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Sorcery
PLAYSTATION MOVE REQUIRED
Sorcery has been quite an anticipated title
in the gaming community, especially when it comes to the PlayStation
Move. Given the fact that there has been a wealth of mediocre and
lacklustre PlayStation Move titles, Sorcery was hopefully to
become the redeemer of this innovative control system. Whether Sorcery
broke the PlayStation Move curse remains to be seen but from our testing
of the title, it's actually one of the better games available and
younger gamers will definitely enjoy it.
The
protagonist in Sorcery is Finn, a teenager who has similar parallels to
Harry Potter and is also destined for greater things. However just like
Mickey Mouse from the Sorcerer's Apprentice, things get turned upside
down for Finn when his teacher Dash leaves. While Dash is away, Finn
decides to borrow his magic wand which unleashes a magical adventure for
Finn and his sidekick Erline. However what begins innocently
enough soon becomes quite dangerous when the Nightmare Queen dissolves
an ancient pact with mankind which threatens to plunge the world into
eternal darkness. Steeped in Irish and more importantly Celtic
mythology, Finn and Erline must now challenge the Nightmare Queen and
her minions in order to prevent this disaster as they venture into the
Faerie Kingdoms.
At its
core, Sorcery is a third person action adventure that has the
PlayStation Move controls integrated into the gaming mechanics. There
are four levels of difficulty that commence from apprentice and go all
the way up to sorcerer. To navigate the world of Sorcery, you need
either the supplementary PlayStation Move Navigation Controller or a
DualShock controller which also controls the camera. With your other
hand, you have the PlayStation Move Motion Controller which allows you
to cast your spells and engage in enemies. Although the DualShock
controller works for navigation, it's definitely far superior if you use
the navigation controller.
Like
similar games based on "magic", spells in Sorcery start small and as you
progress, your character Finn becomes more powerful and he can unleash
some impressive firework displays. Although the game doesn't break any
moulds in originality, it is fun to use the PlayStation Move Motion
Controller to cast your spells. You simply flick your move controller
up, point and cast your spell.
The
best aspect of the control system is how accurate it is when you cast
your spells and point your wand at the enemies such as my firestorm or
lightning spells. Spells are elemental based that include ice,
fire, wind, lighting and quake, each with their pros and cons. Apart from attack spells, each of the
spells has secondary uses like spell traps. It's quite fun to
explore these. Add in blocks with
your shield plus rolls and Finn has everything he needs to take on the
nasties in the world of Sorcery.
There
is also an element of RPG used in the game which allows the player to
create potions to upgrade your abilities. Potions are basically the key
to Sorcery which gives you access to more powerful spells as you mix
them all together. Potions are also used to increase your health and
mana which is required for Finn to cast spells. Although potion creation
is not as in-depth as something like the Witcher, it is actually quite
fun to use the PlayStation Move Motion controller as you mix and match,
all while making elaborate gestures such as mixing, sprinkling and
pouring. By pretending to drink from the motion controller, it mimics
your character drinking the potion.
The
currency in the game is gold which can be found in chests and by selling
items to your friendly alchemist who purchases them. These can then be
used to purchase additional ingredients for potions. In terms of
"treasure", this adds a bonus element to the game and does increase the
main gameplay if you attempt to collect them all. Combat is fun,
although the enemies do become a little repetitive, especially when you
get surrounded. With all that said, Sorcery is easily one of the best
move games available for the PS3.
Graphics/Audio
Graphically, Sorcery is missing that AAA look which is unfortunately
shared by many PlayStation Move titles. The backgrounds in the game do
look nice with this strange surreal atmosphere to them. Enemies are well
animated, although there is a lack of variety as mentioned. The highlight with the
graphics is of course the special effects for the magic but given that
the title uses the Unreal engine, it does limited what the developers
achieved. The soundtrack
of Sorcery suits the genre well as does the voice acting of the title
which is quite professionally done. Sound effects also work well with
the gameplay.
Final Level
In the end, Sorcery is an enjoyable game that can be played by both
adults and children alike. Just be warned that the difficulty level is a
little on the easier side and it should take most gamers around 8 or so hours
to complete. |
