With the exception of "European delays" (Yes Sony I'm looking at you!) if there's one phrase that instils an unbearable level of fear in me it's "Physical Education." [I'm with you all the way on that one! Ed]. Not because I'm the kind of guy who considers waddling along to McDonald's for a Big Mac and fries to be sufficient exercise (I am), but because of the sheer trepidation caused by P.E lessons. Such horrors will never escape me - like running the track at what felt like the ass-crack of dawn in bloomin' shorts - SHORTS! - all whilst my coat-wearing, coffee-sipping teacher yelled "Faster, Staines! FASTER!" And that twisted individual in the changing room who pulled down my boxers down for all to see? I still have nightmares about him. In fact, to this very day, I'd much rather settle down to a bit of PES as opposed to the real beautiful game. I mean, come on! What's so beautiful about being stuck in goal simply because no one else wants to do it? All that's going to happen is that some wise guy's going to boot the ball in your face really hard and everyone's going to laugh when your mum takes you home with a concussion. No, sports are best suited to face buttons and analogue sticks - and EyeToy: Play Sports is just the latest in a long-running line of sports games.

Except it's not a sports game. And it doesn't have face buttons or analogue sticks. Sure, you're still booting balls into goals, scoring hoops and getting concussion (things can get a tad brutal when those arms are a-flailing!) but this iteration (despite the titular 'sports' that would suggest otherwise) is still very much a party game. For those unversed on the EyeToy who think that it's probably an obscure type of glasses, know that it's a novel little webcam that sits atop your gogglebox, where it monitors your movements and displays your handsome countenance on-screen. As such, you're getting up to the usual arm-waving buffoonery here, only with a newfound sporty theme. Which is all well and good considering that previous EyeToy games were almost more enjoyable than stomping on bubble-wrap and they really will get any party started. So then, with more than three years experience since the original EyeToy Play burst onto the scene, providing unprecedented levels of OMG!-LOOK-MUM-I'M-ON-THE-TELLY levels of fun, you'd think that Sony's baby could party harder than ever before - right? Well, you'd certainly think so, what with EyeToy: Play Sports being the most complete package of the series, but by God are the thrice-a-year updates starting to take their toll.

With a whopping 101 minigames in its boot bag, EyeToy Sports was certainly pitch-ed (snigger!) to dish out something unique and refreshing. However, the whole sports concept feels like something of a gimmick by way of an ever-so-slightly dodgy execution. More often than not, the emphasis on sport feels something of a desperate attempt to justify yet another uninspired title in time for Christmas and something to make Sony money men do a little dance of happiness - because that's what EyeToy: Play Sports is - uninspired. And it repeats like barbecued bat when you consider that more or less nothing has changed following the previous instalment; all you're getting is 'more'. More mindless arm-flailing, more samey minigames and even more mindless arm-flailing.

You probably wouldn't mind if the quirky minigames responded like a charm, but they don't. In fact, they're about as responsive as a drunken, armless blind man driving a Ferrari around a hairpin turn. On a cliff. The EyeToy also craves enough sunlight to make a goth wince in agony before it registers your slightest movements, which is a burden since we don't live in the modern, white and brightly illuminated offices where the game was no doubt tested. We live in houses. On planet Earth. Not the sun. In fact, with the amount of light needed to play this game properly, even if you were playing it on the sun - with your flailing/flaming arms trying to get past the title screen - there still wouldn't be enough light to play these games accurately. To make matters worse, the often contrived design of each the minigames don't bode well for an interface that's about as interactive as a brick wall either.

There are some high moments, though. The Sack Race minigame for example plays out as every contained minigame should have done - seeing you, and a handful of oh-so tipsy pals, jumping up and down in order to pip the other to the post in old-skool style, (that's old-skool with a 'k') and it emulates the hiliarity of the event with aplomb. Other cracking examples of ingenuity can be found in the backstroke minigame, where you'll be swinging your arms backwards (naturally!) in order to swim two lengths of the pool before your friends do. Then there's the boxing minigame, where you have to hit the punch bag like a rabid Mike Tyson to be the first to hit it 99 times. It's fun, and above all else it works. However, for the minigames attempting something far more technical, the decidedly iffy camera recognition renders them nigh on inaccessible - such as the flea-picking minigame, which sees you scratching an itchy mutt's fur to send the odd flea jumping into the air, only to catch it when it does. Not surprisingly, this gets unnecessarily difficult due to the poor movement recognition of the EyeToy. And that's when you know what's being asked of you - when it comes to the more obscure sports (which make up around 30 percent of the package) like, err, ostrich racing, you'll often find yourself staring blankly at the screen. Seriously, bemused isn't the word...

It wouldn't be so bad if the minigames hit you at Warioware speeds, but like a pesky door-to-door salesman, they often outstay their welcome. It's safe to say that on occasions you'll watch on bemused (but that's not the word, remember - so think of a better one. Something like... mystified. That's a nice word.) as rather vague descriptions give no insight as to what you're supposed to be doing. Damn. It's probably arm waving, though. That'll make a change won't it? Awesome!

Unlike most other party games, Kuju (of Battalion Wars fame) have managed to incorporate a system to keep the solo players happy too, rather than just focusing on the multiplayer aspects. Whether it's completing minigames against the clock or against a set number of lives, there are certainly enough single player modes to entertain here. Kudos to Kuju, then. As always, multiplayer's where it's at here and with a couple of pals, it's something of a vital saving grace that often manages to pull the game through the various dark areas of its design.

Whilst the EyeToy only allows four players, it can support up to eight happy party goers in total - which should be more than enough. The majority of multiplayer modes are split into rounds of minigames, which are broken up with rather tedious - unabashedly Viewtiful Joe in visual style - boxing match and football cut scenes, highlighting the winner of the previous rounds. Other existing multiplayer modes are more of the same, often feeling as though they merely exist to make up numbers - a bit like the ginger one in Girls Aloud.

EyeToy: Play Sports just isn't different enough from its predecessors to warrant a purchase for those who've already sampled the EyeToy's novelties. Play Sports takes the biscuit with an array of uninspired "Me too!" minigames and unfortunately the novelty has worn extremely thin. If the concept of manic arm-waving appeals to the little bones in your ears then with 101 minigames and a vast array of (albeit samey) modes, EyeToy: Play Sports is by far the most complete package. However, for some it'll be a lazy entry too far.

Reviewed by Ricky Lee Staines for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).