EyeToy: Play 2 Preview

Well, you can’t find fault with the controller … not when you are the controller.

Yep, you guessed it – SCEA has come along with another EyeToy title and this one braces fun with a variety of minigames. EyeToy: Play 2 is due out in August and comes with 12 games coupled with 75 bonus games.

GameZone.com got hold of a preview build of the game and entered the game in several of the bevy of interactive titles. Table tennis, Homerun, Monkey Bars and Master Chef were among the allowed previewable games. The first two were exactly what the titles implied. Table tennis pits players up against various opponents, each with different strengths, in a contest to five points. In-between the games there are bonus minigames, which include hitting corners on the table, smashing bottles or breaking up tanks. High scores result in a photo op to record the momentous occasion.

Homerun asks you to alternate between hands, time the swing and smack the target. Monkey bars has you swing down the side of a building, avoiding bombs but hitting icon patches. Do it fast. As testament to the speed aspect, one of the bonus minigames is a race. Of course there are traps along the way, and you can work yourself into a corner, requiring you to backtrack.

Master Chef has you working the grill in a fast food restaurant. The waitress brings an order and you have to match the order with the ingredients that you can pull to a plate. The object is to put the orders together as fast as you can. If you are successful, you will get to square off in a variety of contests against the head chef – which could be chopping pickles or squishing tomatoes.

As someone adverse to having a picture taken, the games put that whole aspect on the back burner, simply because of the fast-paced fun the games supplied. The animation was bright and colorful, and the sound was well done as well – nothing to jump up and down and get overly excited about, but still a solid support to the graphics.

Whether smashing a ping pong ball through the television screen, or slapping together a double cheeseburger with two orders of fries, these games provide fast-paced fun that is sure to please young and old.

Play 2 will be released in August and should be a solid reason to fire up the EyeToy, if you have one, or buy it bundled with the games. It may be a touch simplistic, but that is what makes the games so much fun – anyone, in any age group, can pick this up and play it instantly. Of course, these games do feature multiplayer elements, so everyone has the opportunity to be the star of the gaming show.