Are there any EyeToy games worth playing?

[J T]

So I've played a little bit of the 3 games I got and I'm here to say what my first impressions are.

Things started off poorly since I didn't know what I was doing. I started with Kinetic and it didn't provide any "hello, here's how to use an EyeToy" tutorial, so I was suddenly staring at a menu screen with no idea what I was supposed to do and was having a hell of a time even choosing basic options from the screen. I started a profile which took forever because it wasn't picking up my movements very well and it wanted my name, height, weight. After awhile, I realized that part of the problem was that I didn't have the lights turned up high enough in my room, the focus was out of whack, I had to put on a different lens, and I needed to get to an Option menu to adjust the sensitivity of the camera sensors. I feel like this game should have started with a camera test when it realized there was no save game because there was no way to get anything to work until I changed the settings, but I couldn't change the settings without using the very same equipment that wasn't working.

After that infuriating 30 minutes, I finally got into the game. In Kinetic, if you want to commit to boosting your health, you have a virtual fitness instructor who sets you on a 12 week schedule doing both aerobic and anaerobic exercise to help you get fit and strong. I tried the first exercise that she suggested which consisted of my grabbing little dots around the screen and trying to mimic an animated characters movements. You score more points for staying in sync with the music and there are also areas of the screen you have to avoid. Even though I'd gotten all annoyed from the setup, I found myself genuinely enjoying this. I just wanted to try the game though and I already spent to much time in setup, so I quit after this first part of the routine. My virtual trainer seemed disappointed in me for quitting so soon into the workout. I like this because for an exercise regime, you need to be strict with yourself. You also don't have to work with a trainer if you don't want to. You can just go through whatever little workout routines you want, so if you don't want your virtual trainer to get on your case, then you can work around it. The fact that I can workout to a well balanced, pre-designed routine, or simply craft my own routines already makes this far better than your average workout at home tape. The addition of virtual fitness instructor makes it even better.

Next I played Anti-grav. This is my favorite of the three so far. It's a fairly ambitious game as well. It is a hoverboard racing game similar to SSX. It lacks the depth of gameplay options and tricks that the SSX series have, but it's a bit of an unfair comparison because what makes this game great is that you are moving around as if you are riding the board. You crouch, jump, bend your body to turn, use your arms to improve your aerodynamics or to slow down, twist your body to do tricks, and when you go on railslides, you can stick your arms out to grab bonus items while you are sliding along the rail. Unlike the Play series, which is just a bunch of simple minigames, Antigrav is actually a full videogame controlled through EyeToy. It feels really cool too. I love the feel of grinding a rail and then sticking my arm out to catch things as I glide by, or the feeling of soaring through the air on your hoverboard and trying to pilot your way through various rings before you hit the ground. This game made the whole purchase worthwhile.

Finally, there's EyeToy: Play. This game seems like more of a tech-demo. There's a bunch of little minigames of varying quality that utilize the EyeToy's ability to recognize your movements. There's a music game where you have to hit different corners of the screen in time to music (sort of like guitar hero, but you wave your arms around like a maniac instead). There's annoying game where you have to hit characters that fart at you while avoiding hitting anime bunny girls. I'll probably never play that one again because I got so sick of the stupid fart sounds. There's a boxing game where you turn sideways to the screen and box a robot. Kind of fun, but mostly a novelty without much depth of gameplay. My favorite minigame was called Kung Foo. In this game your image is projected into the center of the screen and little ninja characters fly at you with swords, but you swat them away with your kung fu. This was actually enjoyable and I appreciated the augmented reality of being an 80 foot tall kung fu master fighting off hordes of ninjas. EyeToy:Play seems like it would be good fun with other people around, but it doesn't have enough depth to keep you playing on single player for very long.

The Verdict: given that you can get a used EyeToy for a mere 5 spot makes it silly to pass up in my mind. Nevertheless, a lot of what makes it cool is the novelty of being able to control characters with your body. This is both a pro and a con. The EyeToy is well suited for burning a few extra calories while gaming. This is especially true for Kinetic which is a whole workout program, but it is also true of AntiGrav and Play. I broke my biggest sweat playing Antigrav because I was having the most fun with it and didn't want to stop, but my arms were getting tired from spinning them around to do tricks off the jumps and stretching them out to grab bonuses on the rails. I also lift weights, swim, jog, and hike to get my routine exercise. The EyeToy will make a nice addition to my workout for those days that I don't feel like leaving the house, which is the main reason I bought the thing.
Mission accomplished.

Don't expect the EyeToy to revolutionize the gaming experience for you. A controller still gives you more precise control and allows you to play for longer stretches of time. Still, I did get a better sense that I was flying through the air in AntiGrav than I would have if I were playing the game with a D-pad and buttons. If you don't expect too much from it since the games are pretty simplistic for the most part and largely consist of grabbing things on the screen, and if you are mostly just hoping to play a little more physically active videogame, then I think you will enjoy the EyeToy. It is like the poor man's Wii, but it came out before the Wii, so it deserves a bit of credit. It's definitely a unique peripheral and worth your time, especially with such a small price tag.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

The Ninja game was always fun though

[executioner]

Eyetoy play 2 was a big improvement over the first one. If you really wanna sweat try the chef game. Most games were releases in europe. I tried many and had a lot of fun with this back when nobody even heard the wii existed. I brought it to partys and gatherings and everyone participated in the experience and had a lot of fun. By todays standards it will feel dated but for the price you paid its a steal and on the plus side it works on the PS3 and on the PC as a webcam with some drivers.

The video of project natal I saw from E3 reminded me how exactly sony viewed eyetoy back then, the promos gave you the impression that it would be revolutionary. Let me check my games to see if I remember other eyetoy games I played and can recommend. There's a DDR game that uses it also, but it makes the game hard as hell if you are not that good at DDR.

[J T]

Yourself! Fitness:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yourself!Fitness
I'm interested in occassionally using the EyeToy to get in a little exercise. This one has some good user reviews on Amazon. Anyone here tried it?

I can't speak for it's quality (obviously, because of earlier posts) but it has for some reason been popping up on a lot of sites for me lately. Which- is totally odd. I guess people like it? ::shrug::

Poor man's Wii Fit perhaps?

Oh and the Sega Superstars game looks really interesting, especially if its cheap.

As it turns out, My Fitness Coach on the Wii is a port of Yourself!Fitness. I want to find a copy of Yourself! Fitness now for sure. I've seen a few different reviews. It provides hundreds of different exercises, Maya is supposed to be a great virtual fitness instructor, and there are even a whole host of healthy food recipes in the PS2 version. The game challenges you to stick with a fitness plan and trains various muscle regions. It sounds just like what I'm looking for in a home exercise game. However, I appear to have been misinformed about it being an EyeToy game. Apparently it functions like a follow-along workout, but with options for tracking your progress and adapting your workout.