. The problem is there’s no visible feedback from the graphic interface on-screen, so you’re constantly in and out of time with the motions.
Yet it’s a shame, as some parts of the game demonstrate how Move’s precision makes a difference to the gameplay. For example, in Let’s Get Physical’s catapult mini-game you can twist and rotate the controller in your hand to orientate your character so they land exact on target. And in DIY Raw a selection of actions, from spray painting to tiling and sawing wood, are done more smoothly than ever before. By besting your previous scores, you earn more fame points, which raise you up the celeb ladder and unlock new episodes and events.
Presentation is certainly the game’s biggest strength, with laughable media mock-ups and over-the-top voice acting – including voice of The X Factor, Peter Dickinson. Though a handful of the mini-games give credence to Move, the fact that the rest are Wii redos that slip up on basic interfaces is really unforgiveable. TV Superstars may take you from Z-list to A-list, but it exists in a league still labelled ‘lacklustre’.
Aaron Lee
Tags: family, party, playstation move, sony, tv superstars
