First Look: PlayStation Move Heroes

Join Jak, Ratchet, Sly Raccoon and friends in an all-star blast on PlayStation 3.

PlayStation Move has already shown us a new way to play via PlayStation 3, the PS Move motion controller letting players experience a whole raft of games with unparalleled precision. Now, a new wave of PS Move games is set to ramp that interaction up even further. Joining Killzone 3 at the forefront of that charge is PlayStation Move Heroes, the mascot mash up featuring some of the most iconic characters from the history of PlayStation.

Robert Huebner, studio director at developer Nihilistic Software, agrees. "PlayStation Move Heroes is definitely part of a second wave of PS Move titles, it's a lot more involved," he tells eu.playstation.com. "The controls are more advanced than some of the initial stuff so we're hoping that players, by the time they get PlayStation Move Heroes, will be ready for a pretty challenging way of controlling the characters."

The ambition of Huebner and his team has ensured PlayStation legends Jak, Daxter, Ratchet, Clank, Sly Raccoon and Bentley are given a game befitting their status, as you storm through their respective worlds in a variety of action-packed mini-games.

With the motion controller in your hands, you can attack each challenge with unprecedented control. Take one mini-game featuring Sly's portly sidekick Bentley, from the Sly Raccoon series. A flying disc packing an explosive payload must be guided through impossible gaps in order to explode crates to reveal imprisoned aliens called Whibblets. Cat-like reflexes help, but "it's really a combination of being observant and looking for the clues," Huebner says. "Then you really have to pull off some crazy moves to find all of the targets."
 
Jak Attack!

Another mini-game showcases Jak, star of the Jak & Daxter adventures, and his deadly bowling skills. By performing the same action you'd use to bowl a real ball with the motion controller, Jak sends rumbling destruction towards a series of targets and pick-ups, including power boosts, time extensions and the crystals that enable our heroes' super attacks – in Jack's case, Dark Jak himself.

It's quick-fire stuff, packing intense gameplay into bite-sized levels designed around our heroes' stomping grounds and providing adrenaline jolts for players of all abilities. "The cool thing is even if you're not hardcore enough to get a gold medal by collecting every last crystal, you can still go to the next mission and earn points with a bronze or a silver medal," Huebner points out.

Add a friend to the mix, and those elusive gold medals become a more real prospect. Each level is designed to be played solo or with a co-operative partner. That might see plucky tin man Clank reuniting with the ever resourceful Ratchet, or rascally raccoon Sly teamed up with Bentley once more. Whoever you choose, it won't take long to settle into a PS Move-inspired groove of intuitive, immensely satisfying action.

Stay tuned for more news on PlayStation Move Heroes and its all-star adventure.

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