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Monday, June 18, 2012

Darkmatters Review: Sorcery


Sorcery (PS3)

Developed by SCEE / Santa Monica Studios

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

It’s a (new) kind of magic…

As a Christian, Sorcery isn't high on my 'to do' list but then 'saving the world' is kind of necessary so  forget your imaginary arm waving kinect efforts and pick up your PlayStation Move controller which here serves as your all powerful magic wand.

You play as Finn a young sorcerers apprentice who must use his newly acquired magic skills on his travels deep into the heart of the Faerie Kingdom. Along the way, you get to master the various types of magic – arcane, earth, ice, fire, wind, and lightning – in order to stay alive, and to become truly deserving of bearing the title sorcerer.

The PlayStation Move has probably never been as well used as it is here – as a magic wand it delivers pitch perfect accuracy to allow you to conjure up spells, such as attack, defend and enchant.

The gameplay is really slick (I was expecting it to be frustrating and annoying) but the team behind Sorcery have polished up some genius gesture based controls which will soon see you switching spells with a flick of the wrist, no need for buttons or menus.

"boss battles break up the gameplay"

On your way to becoming a powerful sorcerer you must overcome environmental puzzles while you use unique gestures to repair bridges or unlock doors.

There is a deep alchemy system with over 50 potions to do things like enhance your magic or heal yourself - searching for ingredients & powerful recipes is a lot of fun in itself – much like the side questing time spent skinning creatures in Red Dead Redemption etc.

OK so the main story is a bit hockey – you know the drill, step up to save the world from a powerful enemy… But at least the well crafted controls allow you to immerse yourself in the story and set out across this ancient mystical world with unique realms to explore.

"summon up a tornado at will"

The PS3 is blessed with many great exclusive games but I wasn’t expecting Sorcery to be one of them – I can’t think of another100% motion-controlled title which I’d actually call a ‘must buy’ but this is one for sure.

Santa Monica studios have conjured up something a bit special here and you’d be a muggle not to enjoy this wizard adventure. Finn and his magical cat companion, Erline, are a great double act in the vein of other quality PS3 games such as Ratchet and Clank or Jak and Daxter.

Wielding your Move wand is a joy – the light changes colour depending on what you are doing e.g. the dome will shine blue when you need to interact with something or red when drinking a health potion. For most attacking purposes you’ll have a glowing purple sphere on your Move.

Sorcery is possibly the best Move title yet and it shows the Sony have not abandoned their motion controller. This along with PixelJunk 4am, Sports Champion 2 and Dance Party 2 are worthy reasons to get your Move on!!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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4 – Feel the power of the magical Move!?





"Emma Watson - alas no Hermione to be found in Sorcery..."





"do some magic" says Amber Heard!?



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