Of all the launch titles for PS Move, I enjoyed Start the Party the most (along with Tumble). With a sequel, the series returns for more fun and capers but this time things feel slightly familiar.
Back are around 20 games that put you in situations where you have to save or protect people, fix things or solve a few light puzzles. While none of the original games return, many bare similarities to the original and this is a good thing as it makes the game feel like it’s moved on, something other move titles can take note from. Once again you saddle up and take your photo for your own character but gone is the voice sound snippets sadly. They were great so I don’t understand the omission. Also gone is a lot of the childishness as this tries to make a comic caper out of events. I think I prefer the originals style.
Onto the games and things are fun and last sixty seconds. The move controller works very well. Things are bandied into categories. Some games require you to repair or clean robots on factory lines (akin to the previous quick fire rounds), some take place in the sea where you fish out poisoned fish to your boat or save your divers from jellyfish or giant octopus. One particularly simple but addictive one is to balance an injured person in your giant hand as you speed along in an ambulance. What I like most about this series is that each challenge doesn’t rely on the same old throw, catch, swing mechanic and it’s not afraid to try out different things. There’s nothing very taxing about it this time around though and things do seem to be easier and aimed at a younger audience despite its more dramatic set ups. I long for a couple of real tricky games like the original EyeToy’s Hall of Mirrors which still makes my brain ache today but as a party game for the Move, both Start the Party games are top of the list.
Positives
~More originality and broad selection of games than most other Move games
~Controls are slick
~Still funny to take your picture and insert it into the game
Negatives
~Where did the audio stuff go?
~Dumbed down from the original
Conclusion
Great as a multiplayer party game, a good trophy challenge on your own, Start the Party Save the World is simple but very well produced. A little more challenge and a few extra games or modes would have been appreciated but released at a budget price, this is a fun collection of mini games you can return to and battle over time and again.