Playstation unveils their first on-rails shooter for the new Playstation Move peripheral, appropriately titled 'The Shoot.'

The shoot puts the player in the shoes of a Hollywood action star who is “shooting” a film. The non-traditional use of the word cleverly connects the grouping of different settings without going into to some time altering storyline of a futuristic soldier, or some other patchwork tale of time bending. This is a movie "shoot" where you shoot lots of guns. Arnold Swarchenegger would feel right at home.

Studio 101
From the menu system you are directed to start at 'Studio 101' were you learn how to be the ultimate action hero. Starting with the basics, you learn about shooting (yes, point and click), the multiplier and the director who controls all the action. The basics are shoot the bad guys and not the good guys. Special powers can also be unlocked when you consecutively down your foes to help you through the faster bits of the game. For powers we have 'Showtime' that slows time, sparked by spinning the wand in 360 degrees (which can take a few attempts to be recognized) 'Shockwave' – power shot into the ground to destroy groupings of enemies, activated by pointing wand towards the ground. 'Rampage,' a rapid fire gun that's started by pointing the wand upwards. Lastly, you learn the sidestep move to dodge incoming attacks, precision shooting (don't hit those civilians) and the ability to pistol whip, which is by far the coolest. The controls are pretty straightforward and rightfully so, we don't want any thing extra. Just point and click with a few extras.

Shooting your way to the top
After the tutorial, the 'career' mode unlocks with with 'score attack' and 'challenges' to follow. The career mode is divided into 4 section for each one of the movies. The films you will be staring are as follows; Outlawed, Robotomus Crime, The Mob, Deep Perils, and Haunted House Party. From the names you should be able to put two and two together. 'The Shoot' has everything from cowboys to monsters. Enough variety? I think so.

The set-up for the levels is your typical on-rails shooter action. At the end of each scene you will be scored by the amount of targets you killed, your accuracy and perfect performance, the highest multiplier you reached, a bonus category for special moves like headshots and lastly, the amount of takes you had remaining, which is basically your lives. Each category is worth a 100points and breaks down accordingly by scene then a grand total for the whole level.

For an “on-rails shooter” 'The Shoot' has a quick pace and might be harder then you expect, especially at the higher levels. Actually, I found it quite difficult to master all the gold rankings that are also tied into the trophies. I'm not sure at the age group 'The Shoot' is intended for. However, it might frustrate younger gamers... yikes. If you like a challenge then you will find it in the trophies that have a lot of special activities to strive for during each round. This helps deepen the experience because if you were simply timing the game it could be completed in a couple of hours, but if you factor in the trophies then you're going to be sticking around for a while.

'Score Attack' is your basic, lets get a high score on a level deal. Each of films you have beat are open for one or two players. The other mode, 'Challenges' is again what you probably expect, a grouping of challenges that can played by one or two people. The selection of challenges is pretty slim and could have been expanded. The challenges are fun, but once finished you won't likely be revisiting this section.

When cardboard attacks!
For production the graphics and audio is good enough, but nothing spectacular. The cel-shaded cardboard cutout look is a nice aesthetic that lends itself to the campiness of the story. Although, if this was a real movie shoot wouldn't it be shot with real people? Nevertheless the sets are pretty interesting and filled with fun moments that can be triggered like the player. It's a bit silly blown all these boards to pieces, but its a lot of fun to see the screen get filled with the mayhem of destruction. Some could say its too traditional, but it works.

With only a handful of games available for Sony's new peripheral, 'The Shoot' offers one of the quickest experiences for the new system. In concept there is nothing new here, but that doesn't stop it from being a short, yet frantic game with a few thrills. So if longevity isn't your thing, 'The Shoot' is a satisfying romp for under $40.00.

Super fast action, your wand will get a workout Excellent power-ups for this style of game Themed levels are fun Lots of hidden hot spots and collectables Harder then average difficulty will keep you around Game is short Nothing new here, ride the rail Needs more challenges aside from collecting trophies Audio isn't too hot, the techno thump gets old quick Showtime power didn't always click Quote: "In concept there is nothing new here, but that doesn't stop it from being a short, yet frantic game with a few thrills. So if longevity isn't your thing, 'The Shoot' is a satisfying romp for under $40.00." Reviewed by DowntownJimmy | 11.03.10

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