S&S Review: Sports Champions 2

Title: Sports Champions 2
Format: PS3
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Zindagi Games, SCE Studios San Deigo
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: E

I've been needing a reason to dust off my Playstation Move for awhile now, since I enjoyed the original Sports Champions, I was really excited for the second game.  Sports Champions 2 turned out to be a worthy sequel with more activities to play.  

Presentation and Gameplay:

The first Sports Champions was never a stunner in the graphical department, but it did look good.  There are a number of improvements that are apparent, from the animations, lighting , just the overall style of the game just looks better.  There is 3D support, and from what I've read, it adds more to the games themselves.  If you have the capabilities for 3D support, the game only benefits from it.  The audio in the game is great, with a lot of the sports sounding like their lifelike counterparts.  The music is okay, although it doesn't really add anything to the game.  Custom soundtracks are supported, so if you get tired of hearing the same music, you can listen to your own playlists.  The game takes place in more settings, like a California beach and the Swiss mountain tops.  You can even play at night, which adds creates a cool effect when you're golfing.  The actual games themselves are a lot of fun, even Archery.  I didn't really get into the Archery in the first game, but in SC 2, I really enjoyed it.  It just feels a lot more natural, I guess that's the potential the Move has.  You can play it with a buddy on the same couch, or you can just play the CPU.  You only had Table Tennis in the first game, but you finally get the full tennis experience in 2.  The nice court, and the bustling crowds is a nice change of pace from the small room.  Serving feels really smooth, but hitting the ball with some consistency will take a bit of practice.  The 1 to 1 motion tracking is a great feat for the Move, but it can make the game a little more challenging.  Tennis is definitely one of the highlights in SC, and will most likely be a lot of players favorite game.  Skiing is one of the new games, when you're skiing down the Alps, everything just feels right.  It didn't take that long to get used too speeding down the mountains either, so skiing noobs like myself won't have any problems.
Golfing feels a lot better this time around, I would even say that SC 2 has the best motion controlled Golf mechanics around, even better than Tiger Woods 13.  The way the game recognizes everything you do is remarkable, down to the specific way your club is facing.  Putting isn't as meddled with inaccuracies as previous games with motion control, it just feels more lifelike before.  If you enjoy playing golf in real life, I'm sure Sports Champions 2's version will serve as an accurate representation.  Bowling is your standard fare, its still the perfect game if you're having a gaming party.  There is still now online play, which is pretty disappointing, the game could have benefited greatly from online play.  It still feels great, getting the right spin on the ball feels effortless, and any bowling fan will feel right at home with SC's version of the popular sport.  Boxing is really cool, we never really got a good motion controlled boxing until now.  The boxing is tough, having to bob and weave, while trying to connect with uppercuts and jabs is fluid, but it can be brutal at times.  You can really work up a sweat as well, opponents are resilient and won't go down without a fight.  If you just wanna marathon through all the games, the Cup Mode makes a return, and it allows you to go up against increasingly difficult A.I. opponents as you play all the different games.  You can create your own Champion with the newly added editor and creation tools.  If you're not interested, you can just you use a  pre made champion to avoid spending time in the creation center.  Online leaderboards is a nice add, but like I said, the game should've had some online play.  If you don't have people near you that can play with you, its a bit of a downer.  The game can be a blast though, with a good group of people, the gameplay alone will keep you coming back.  

Final Thoughts:
If you're looking for a good party game for your PS Move, I would easily recommend Sports Champions 2.  Given the game doesn't look that much different, you don't really play this game for it's visuals.  Each of the six games has something for you to get lost in, and with the Cup Mode, you can still spend a lot of time with the game even if you're playing alone. 

S&S Rating: 7.5/10

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