Welcome to the first of our massive 4-parter Move special. Two weeks on, I have hammered the Move and Navi to pieces to bring you the most in-depth Move report on the net. Did they even give me any biscuits for my work? No. Why? Because they’re tight wads. Send complaints to TSA Towers. I want my biscuits.
So, for all three of you who don’t have a Move yet, let’s get down to brass tacks, starting with the hardware.
Packaging and Contents
The standalone Move and Navi come in those sealed plastic packaging boxes which require a saw and considerable accidental self-harming to open, and should in my opinion be banned altogether. Fortunately, the Starter Pack at least comes in a more environmentally friendly cardboard box.
Inside you’ll find the controller and a manual full of obligatorily ridiculous warnings. First complaint: both devices require a USB cable to charge, and neither come with one. If like me you only have one charging cable, you are going to have to charge them one at a time via your PS3. They also don’t come pre-charged, so you’ll also have the pleasure of needing to wait a couple of hours before you can do anything.
The demo disk in the starter pack offers 11 demos which includes a couple not currently on the PSN store such as The Fight and Time Crisis, but it is not likely worth the extra money just for these.
Design
The Move is a two-piece mould which is a little unfortunate but not really a problem, and I think most buyers won’t realise until they get one that the orb on the end is actually squishy – developers can change the light in the orb to any colour they wish, which is a nice touch in multi-player games where the colour indicates who’s turn it is.
On the controller you’ll find a PS button, a Move button, the four face buttons and a trigger underneath called T. On the left and right-hand sides are Select and Start buttons flush to the plastic moulding. Holding down T in the XMB lets you navigate, and this is surprisingly easy after a few minutes of practice.
The Navi has X and O, an arrow pad which is pleasantly beveled inwards, an analog stick, a PS button plus L1 and L2. Or in my case, R1 and R2 because I’m left-handed and they didn’t think of that.
Both devices are robustly constructed in the same way the DualShock 3 is robustly constructed: it’s as good as you can get when using really cheap plastic, but should withstand plenty of throwing around regardless. Excessive compression or tortion on the orb will cause is to become mis-shapen, so be careful not to stand on it.
My main complaint about the Move device is that the orb is an absolute dirt magnet. Now, while my house is not exactly spick-and-span (I am a gamer after all), it is not a war zone either, and even the process of taking the Move out of its box immediately saw dust all over it. Place it on your sofa or carpet and you will find micro-fibres building up on it in no time. It doesn’t affect gameplay, but it looks unsightly. Unfotunately the orb is also a two-piece mould which means all the minute flecks of dust build up in the mould joint.
As a lefty, I also didn’t appreciate the placement of Start. The orientation of the buttons is such that for a right-handed player, Start is easy to reach and Select isn’t. For me, this is the opposite.
Setting up
Configuration is a snap and just like a regular controller except with an additional calibration step, which is very easy to perform. Plug your Move and Navi into the USB ports, press PS on them, pull out the cables and you’re good to go.
Each of the two devices uses one controller port, but games take their interaction via the port of the Move controller: the Navi automatically pairs with it via Bluetooth, so its controller port assignment should normally be irrelevant (but see later).
I have one major complaint: almost every game requires you to re-calibrate the Move within the game as well as via the XMB. Most games require you to do this every time you start them. This is rather stupid in my opinion when calibration has already been performed, and this urgently needs to be standardized in a firmware patch. Every game requires calibration using a different technique, and one or two (notably Echochrome ii) caused quite a bit of hassle.
Your PS Eye needs to be set to widescreen mode (the blue dot above the lens), which should be the same as how most of you are using it already, and generally speaking pointing it straight forwards works fine, but note that EyePet requires you to tilt it all the way down, so be prepared to keep faffing about resetting the camera if you plan to play EyePet.
In use
First up, if you’re on a budget, save your money. Only Heavy Rain and Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition require a Navi; in RUSE it is optional, and almost no games require 2 Move controllers at the moment, including the multi-player games which with the exception of for example Table Tennis in Sports Champions, are mostly turn-based.
The controllers are very light and pretty easy to use, although I did get confused when playing Resident Evil 5 a few times since you have access to X and O on both hands. Tracking is very accurate with some games using 1-to-1 mapping and others using a coarser granularity to help the player.
Be aware that while you don’t normally notice the orb in front of you when playing, it will reflect in your TV screen and is more or less always visible.
The camera coped equally well with dark and light conditions although the video is very grainy and covered in blue speckles during the dark in games which show a video feed. Sports Champions warned me that my room was too bright due to my powerful aquarium lights, but this did not affect gameplay. In the dark, the only problem I had was with EyePet recognising my hand movements (without the Move).
Space requirements
Make no mistake, Move requires a bigger room than the hype would have you believe. While you can sit playing Flight Control HD and hardly move at all, if you’re planning to play something like High Velocity Bowling or Sports Champions, you will need room. Sony advises standing 2.5m (8 feet) from the camera – I used it from 1.5m away with no problems. However, height is an issue. I am 167cm (5′ 6”), but when a friend of height 187cm (6′ 1”) came to play, the Move would regularly lose tracking as he raised it in the air due to being sufficiently close to the TV that the orb went out of the camera’s field of vision.
Unlike the Wii, playing a game like tennis on the Move requires you to physically walk left and right at times because the avatar does not stand in one spot as it does in Wii Sports. On other games you will be asked to spin around, lunge, jump back and so on. The Move absolutely requires more room than a Wiimote to operate successfully.
Battery life
In a nutshell, it’s awful. If you take on a full days’ gaming session of 6-8 hours, expect to have to charge your Move at least twice. The manual warns against playing with the USB charging cable plugged in, but for sitting down games I often found myself doing just that, because it was the only way to continue. Battery life is a major issue, and since the controller is much lighter than a Wiimote, I do hope that more potent heavier batteries are released to help address this.
Conclusions
Overall, I’m pleased with the Move. It (usually) works as it should, and the games that are worth playing are great fun. I am lucky enough to have the space for it, and in my opinion it is priced well at only £39.99 for the Move, £50.99 for a Starter Pack including camera, Move and demo disk, and £22.49 for a Navi here in Norway, where prices are normally massively inflated compared to the UK.
Aside from my main banes of poor battery life and rapid dirt accumulation, all is well in every other regard.
In the next part, we’ll have a comprehensive run-down of every Move game, past, present and future, and take a look at what’s worth playing.
duncanuaz
I bought a single Move controller last week from Gamestation and it came in a normal cardboard box, none of that plastic wrap stuff. Loving it so far though.
oFelipeNFo
Hey guys i just want to ask something.
If i buy the Move in Europe will it work on my American PS3?
rossthebassist
in a nutshell it should do, my DS3 controller is from japan, i got it before DS3 was released in europe
oFelipeNFo
Thanks!
I realy needed this answear today.
gazzagb
I haven’t got Move yet, and am debating about trying to get it for Xmas. The hardware seems fine, its the games that is what is making me unsure. I’ve got a Wii and have enjoyed Wii Sports and all the other ‘casual’ games for over 2 years now; I want something decent to play if I’m going to get Move. Everyone tells me what about KZ3? Well I hated KZ2, it was a terrible game and so I’m sticking clear of KZ3.
When Sony announce a decent ‘hardcore’ game for Move, then I’ll think about buying it.
I’ll be interested to see what you say about the games in Pt. 2.
tonycawley
Ruse is worth buying the move for all on it’s own.
aerobes
It compliments Move so heavily, tony? I really enjoyed the demo and contemplated picking it up (my local rent place didn’t receive it). Does Move add much besides instant pointer control?
DiscoChimp
MAG’s been updated now for Move
teflon
Actually, the Move’s main body is two distinct pieces. The one I have is literally perfect. I love the subtler groove down the side, which is flawless, and makes it look like it’s a single entity. Compared with the seam around a DS3, it’s much nicer, as it doesn’t collect mangy horrible gunk at all. Also better in this regard compared to the WiiMote…
I have only got praise for the build quality of the Move, it is simply perfect in my mind. The same applies for the Navi.
I don’t see an issue with the start button for lefties… Just change your grip to an extent that you can wrap your thumb around it. If your hands are too small for that, then, yes, it’ll be a bit annoying to have to press the button with your other hand…
I agree with you on battery life, though. It’s simply not long enough, and I’d have expected something more heavy duty… That’s before you get to the brain melting 5 hours charge time!
JigsawPieces
Having two Move controllers is handy, I guess – both for the games that can take advantage of two (like Sports Champions), and being able to charge one while the other’s in use.
DrNate86
Are people charging it for long enough before use, I was told to charge mine for 6 hours before using it and I haven’t had any problems with battery, mine easily lasts a few days, much like my DS3.
aerobes
Is it like a mobile phone where they say charge it for 16 hours or something equally daft so the battery maxes out on memory or something?
I thought it didn’t matter with lithium-ion batteries … that is of course assuming the Move controller uses that type of battery?
I only mention this because I’d been reading these posts but, like yourself, I haven’t had any issues with the amount of time it generally lasts.
The Serb
same here and my controller did come pre-charged,is it the same for anyone out there?
teflon
@DrNate: The reason for the 5 hour charge is because the battery is literally triple the capacity of that in a DS3. The recommendation is 5 hours from USB, but the charging station apparently does it in 4, likely through some fancy power management chips.
@Aerobes: Lithium Ion doesn’t need to have full charges. They’re generally expected to last 300 cycles (that’s a total 100% cumulative discharge) and still retain 50% of their capacity. In daily use, you can happily charge it for 20 mins and then use it. You don’t /have/ to give it an initial long charge, but taking it to full will help the power management unit somewhat.
@The Serb: Batteries are made 50% charged, these days. This is so that they can last roughly 6 months before they’re empty (they naturally lose a tiny amount of charge as time passes). So, depending on the age of the batteries Sony used, and how long they’ve been producing Moves for, it should come along 30-40% charged.
tactical20
Not a big fan at all so far.
Didn’t think any of the demos were any good, and I actually prefer to play Flight Control HD with a normal dualshock controller.
Glad I’ve now got a camera though. Eye Create is surprisingly good (for free!) and it’s good to be able to use it with other games I already have, like Singstar and Buzz.
I’m hoping some better games come out soon, but I think it will probably be Killzone 3 which is the first game I enjoy playing with Move.
Totally agree, callibrating every game is a massive painus (pain in the anus)
james123
i am with you tactical20, the tech is good but the games let it down, not one demo made want to get the full thing… shame!
Having said that the hevey rain update does work well (but i already had that)!
Apnomis
The calibration doesn’t really bother me tbh, if that’s what it takes to keep things accurate then so be it, waiting a few seconds for it to cycle through the colours is hardly a major inconvenience…
Seventy2
Right there with you.
I spent £130 on two sex-toys, one navi, Sports Champs and Resi 5.
I have spent more time playing Flight Control on my regular Dual Shock.
The tech is brilliant, everything Sony promised, and I’m not going to state the obvious about the lack of games etc.
The more I played it, the more I was reminded of that line in Jurassic Park, ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’.
Still, I have hope for the future, and I’m positive that in 12 months time it’ll be the hardware to beat.
DiscoChimp
Yeah, as with most things Sony, it starts off as pretty good, but with serious improvement potential.
I’m liking Flight Control using Move…..and the missus is completely addicted to it! We were playing last night while feeding the baby!!
dude90
Not getting Move till Xmas. I was going to get it on my birthday, but I’m getting a laptop instead for college.
minerwilly
Great job Katy , look forward to the next part . I have yet to get one due to being seriously skint (crap pay) but have been enviously looking at loads of people on my friends list playing sports champions.
If my footy bet comes in today im off the Asda where they are only £27 !
Apnomis
The Navi is hardly compulsory – I ordered one but it was late so for the first few days I played Resi 5 with a DualShock with no trouble at all, when the Navi finally arrived I was initially disappointed as it didn’t feel as substantial or secure to hold as the DualShock, I was actually considering not using it and carrying on with the DualShock but in the end stuck with it and eventually got used it it…
At this stage though I just want some more games to come out for it Resi 5 isn’t a great implementation of the controls. I may get Sports Champions for over the festive season though as I really enjoyed the demo.
I’ve also been really impressed with the battery life too – mine lasts me about a week when I used it for approx 20 hours. To me it seems to last as long as my DualShock does. I do use the official charging station though, but I don’t see why that would make a difference.
I played EyePet with it at my nephews house last weekend too, and I must say I think you were incredibly harsh in your review of it. From my experience with it you only needed the Move controller and didn’t need to use any other controller (though granted we were using existing game data) and we didn’t encounter any time where we were forced to use real paper, the on screen pointer was easier to use as were the variance AR gadgets – overall my nephews and niece found it much easier to use and good do a lot more without supervision – even selecting menu items and different clothes etc which previously they didn’t do on the old control system.
Playing EyePet also made me realise another crucial function of the Orb calibration that has fixed one of my major bugbears with the Eye – not only does it look at the colours of the Orb it also sets the white balance from them, so when you see yourself on screen the room goes from a drab dull blue tinted room in this case (at home my Eye makes things look rather green) into being an incredibly accurate replica of the room as we see it in ‘real life’ – that feature alone improved EyePet (and any game that uses AR) hugely, yet was completely omitted from your review (maybe you’re lucky and your room is lit correctly as to display on screen correctly as standard).
Speaking of lighting you must have on bloody bright fish tank! When I first got Move I played a demo of Sports Champions with the curtains open in the middle of the day – with my back to the window and the Eye looking at the window – and even though the on screen calibration video showed the room as being completely overexposed it didn’t warn me it was too bright…
DJ-Katy
Just to be clear I didn’t write the EyePet review; my thoughts on that are coming tomorrow.
The aquarium uses 10K, blue actinic and metal halogen lights, so yes, it is bright.
Apnomis
I wasn’t referring to you directly, just TSA in general…
It’s probably the colour that causes it problems, I guess it’s probably programmed to try and ignore natural daylight or something…
teflon
Considering that the battery life is rated for 10 hours, and the DS3’s is for 14 hours, I’m slightly skeptical of this… Though, if you have Rumble turned off, then that’ll help out a fair bit.
Apnomis
Ok I may have over exaggerated a bit – I don’t make a habit of timing my gaming sessions! But on the strength of the week after launch I charged it on Saturday, then played with it briefly on Sunday, and then each week night for a good few hours, and I didn’t get a low battery warning until the following Monday. I tend to need to charge my DS3 around once a week so I took that to mean the battery lasts as long as my DS3, but maybe I just didn’t game as much that week or something – it will probably take a while to get a feel for how often I charge it, but for now I would say it’s no more frequent than my DS3. Also lighting can effect battery life as it alters the power of the LED to compensate…
dextreme08
I didn’t know about the brightness of the led changing, I always play with curtains closed and the light off anyway
TheShepanator
I might buy a move for killzone 3 and some of the party games at some point
gernboes
i think the reason for us having to calibrate the move every time we start a game is because of the camera tracking. if you dont stand in the same spot every time you play, the camera needs your center-position, so to say. especially if the distance changes, because the size of the orb that the camera sees will be different…
Michael
My Moves came in cardboard packaging. Only the Navi was in the awful plastic. Lucky for me, I suppose!