Start the Party: Save the World review
Start the Party: Save the World for PS3 is a successor to the original Start the Party. The original title was one of the first PlayStation Move launch titles stacked with mini games for younger audiences. So, how does the second game measure-up? Stephen Ebert dusts off the PlayStation Move controller to find out.
Like the original PlayStation Move launch title, Start the Party: Save the World is a smattering of 20 playful mini games designed to make the most of Sony’s PlayStation Move wand accessory. The first Start the Party was fun in parts but lacked enough substance to really make it worth repeatedly playing.
Start the Party: Save the World goes some better, but, despite being a massive improvement on the original, it still lacks in the same areas.
The good
Unlike previously, there is some attempt to give some reasoning for all the silliness to come this time round. Dr. Terrible – a power-tripped super-villain has designs on taking over Planet Earth, and it’s up to you to stop him. The story is little more than an excuse to play some games, but we’re pleased to see the developer add some context to the action – much of which involves blasting aliens with lasers, saving civilians, and general PlayStation Move tomfoolery.
Free Play lets you jump into any of the 20 mini games. Clearly aimed at kids, each mini game is easy to pick up and play, requiring just a few actions to play each of them. Not all of them are great, but there are some gems. Fixin’ Frenzy has players fixing robots as quickly as possible using the PlayStation Move to pick up spare parts, gripping onto them by holding the T button and affixing them to robots onto an assembly line. Gone Fishin’ is a test of players dexterity. Rescue divers by hooking them out of water, being careful to avoid lurking jellyfish.
Bear Bash is a mindless, but fun game that involves whacking incoming bears on the head with a virtual hammer plastered onto your PlayStation Move using the augmented reality skills of the PlayStation Eye. The accessory does a fantastic job of keeping track of movement, with little to no lag or lack of sensitivity – great for more impatient younger gamers. Graphically Start the Party: Save the World looks like an improvement on the original, and is sure to catch the attention of younger players. A Survivor mode gives players the chance to further test their skills with short rounds of each mini game, lending more urgency to the action.
The bad
Many of the games are either average or repetitive, and require the same control scheme, lending little variation to the play rather than mixing things up. Spread across 20 games, play feels repetitive if playing by oneself.
A severe lack of modes means players have only Free Play and Survivor modes available, with no sign of extras or difficulty modes awarded for repeat play, giving little reason for all but the biggest fans and younger players reason to play on.
The bottom line
Start the Party: Save the World is a game designed for kids, and despite a severe lack of modes and incentive to play on, there is a lot of fun to be had when playing with others. However beyond the 20 very short games, Start the Party feels like one of those games destined to sit on the shelf collecting dust
