The PlayStation Move suffers from a dearth of party games, especially ones designed for the whole family. Along comes the PSN exclusive Lights, Camera, Party!, which wants to fix that by bringing fast-paced family fun using the Move in ways it has not been used before.
Lights, Camera, Party! focuses on the Funzini family, as they attempt to build their dream home after a local television station’s satellite crashes into their house. By competing in minigames on a game show, each family member can build their own dream home room by room, but watch out, as Granny has her eye on building the master bedroom.
This downloadable title is very reasonably priced for what you get. The game provides a healthy selection of minigames to unlock and play with friends and family. 50 challenges provide a lot of distraction, and their frantic nature will constantly have the Move controller swapping hands at a quick pace, since the game is designed to only need one.
There are two modes of play: story mode and challenge. In story mode, up to four players vie over 24 challenges to build a perfect house for the family, and depending upon who wins each of the four rounds, the house is put together in a mish-mash fashion. The challenges come fast and heavy: with two people, one round can go by in less than ten minutes. This is a great way to run a party as there is never a lull in the action, and the simple action of trying to trade a controller to the next person becomes hilarious. If that is too much for you, then you are still welcome to pause the game to adjust, but as a party game it hits the right pace with minimal loading times and quick matches.
Games found in the challenge room are based off of the games unlocked through story mode, and while it has a lot to begin with, the replay value comes from attempting to unlock and beat all 50 challenges. Here up to eight players can select individual minigames and compete against one another and have their names placed in the hall of fame forever. In addition to the challenge mode, there are multiple awards that you can earn. This will only be for the die-hard fans, but does provide additional accolades to attempt.
Surprisingly only a handful of the minigames mirror each other, providing a lot of different specific tasks for the Move controller to perform. Games from quick-draw to whack-a-mole to drawing challenges can be found here, with an added color element in a couple of games that makes you match the Move controller’s hue to another action on the screen. The controls are very responsive and the action is frantic, but unfortunately, some of the games are confusing as to how to successfully complete them. The quick tutorial before each is hit or miss, but when it misses it could be frustrating to completely lose a single match because you did not understand what to do.
Lights, Camera, Party! knows what it is going for and hits the mark directly. If you are looking for another excuse to wipe the dust off of your Move controller, look no further, especially if you like to use party games. For the price, it is a great family-friendly party game that anyone can play.
Pros: 50 different challenges, great price
Cons: Steep learning curve
