Remember those theme
park shooting galleries where you need to shoot cowboys and items in
bars? Well, that's sort of what The Shoot is all about that uses the
new PlayStation Move controller as gamers take on the role of an up
and coming actor.
Even though this game is aimed at family/casual
gaming market, it's actually quite an appealing game, albeit a
little short in content. It's more a akin to those light gun games
that are rather short but even so, The Shoot is definitely something
different.
As mentioned, you
play an actor who plays a variety of different characters from
Western films to horror and science fiction to name a few of
settings. At its heart, the game requires the player to shoot
whatever comes across the screen and these are generally cut-outs of
cowboys, zombies and aliens.
It's also amusing to see the behind the
scenes action on The Shoot as you see all the mechanics at work. For
example, the developers have made these little special effects quite
obviously as a wooden cut-out of a cowboy slides across your gaming
environment. Even though you are not killing "real" people or
aliens, when you do shoot these cut-outs, they splinter to
smithereens. All in all, there are five different gaming
environments to play.
The game is not all
about shooting as you need to please the director of these five
movies. If a civilian pops up and you accidentally shoot them, the
director's "happiness" meter will drop. However with successful
shooting and even combos, the director becomes rather chuffed at how his
movie is working out.
If the meter drops to zero, you need to use one of your
"takes" as opposed to a life. There are some enemies that will fire
back and the more virtual damage your character takes, the less
pleased the director becomes via his meter so at times, you really
need to be on your feet.
This title also throws a few curveballs into the
combat and certain
enemies require to be shot in certain places. One cool thing about
the game is that there a first person shooter type damage system so
if you hit one of the enemies in the head, they are pretty much down
for the count. The game even supports a Matrix bullet-time feature
and by spinning around of moving the controller around, it activates
this special manoeuvre and your weapon's damaged is amplified,
including its speed.
It's a fun addition to the game and best of
all, the Move controller works like a treat, especially with the gun
attachment. Dodging in the game works ok as is the cover system
but everyone now and then, this game will have difficulty
interpreting what you are trying to achieve.
Graphically, The
Shoot does look like a casual game but there are some decent effects
in the game such as the detailed studios, behind the scenes and
cut-out characters. Add in some over the top voice acting and
Hollywood type sound effects and The Shoot will definitely appear to
a variety of different gamers. The soundtrack also sounds like a
Hollywood action movie that enhances the overall gameplay.
In the end, The Shoot is actually one of the better PlayStation Move
titles but unfortunately it's plagued by a very short completion
time. Most gamers could easily knock this game over in around 2
hours but thankfully there is a plethora of challenges and
unlockables to be found which does draw it out a little more. With
good use of the Move controller, The Shoot is a game that can be
played and enjoyed by all!
