Having long been a fan of the Eye Toy games I looked forwards to trying this new incarnation out. The Eye Toy games always aim themselves at being fun and brief. Ideal family or party gaming fodder.

Eye Toy Play Sports is no different in this respect; however it does support up to 8 players, with a maximum of 4 on screen at once.

To get started you must select the number of players then all pose for your picture as headshots are taken. Gaming can be spiced up by pulling faces, donning glasses or bearing parts of your anatomy depending on the crowd you are with. However once the picture is take you are saddled with it for the rest of the game so it may not appear SO funny after the 50th minigame.

Selecting more than one player will allow you to play a football based game. Where winning mini games gets you nearer to scoring a goal.

3 players or more allows a tag team event. The first player to win 3 mini games is awards a natty looking crown. Events can be solo, 2 on 1, all against all etc. Tag team also allows you to add and remove players between games which is a neat feature that doesn’t interrupt gameplay by having to start all over again.

The purpose of the initial headshot is to superimpose your face on a telly-tubby-esque body. Hopefully you’ll be discernable from your counterparts and recognise your cue to leap up and begin a game.

Think bishi-bashi or Warioware with an Eye toy and you are on the right lines. Short, easy to pick up games that anyone can play.

Depending on the format of the mini game you either play the part of your teletubby, or your current image is superimposed onto a small window on the screen. This often takes the form of being the top half of an animated pair of legs, surfer etc. The scaling a rotation of the image is done effectively so you really do look part of the game.

Games require combinations of polishing, running, jumping, ducking etc. So you can get a pretty decent work out, or burn off some of the kid’s energy at a snap.

The boxing game respectfully gets opponents to box back to back and then reverse the image on screen to avoid any potential lawsuits from chinning your Gran with a tasty right hook.

So in summary, there’s no cerebral challenge here, no surprises just more of the same varied mini-gaming that’ll often get your heart pounding. If you have enjoyed the previous Eye Toy games, you’re not getting a shiny new “Wii” for Xmas and have a handful of like-minded mates it’s a game worth getting.