The Shoot is Sony's first light gun shooter for the newly named PlayStation Move controller, an arcade-style sci-fi shoot 'em up with a twist, in that you have to twist.
Set in an environment that looks like an alien cyborg invasion of a Hollywood film shoot—at least in the levels we played; later levels appear to have western and horror themes—robotic creatures pop out from behind walls or sneak up from behind columns. Then you shoot them. Initially, it's fairly standard light gun shooter stuff.
The Shoot, developed by Cohort Studios, takes advantage of the PlayStation Move controller in a few interesting ways. While the majority of the progressions is on rails, players can lean from side-to-side by shifting the Move left or right. That helps players avoid oncoming missiles and, sometimes, get a better angle on their shot, especially when robots pop up directly behind innocent humans.
What makes The Shoot more interesting is its special moves, like the Shockwave blast that can clear a screenful of enemies by aiming the Move down below the screen. Similarly, players can enter Rampage—essentially rapid fire machine gun mode—by pointing up above the screen.
Finally, players can slow down time by spinning in place. Yes, you'll need to do a full 360-degree-twist in front of the PlayStation Eye camera to execute the move. Oh, it's delightfully embarrassing to do in a public place.
To do these special moves, you'll need to collect tokens from fallen foes but only after chaining together some respectable combos.
The levels in The Shoot that we played at Sony's GDC event involved moving through a subway station, then fighting cyborgs on top of a moving subway car. Later levels saw us taking down a giant bank-robbing robot, a boss battle that used the "shoot from the hip" mechanic. Basically, the player is required to keep the Move controller at their side, pointed off screen, then perform a fast draw in time with an onscreen indicator.
As far as console light games go, The Shoot was a success. The Move controller has some noticeable lag in its real-world movement to onscreen movement transition, slower than what one might demand of an actual light gun game at an arcade.
But The Shoot at least has some character and some clever additions to the console light gun formula.