[BullShifter]

If there's some play it could be very dangerous. For instance a tie rod is going bad and breaks while your flying on an entrance ramp, you will loose steering control of the side that broke. I'm sure you can imagine what happens from there.

The easiest way to check the front suspension is to:
Raise and support front end, no weight on the tires
Grab the top of tire with one hand and the bottom with the other hand
Rock the tire in and out - if it moves that way it's probably a bad upper or lower ball joint
Next grab the tire on the side, one hands towards the front and other towards back.
Rock tire that way - if it moves that way it's probably a tie rod
If it moves both ways, possible bad wheel bearing.
You should be able to see and hear a bad ball joint or tie rod while doing the above process.

Bushings can also go. The only way to know for sure is to inspect. There is no reason to guess when it could mean your life.