Reviewed: March 12, 2011
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Manufacturer
Eagle Unlimited

Type: Sports Variety
System: PlayStation 3

Rating: 8.0

Features

As anyone who purchased a PS3 Move Bundle knows, Sports Champions was the pack-in title for the Move launch and, like most first-party tech demos, still represents some of the best gameplay the Move has to offer. Comprised of Archery, Table Tennis, Bocce, Volleyball, Gladiator Combat, and Disc Golf, this compilation has something to offer everyone and is a great way to get people to interact with their PS3 in a much more physical fashion. The Champions Pack enhances the gameplay and your sense of immersion for three of these games by offering a unique set of attachments for your Move controller.

First up is Table Tennis. Snap on the plastic grip and paddle attachment and you are ready to play like Forrest Gump. Of all the attachments in the Champions Pack, this probably helped improve my gameplay most of all. I’ve played a lot of Table Tennis since the Move launched and one of my biggest complaints was knowing my exact paddled position so I could put the right spin on the ball. When you are just holding the controller its symmetrical and you have you way of knowing your paddle angle without trying to match-up the on-screen visuals. Now, with a real paddle on the end of my controller, I can instinctively put some serious mojo on the ball.

Next up is the Sword and Shield attachments. When the Move first came out I only had one controller, so I couldn’t even use the dual-controller mode for the Gladiator battles. When I did get my second controller this game got infinitely better with individual control over sword and shield and it just got a whole lot better now that I have a real “foamy” blade and a cool shield to wield. Doing those shield slams and sword thrusts feel so much cooler with these attachments. The Eagle logo on the shield is so awesome and it even looks medieval in design.

Last up is the bow attachment. This requires a bit of extra assembly since, in order to fit in the box, they broke the bow down into three sections. When assembled it’s still smaller than a real bow but it’s still the coolest controller in the box, and it really made me wish there was a Zelda game on the PS3. While I didn’t see as much benefit in gameplay from using this device as I did in the other attachments, it still had me feeling like a real archer and it just looks cool.

Most people will likely be drawn toward the novelty of these peripherals, but don’t be surprised as just how much better you’ll find yourself playing these games, not to mention how much cooler you’ll “feel” playing these games. After all, it’s all about immersion, and the PS3 Move Champions Pack takes that concept to a whole new level.