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TV Superstars Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

TV Superstars Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

In the public eye.

So far the PlayStation Move has taken a relatively unexpected turn. In retrospect it should have been obvious that Sony would have pushed its launch games towards casual gamers and non-gamers. Its initial crop of games have skewed heavily away from hardcore gamers, choosing instead to satiate hardcore gamers by adding new functionality to games that have already proven popular.

TV Superstars screenshot

There are a few games that are attempting to bridge the gap slightly, such as Time Crisis: Raging Storm, The Fight: Lights Out, and Sports Champions, but for the most part Move games have been family-friendly fare. Games like Start the Party and The Shoot have been more prevalent than hardcore killer apps like Resident Evil 5.

TV Superstars certainly falls into the former category, but the PlayStation Move has proven far better than Wii that motion-controlled casual games don’t have to be bad. They still have a long way to go, but PS Move has at least elevated the genre to “I guess it’s pretty fun if you like that sort of thing.”

That definition fits for Start the Party and The Shoot, and it’s particularly apt with TV Superstars. This game is going to appeal mostly to families, particularly if they enjoy reality TV. If you’re a lone wolf who prefers to play games solo, then TV Superstars probably isn’t for you. The experience is doubtless best enjoyed with a few other people to compete with and enjoy the experience with you.

TV Superstars screenshot

There’s a loose story mode to the game, but it mostly just serves to tie together the competitive mini-games that make up the bulk of the game. It follows you on your path to becoming a reality TV Superstar, and in some respect could be said to reinforce a lot of modern stereotypes. I’ve recently read about polls of kids today, and by a huge margin the answer to “what do you want to be when you grow up” is “I want to be famous.” The days when police officer, fireman, and astronaut would dominate that list are over, and in many ways TV Superstars feels like a direct reflection of that fact. If you’re a parent who abhors the type of “desperate to be famous” message that modern television imparts on kids today, then TV Superstars probably isn’t something you want your kids playing.

I still haven’t quite gotten used to casual games being fun. Hundreds of horrible Wii games have beaten it into my brain that these kinds of games are awful. But TV Superstars is a competent party game in its own way.

TV Superstars screenshot

Most of the mini-games are spawned from mimicking different types of reality TV shows. There seem to be spoofs on those zany Japanese game shows, Project Runway, American Gladiators, home remodeling shows, and more. By and large, most of these games are pretty fun. Some may have you rearranging furniture, stripping paint off wood, putting make-up on a model, or firing yourself out of a canon. The only games that aren’t fun are the games that require precision that the PlayStation Move simply isn’t capable of.

The system’s hardware is good, but there is no way to change the fact that the PS Wand bulb is huge. That leads to some ridiculous looking make-up on your model and other things like that. It’s not a deal breaker, but it seems unnecessary to include these games. Surely the developers knew that the hardware was barely capable of completing these tasks.

TV Superstars screenshot

The more fun games are the kinetic games that get you up and moving. One of my favorites involved shooting yourself out of a canon, then using the wand to orientate your body to fly through a body-shaped hole. You don’t need to be perfect, but the closer to the shape you are, the more points you receive.

The PS Move hardware holds up pretty well considering all of the loops that TV Superstars puts it through. Just about every function the controller is capable of is put to test in this game. You can even take pictures of your face using the Move camera then use that face on your character. The way this is done is clever. The camera will not take the picture unless it recognizes that what it’s seeing is a face in the predetermined area (yes, it can do that.) Then it asks you to make a blank, happy, and angry face that it will use to correspond to your characters emotions during the games. Lose a match for instance, and the angry face pops up while the happy face adorns the winner.

The only snag is that the face mapping is generally pretty bad. The Move camera takes decent pictures, but most of the characters we made ended up looking pretty awful. You can try to fix this, but most of the time your face will go on crooked, and you’ll probably never ever get the skin tone to look natural. It still accomplishes the effect of having your face in the game, but they can make you look pretty ugly.

You can also use the microphone embedded into the Move camera to record your name so that your name with your voice rings out from the speakers instead of a disembodied voice announcing, “player number one is the winner.” You also get to record a quick catchphrase. The microphone recorder was never particular good when we tried these aspects, but we weren’t able to test it on multiple systems.

Despite some of its shortcomings, TV Superstars is a fun party game for a family that likes reality TV or a group of younger kids (the modeling games probably skew this one slightly towards young girls, but boys should still get some enjoyment out of it.) For the budget price of $40, this is a relatively cheap way to entertain the whole family for a few nights before it runs out of steam, but if you don’t have many people to play with then you may not get your money’s worth out of this package.

Sony’s first party Move games have scratched a very particular itch the PlayStation 3 families may have had. There wasn’t much for families, and most games skewed towards hardcore gamers. Sony’s games have been pretty high quality family/party games, but some of the games developed by third parties haven’t been quite as good. Let’s hope more games come out like The Shoot, TV Superstars, and Time Crisis, and fewer like John Daly’s Prostroke Golf.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 2.3 Graphics
Nobody is expecting these graphics to blow their mind, and they do their job reasonably well. The face mapping technology could use a lot of work. 3.0 Control
Most actions work smoothly, but anything that requires precision is overly difficult using Move. 2.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The soundtrack is decent, and the voiceovers are occasionally funny. However, the voice recording software isn’t what it could be. 3.5 Play Value
Families will get their share of enjoyment out of this, but there’s not enough to the experience to recommend if for solo players looking for a meaty game. Play in a group, and you’ll have some fun. 3.2 Overall Rating – Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Star in five TV Shows as you win challenges, gain popularity, and become famous while your popularity is tracked through tabloid magazines!
  • Use the PlayStation Eye camera to capture your likeness and emotions in game, which are played back alongside your own voice samples.
  • Grab a few friends for the co-op party mode, where up to four players can play together using one PlayStation Move motion controller.

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