7 December 2006 0:00 GMT / By Chris Hall

The papers have officially decided that playing console games means you are a fat giffer with no life (more or less). In recent times we have seen a spate of games aimed at making you more active – the EyeToy promised this with the potential for some really innovative games. But was that potential ever realised? We take a look at EyeToy Play Sports to find out.

From the off you know what you are dealing with when it comes to EyeToy games – a little quirky, a little weird and well, a little boring. You’ll be glad to hear that EyeToy Play Sports fits neatly into this category.

The basic premise is sporty type mini games that you control with the usual wave of a hand. As usual, you can capture your face to make an avatar on-screen, making team games simple. Control is through the EyeToy, and can still be a little dubious as you frantically wave your arms around. The games are a little imprecise – sometimes they seem to bear no relation to what the player is doing.

As a single player game, this is a bit of a mess - you select one player, and then at the start of each game, it again asks how many people are playing. This is incredibly frustrating, like having to return to the index of a book each time you reach the end of a chapter.

As a team game is where EyeToy games really come alive and the above “opt in” and “opt out” options suddenly make sense – if someone has gone to the garage to get yet more beers you can play the next game without them. Up to 8 players can take part, and you get a prompt to tell you who is up next as you would expect.

With physical interactivity a key feature of the next gen consoles, the EyeToy seems to be going through death throes. EyeToy Play Sports is ultimately a little disappointing. The mini games themselves just don’t seem to be very well refined – sometimes there is just too much of an adaptation so as to render the mini game no relation to what you are doing. In some cases it would be much easier to head outside and kick your ball against a wall.

Verdict

However, kids will like the interaction and the novelty of seeing themselves on TV and this is a game that the whole family can enjoy – just make sure you don’t expect to actually achieve anything. Those new to the EyeToy will be entertained, but those with other games might be better to stick to what they’ve got.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

Sony

Price as reviewed

£24.99 (games only)

The good

Over 101 mini games, gets you active

The bad

Imprecise, not very slick, slow loading, imprecise

Quick verdict

Those new to the EyeToy will be entertained, but those with other games might be better to stick to what they’ve got.

Score

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