Sports Champions Impressions

Sports games are an incredibly popular genre for motion controllers, so Sony will be pinning great hopes on Sports Champions for the PlayStation Move. The game will feature six different sports, of which we got to see two in our pre-E3 demo--Gladiator Duel and Disc Golf.

Gladiator Duel is a sword fighting game that can be played with both the main Move controller and with the sub-controller attachment. In the main game, you have to hit your opponent and wear down his or her health. At certain points, you're able to unleash a special move, which knocks your opponent up in the air, and you can then perform follow-up attacks by following the onscreen prompts. If you're using the sub-controller, you are also able to wield a shield, which helps deflect incoming attacks.

All games also have multiplayer elements, so you can play Gladiator Duel one-on-one locally but not online. All games also have a minigame-based challenge mode. In Gladiator Duel, you have to hit coloured parts of your opponent in order to score points, with the controller moving between players in a quick fashion. The player with the most hits in 60 seconds is the winner.

The other game we saw was Disc Golf, which replicates the real-world sport of golf played with a Frisbee. This game uses the single Move controller to fling the disc at a goal, which becomes progressively more difficult as you progress. You'll run into different wind conditions; obstacles, such as trees; and a longer distance to the target. You can choose to use different Frisbees for each situation, as you would different golf clubs, and you have to try to beat other players by getting to the goal in as few throws as possible.

There's an interesting online component to Sports Champions. In addition to online leaderboards for each game, there'll be Facebook integration. This means that you can post achievements to the famous social media site, which will not only appear on your wall, but will also be illustrated with photos taken by the PlayStation Eye camera.

All six games in Sports Champions will be playable on the show floor at this year's E3, while the finished game should appear alongside the launch of the device itself. Keep an eye on GameSpot for more info as we get it.