Can Sega breath life back into the EyeToy franchise? Not quite.
User Rating: 7.9 | Sega SuperStars PS2
The original EyeToy: Play was an innovation in gaming, allowing you to appear on the screen and participate in several events. Soon after came EyeToy: Groove, which was an expansion of the original dancing mini-game. Now comes the first 3rd party EyeToy title, Sega SuperStars. Based on several Sega lisences, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Billy Hatcher, and Super Monkey Ball, it looks promising. As per usual for EyeToy games, you are on the screen and you must touch certain objects on the screen, or wave your arms around, or something else. It's a very physical game, and you need to play it in an area where there's lots of room. There are 12 games on offer, as well as a Chao Garden - a Tamagotchi-like mini-game. Menus are navigated by you waving your hands over large on-screen buttons. Unlike previous EyeToy games, each mini-game has several levels for you to beat. I'll go over each game and what it's about: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG This sort of level will be familiar to anyone who's played Sonic Heroes. Sonic is running down a long tube and he follows one of your arms. It's your job to guide him into Rings and Chaos Emeralds, and away from Mines. It's not very difficult, and Sonic tends to respond well, but your arms will ache after only seconds of play. NiGHTS INTO DREAMS Golden oldie NiGHTS stars in a truely unique game. It's set out like a 'real' 3D game level. You must fly NiGHTS through giant orange rings and collect Blue Chips and Ideya. It's very hard - NiGHTS is hard to control, and he sometimes stops for seemingly no reason. You actually have to 'fly', with your arms out to your sides, so it's physically exhausting. BILLY HATCHER AND THE GIANT EGG The strangely-named GameCube hero's game involves you rolling around giant eggs. You do this by waving over two on-screen hands. It rarely seems to respond, and Billy will often walk around in circles. It's a good idea but near impossible to play. SAMBA DE AMIGO This game is basically a Sega-fied version of the Beat Freak game from EyeToy: Play. You have to touch objects on screen in time to the music. It responds well and it's easy to get into. The songs are pretty interesting, and add a bit of variety to the game. SPACE CHANNEL 5 The compulsory dancing game. Copy Ulala's moves in time to the music. It's very, very hard, due to the responsiveness which is almost non-existant. Not to mention that it's dull and boring, anyway. PUYO PUYO These coloured beans are the stars of the fantastic Puyo Puyo series, which is bigger than Tetris in Japan. The EyeToy version has thousands of Puyo falling onto you, and you must sort them into crates. It's responsive and fun - very easy to pick up. CHU-CHU ROCKET! The crazy Dreamcast puzzler gets an EyeToy conversion. And it tries to be the same. Get the Chu-chus to their rocket before the evil Kapu-kapus eat them. It's difficult because there's a lot going on, but it makes for a cool little puzzler. Responsiveness sometimes slips up, but it's okay. CRAZY TAXI This is the ultimate low. You don't actually get to drive a taxi - you just wave your arms like there's no tomorrow and scream. Pointless and stupid, but some people might enjoy it. HOUSE OF THE DEAD Beat up zombies. Plain, instant fun. Responsiveness is good and it's easy to pick up and play. This is how EyeToy games should be. SUPER MONKEY BALL This is basically the same as NiGHTS except you're controlling a monkey in a ball. It's even harder because the ball rolls around, and there's a tight time limit. CHAO GARDEN Many Sonic games feature Chao Gardens, where you can raise small creatures called Chao by feeding them fruit, etc. The latest incarnation is pretty dull - you can buy flowers and things for the garden, and you can pat the Chao on the head. It's dull beyond all belief. Stay clear. So should you get Sega SuperStars? There are almost certainly more bad games than good ones. Of the 12 games, only Sonic the Hedgehog, Chu-chu Rocket!, House of the Dead, and Puyo Puyo are worthy of repeated play. The other 8 range from adverage to horrific. Some of the games on offer here are good but you'd be better off going with another EyeToy title, such as EyeToy: Play 2.
