PlayStation 2

EyeToy: AntiGrav

Eye Toy: Play was the GamerDad Game of the Year last year, and when I'm interviewed by newspapers and radio about game recommendations, I usually spotlight Eye Toy as the most positive trend in gaming. Why? Because it gets kids, and their parents, to get off the couch and be in the game. There was a lot of concern that Eye Toy wasn't going to live up to its tremendous potential. Play, while cool, consists mainly of minigames and a playroom. Groove is a dancing game, but not a very challenging one for hardcore gamers. What about older kids? What can Eye Toy do to be cool?

Ultimately this is the direction that Sony should be going with the Eye Toy. AnitGrav is a must own for gamers with an Eye Toy and a penchant for strapping a plank of wood under their feet. On its own, it doesn’t justify a purchase of the Eye Toy peripheral.

I am the EyeToy guy for Next Level Gaming. So every EyeToy game that comes in comes directly to my desk. There have been a few good ones since its release, but I must say that this latest title is very fun. The developers of EyeToy: Antigrav have taken the EyeToy to a whole different level. Instead of using the person’s image through the whole game, it uses the outline of your body and mainly uses the players head movement. Once you see EyeToy: Antigrav you might think of a snowboarding game. But in this case you are going “Back to the Future 2” style and riding a cool hoverboard.

The Eyetoy has been a fun little gadget since it hit the shelves, but so far hasn’t offered much in the area of gameplay. Up until now it has been more of a novelty sporting lots of entertaining but simple minigames. Eyetoy Antigrav is the first true game to hit the Eyetoy and begins to show off the true potential of Playstation 2’s camera peripheral.

The EyeToy is an innovative little bugger with its ability to get gamers into the action, but until now, with the release of EyeToy: AntiGrav, it has been about little more than mini-games. Developer Harmonix has taken the peripheral and made it come of age with the webcam's first true game in the shape of a hoverboard racing title. What we have as a result is one of the most innovative games to come out for a peripheral besides Karaoke Revolution (another Harmonix title), but when compared to other boarding games out there like SSX 3, this genre has a lot more growing room.

The risk of pushing the envelope is that you can slip and end up with a real nasty paper cut. EyeToy: AntiGrav is definitely outside Harmonix's comfort zone of mostly music-driven gaming, though it's an honest effort at something interesting and accessible. However, the daring design outstrips the technology that drives it. The game remains an interesting experiment, and intrigued EyeToy owners should definitely give it a rental, if, for nothing else, just to understand how novel it is, even among games that ride almost entirely on novelty. In the end, though, the technical shortcomings of the EyeToy seem to explain exactly why most EyeToy games are short and sweet affairs.

The EyeToy is as innovative as accessories come, yet its short but satisfying rhythm and mini-game titles involve little more than simple hand movement. AntiGrav, on the other hand, finally focuses on a whole-body experience in which players take to a hoverboard and perform airborne acrobatics via camera. The game’s more intricate control demonstrates an evolution of EyeToy development. At the same time it fails include more than five tracks. Still, it floats above enough limitations of the first two camera-controlled offerings to produce a brighter picture for EyeToy’s future.

AntiGrav is a superb idea and a very innovative use of a new technology, but the jumping and grinding action of the game wouldn't really be that interesting apart from the interface, and it doesn't do anything that you couldn't do better with a controller. With the repetition and the hiccups, it lost its charm remarkably fast. Given the nature of AntiGrav, the Eye Toy, and the concept of hands-free control in general, I wonder if the sort of visual input showcased here will be limited to supporting roles in the future rather than being the main method of control. However, the ideas are definitely worth exploring. So, from a technology perspective I have to say that AntiGrav was a success… even though it's not exactly the holodeck quite yet.

Hurra, das erste 'echte' EyeToy-Spiel ist da! Als Selbstdarsteller erster Güte nervt es mich ungemein, dass ich mich mit einem EyeToy-Spiel nicht mehr im TV bewundern kann - doch mein Ego muss zurückstehen. Denn dafür belohnt mich Harmonix mit einer modernen und zukunftsträchtigen Spielerfahrung - keine Minispielsammlung, sondern ausgewachsener Trendsport. Deshalb ist die Einarbeitungszeit für ein EyeToy-Spiel ungewöhnlich hoch: "Der hüpft, anstatt sich zu ducken" und "Die Kamera muss neu justiert werden" sind noch die harmlosesten Ausreden-Auswüchse meiner geschätzten Kollegen. Die etwas träge Steuerung und der geringe Umfang verwehren zwar eine höhere Wertung, doch EyeToy-Liebhaber geben "AntiGrav" eine Chance.

Difficile à maîtriser dans les premières parties, Antigrav mérite tout de même qu'on s'y attarde un peu puisqu'une fois à l'aise sur sa planche virtuel, on se prend réellement au jeu. On tente par tous les moyens d'exploser les chronomètres et de réaliser les plus grosses figures pour épater la galerie. Une bonne surprise pour l'EyeToy.

That's not to say that there isn't potential in Antigrav. Yes, it's tough going, and if the last time you were in the presence of the word “fit” it was because the meat in your kebab was passed as “fit for animal consumption” then you'll struggle a lot. It does lose some appeal for not being easy to either pick up or learn how to play, and it's certainly not a fun party experience in the way that the vast majority of other EyeToy titles have been. There's no doubt that AntiGrav is better than Monkey Mania, and as an indicator of future game ideas, it's quite good - but the number of gamers with the necessary physical skills and patience for AntiGrav itself will probably be very small indeed.

That's not to say that there isn't potential in Antigrav. Yes, it's tough going, and if the last time you were in the presence of the word “fit” it was because the meat in your kebab was passed as “fit for animal consumption” then you'll struggle a lot. It does lose some appeal for not being easy to either pick up or learn how to play, and it's certainly not a fun party experience in the way that the vast majority of other EyeToy titles have been. There's no doubt that AntiGrav is better than Monkey Mania, and as an indicator of future game ideas, it's quite good - but the number of gamers with the necessary physical skills and patience for AntiGrav itself will probably be very small indeed.

Which makes for inconsistent, wearisome gameplay, and means we can't really recommend a purchase. If you're a diehard EyeToy obsessive who's prepared to spend hours restarting levels and recalibrating the camera, then maybe. If not, forget it. Even if you're young or drunk.