Single File Celebration- Start the Party! Review

As 2008’s You’re In the Movies illustrated, there’s a irrefutable schism which exists between games geared for adults, and ones designed for younger audiences. Many critics berated the title for its shallow minigames and its petty payoff- where participants were shown a short compilation of their Xbox Vision Cam captured antics. Yet, You’re in the Movies remains a perennial favorite around my house. Years later, the nieces request to play it every single time they visit.

Playstation Move launch title, Start the Party! seems destined to recall the divisive title. Both games utilize a camera to superimpose participants in animated environments, where they interact with on-screen elements. Each title’s gratification is also related to the number of active gamers-  each onlooker can revel in just how silly other players look as they flail around wildly. While Start the Party! doesn’t offer a concluding collection of cringe-worthy clips, its outshines its competition with its accuracy; the title doesn’t require an uncluttered backdrop to work properly.

Start the Party!‘s most noteworthy element can be found in its flawless integration of augmented reality. On-screen, the Move controller becomes a mighty sword or massive paintbrush in the player’s hands. Every rapid shift, twist and turn of the controller fails to ruin the illusion, as the game instantly renders (to give one example) a gigantic toothbrush in the player’s hands. The effect can best be described as looking into a mirror and seeing an oversized device sprouting from one of your hands; the sensation is both unfamiliar and memorizing. It also represents a missed opportunity from Start the Party!– players could have gained unlockable props suitable for use in photos. Kids likely would have reveled in the ability to stage their own digital snapshots with a selection of hammers, magic wands, and imaginary hats. While the game does allow players to draw on other participants avatars, and re-record their voice samples, the flippancy feels woefully restrained.

Similarly, the amount of diversity found in Start the Party!‘s range of minigames is restricted. While each of the twenty minigames are intentionally simple and brief, within a few matches, players will have seen everything the title has to offer. Although players may select a difficulty level and the number of rounds each match is played, no new amusements are ever unlocked. Sadly, the whole party is a turn-based affair- players must pass the Move controller once their turn at catching flies, paining shapes, or shooting ghosts is completed, there’s not an option for simultaneous play. A single-player option tasks participants with completing as many minigames as possible before time run out, with each success adding time to a dwindling timer.

At least the games which are offered all control well. From using the Move controller as a flashlight/gun combo to eliminate ghosts, to harpooning color-coded blowfish with the peripheral, there were few issues with the device seeming unresponsive. Infrequently, a minigame which required players to brush a crocodile’s teeth stymied younger players, who applied their circular cleaning techniques to a game which expected vigorous, wide gestures.

Start the Party! probably won’t be enjoyed by either solitary gamers or groups of sober adults. Unmistakably, the game’s demographic skews decided young, expanded the game’s requisites to one Move controller and at least one person under the age of sixteen. Like similar titles, Start the Party! will leave adults bewildered and kids delighted; add a letter grade to the score, accordingly.