Forrest Gump says life is like a box of chocolates. If that’s true, “Yoostar 2: In The Movies” is one of the gooey, fun pieces.
The T-rated game from Yoostar Entertainment lets you step into some of Hollywood’s most famous movies — including “Forrest Gump” — and put your own spin on a scene. It uses the PlayStation Move and Xbox 360’s Kinect to capture video and audio and insert it into one of 80 scenes from movies ranging from “Frankenstein” to “The Hangover.”
At its most basic, “Yoostar” involves selecting a scene, choosing an actor to replace and then reading the script while making any required motions. The software then takes your face and voice and replaces the original actor and plays the scene back for you. It will grade how well you matched the script. You then have the option to upload the scene to your console, Facebook or Twitter.
Of course, doing the scenes straight from the script can be fun. It’s much more fun to switch things up by twisting a few lines or changing the demeanor of the character in the scene. For example, one “Yoostar” fan dressed as Jar Jar Binks joins Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road in the earlier PC version of the game.
I have to admit that I felt a bit self-conscious at first, but enjoyed the “limelight” quite a bit once I got a few scenes under my belt. Things really picked up when family and friends joined in the action. Quite a few of the scenes permit two actors to work together.
In addition to jumping in and re-creating your favorite scenes, you can play through a set of challenges in a sort of campaign mode. And if you’re especially adventuresome, you can create a scene of your own using backgrounds available in the game.
Overall, the game worked pretty well. I tested it using the Kinect, and its cameras did a good job of separating the “actor” from the background clutter as long as the lighting was good — and none of my friends was making a fool of himself in the background. The edges can be a bit jagged at times, but the results are very good when compared to some other games to use video capture.
The biggest technical drawback is the audio, which can seem a bit muffled if the conditions aren’t ideal.
Most of the movies tend to be male-oriented, with scenes from the likes of “300,” “Terminator” and “Shaun of the Dead;” there are only a handful of chick flicks. Of course, I think that’s great. However, it seemed that quite a few of the scenes were a bit flat — if you followed the script.
You can also download additional scenes through a user-friendly interface in the game, but the selection is pretty limited at this point.
Bottom line: “Yoostar” has plenty of potential as a party game. As more downloadable content becomes available, it could easily move up to an “A” rating.
Platforms: Xbox 360 (tested), PlayStation 3
Online: www.yoostar.com
