7.5

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.