Sorcery for PlayStation Move available in Spring 2012

Sorcery has resurfaced with a brand new look. The PlayStation Move exclusive will be available in Spring 2012, and we go hands-on.

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After a lengthy reveal at E3 2010, Sorcery for PlayStation Move did an Evanesco--it vanished.

The game resurfaced last week at a PlayStation event in New York City. Sorcery was back, ready for a Spring 2012 release. So, what happened in the time since we last saw the game? According to design director Brian Upton, the game had undergone a major visual facelift. The gameplay, however, was entirely intact, he insisted.

Sorcery certainly looks much better than it had at E3. The world is much more colorful, and realistic-looking. It immediately made a better impression.

In Sorcery, you take the role of a young sorcerer's apprentice named Finn, tasked with taking on the Nightmare Queen with a variety of spells. The Move controller is your virtual wand, letting you use gestures to cast spells, and throw various magics. As in Magicka, the various elements can be combined for new effects. For example, the "Firenado" is a cyclone spell combined with the fire wall.

Unlike most Move games, you won't necessarily need to use the controller to "point and aim" at the screen. It appears the controller is being used largely for gestures. However, don't expect to just waggle and flick your wrists. Although no reticule appears on the screen, you are still aiming at enemies. Throwing lightning bolts, for example, feels reminiscent of throwing a Frisbee in Sports Champions. You can even put spin on your throw, arcing it above and around cover.

You'll be able to switch between the eight magical spells available in the game by using the D-Pad on the Navigation Controller. However, it's supposedly faster (and more fun) just to use gestures. It's part of what makes the game so immerse, right? In addition to switching spells, there will be points in the game where you be forced to mimic on-screen motion commands, to open a door, or move an obstacle, for example.

The puzzles and enemy encounters featured in the demo were rather simplistic. While the controls certainly worked, I couldn't help but think that this game didn't really need the PlayStation Move. Unlike Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest, I could easily see how a standard DualShock could be adapted to play the game. While I definitely had fun with Sorcery, and am excited by its potential, it doesn't stand out as a "system seller" for Move--not yet, anyway.

Sorcery will be available exclusively for PlayStation Move in the Spring.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 14, 2011 10:30 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Sorcery for PlayStation Move available in Spring 2012.

    Sorcery has resurfaced with a brand new look. The PlayStation Move exclusive will be available in Spring 2012, and we go hands-on.

    • reply
      December 14, 2011 10:37 AM

      This is about the only game for the Move that even remotely interests me. Which is unfortunate, as it's been a lengthy development process since it was originally announced.

    • reply
      December 14, 2011 10:38 AM

      Wasn't the original concept for this first person? Would've looked much better that way IMO.

      • reply
        December 14, 2011 10:45 AM

        No, the original trailer looked like a third person Harry Potter iirc.

      • reply
        December 14, 2011 11:25 AM

        The game you're probably thinking about is Medieval Moves, which released on Move a month ago.

    • reply
      December 14, 2011 10:46 AM

      It is fun and games until you get beheaded.

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