On first impressions, the signs are very promising. If any game is going to dispel the notion that Move is merely a gimmick aimed squarely at the casual market, it’ll be SOCOM – but only if it works, of course. In other words, it’s a “normal” third-person shooter that’s been adapted to work with the new control scheme. Rather than being a planned Move release from day one, Zipper Interactive implemented support for the new technology at a point when development was already underway. Let’s make one thing clear: as far as serious gamers are concerned, SOCOM 4 is the most important PlayStation Move title that Sony has revealed to date. Still, let’s hope that Sony comes up with a snappier name than “the Navigation Controller” for now I’ll refer to the smaller device as the NavCon.

Compared to the standard Sixaxis, both controllers feel solid and weighty in your hand. However, unlike the Wii’s control setup, the two devices communicate wirelessly. In addition to the Motion Controller, some Move games also involve the use of the Navigation Controller – a small handheld device with a single thumbstick, in a similar arrangement to Nintendo’s Nunchuck. On the underside of the controller there’s also a rather chunky trigger. Due to this arrangement and the sensors inside the device, the PS3 is able to determine the wand’s exact movements in a 360 degree radius.Ī large action button is located at the upper end of the Motion Controller, just where your thumb sits naturally, and this is surrounded by miniature versions of the four PlayStation “shape” buttons. This sphere lights up during play, allowing the controller’s movements to be tracked by the PlayStation Eye camera, which sits on top of your TV. To a certain extent it’s a direct rival to Microsoft’s Project Natal, but there’s a key difference between the two products: where Natal dispenses with a physical controller altogether, Move uses a wand-shaped peripheral with a large globe-like section at one end. PlayStation Move is Sony’s new motion controller for the PS3, due to be launched at some point towards the end of the year.

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