Sports, we love them, but we are lazy gamers sometimes. Now, we don’t need to be lazy, we can play them even when it’s sub-zero temps outside and there are piles of snow on the ground. Put together Bocce Ball, Disc Golf, Beach Volleyball, Table Tennis, Archery and throw in Gladiatorial Duels to make things more interesting and you’ve got Sports Champions. Sure, it’s akin to Wii Sports showing off how to use the Playstation Move controls, but this game is very well put together with only some minor things I didn’t like.
I’ll give a run down of each sport in turn. First, I want to talk about the overall pieces of the game. In Sports Champions you choose your character from some very stereotypical and possibly offensive pre-made characters. Racial stereotyping in games like this is questionable at best. The only customization of these archetypes is their clothing which you unlock by scoring enough points against them as well as completing some challenges. With names like Kenji, Connor, Jackson and Dallas, I’m sure you see what I mean.
Other accessories include new weapons or gear to go along with the new clothes. I’m not really offended by the archetype characters in the game but some of you may be and so I 
might suggest letting the developers know. The graphics in the game are quite cool and the environments have a lot of detail to them and aside from the random grunting and groaning of the characters, the sounds are quite good as well. The music comes in and out almost as if reacting to the tension in a match but I suspect that it’s more random than that.
In games that require you to hit a certain area, like Disc Golf and Bocce, that area is well marked and easily found. This makes the game enjoyable as you don’t have to search for where to go. Plus you have a camera fly over for these games. Also in Bocce and Disc, the environment plays a vital role in the game. Especially in some of the more diverse areas of play. The disc does do a good job of skipping and skidding on the ground and ice in a very realistic fashion.
Archery is a mix of hitting tarets faster than your opponent to score more points or being more accurate with separate targets. There are both moving and stationary targets and the matches are challenging. I picked up a second controller so that I could test the two controller configuration and have multiplayer available. You don’t need 2, up to four players can share one controller in most games. I have to say, the second controller being held out in front you does block your vision from time to time and makes it very difficult to aim. I tend to prefer to use just one controller for archery.
