Almost two years after its official announcement, Sorcery, the PlayStation Move title, is released this week and is considered one of the most promising games for motion control on PlayStation. After the original concept of Sorcery was slightly modified to appeal to both casual and core gamers, we'll see if Sony has managed to strike this balance.
The story of Sorcery revolves around the young wizard Finn, who can't wait to immerse himself in the world of magic. He takes advantage of his master Dash's absence to sneak a wand. In his overzealousness, Finn accidentally spills a magic ingredient, which he now tries to replace unnoticed. However, this ingredient can only be found in the realm of the Banshee, as his constant companion Erline, an enchanted cat, reveals, and so the two set off. Once there, further secrets about Erline and her evil mother's plans are uncovered. Sorcery offers a charming little fantasy story aimed primarily at casual gamers. At the same time, it provides a nice showcase for the Move controller technology behind the game.
The most important element in the game is, of course, the magic wand, which you metaphorically hold in your hand as the PlayStation Move controller. To complement this, you'll need either the navigation controller or a DualShock 3 controller, with the former offering significantly more comfort. Since the second official announcement of Sorcery, it's been mentioned more than once how powerful the PlayStation Move controller is and how precise it should be in the game. The magic dust in the game precisely tracks the movements of the Move controller in your hand, allowing you to aim in almost any direction in front of you. As you progress through the game, you'll quickly learn how the individual spellcastings behave and in which direction they travel. Naturally, it takes a little practice, and in the heat of battle, it's not uncommon for a spellcaster not to land in the intended direction. The key is to focus on where your opponents are positioned and aim your attacks accordingly. Spellcastings can also be thrown around corners or combined with objects in your environment to create even more powerful attacks. For example, if you send a simple arcane bolt through fire and thereby ignite the opponent.
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While swinging your wand, you can simultaneously move freely using the navigation controller. Finn always faces forward, even when running backward, so his attacks are always directed forward. The combination of rapid, consecutive spellcasting and simultaneous movement creates an incredibly satisfying and powerful feeling while playing – even Harry Potter would be envious. However, we find the self-locking camera somewhat annoying. While it's probably the best solution for the game, it unfortunately often causes problems in fights against multiple opponents. The camera always focuses on the single enemy you're currently attacking. This can lead to situations where you've almost completely weakened an enemy, and the camera suddenly shifts its focus to another enemy nearby, directing your spellcasting towards them. During this time, the original target recovers, which can frequently result in seemingly endless battles. But if it's any consolation that you get a trophy for having to repeatedly attack an enemy and still not defeating them, you'll receive one. It would have been nice to have the option to target only one enemy completely yourself. The camera, which is usually always behind you, also often makes things difficult when moving backward and getting stuck on obstacles you can't see. Here, too, you're frequently cornered in combat with no way out. Later in the game, you can use the navigation controller to raise a shield and deflect ranged attacks. You can also use it to perform a shield thrust forward, pushing back enemies that are too close, or to shatter porous stone walls.
Furthermore, the Move controller allows you to activate potions by shaking them and consume them with a drinking motion, repair or remove obstacles using telekinesis, and even open doors. Overall, Sorcery is the most elaborate implementation of the PlayStation Move controller to date, presenting a real challenge, especially when fighting multiple enemies or bosses. You have to concentrate on how and with what you attack your opponents, rather than just firing wildly in all directions. This is especially true when using and combining different magical abilities. Ultimately, it's this complexity and precision that will appeal to core gamers.
The second most important aspect of the game is alchemy and magical abilities. Wherever you find things in the game, you can combine them into powerful potions and gain special abilities. For example, you can create a powerful whirlwind or a ground pressure wave that you trigger with a single strike on the ground, provided you have enough energy. However, potions must first be researched before you can use them. You can find the necessary ingredients everywhere or trade or buy them from a merchant you occasionally encounter. In total, you can combine over 50 different types of ingredients, which ultimately produce potions that allow you to transform.
Graphically, you can expect a vibrant fantasy world amidst rocky landscapes, deep caves, icy gorges, and verdant meadows. The art style is a light comic-book aesthetic, which is perfectly suited to the game and looks great. The enemies and bosses, in particular, are crafted with meticulous attention to detail, especially noticeable in the ice troll. Our hero, Finn, however, could have benefited from a bit more attention, as his face appears somewhat lifeless. The cutscenes are told within a fairytale book, with the story presented through beautiful animations on its pages. Combined with the numerous effects visible during spellcasting and throughout the game, it's fair to say that the developers have done a truly excellent job for a title like Sorcery.
From a sound perspective, there's little to complain about. The fully German dubbing is excellent, although Erline's tone of voice can become a bit grating after a while. The soundtrack itself is inspired by mythical and Celtic music and perfectly complements the action on screen.
Official homepage: www.sorcery-spiel.de
