Sorcery - First Look
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Normal PS3 game demos don't take place with the presenter's back turned to the audience, but this demo is definitely not for a normal game. With his face and body in the center of the screen, our demonstrator waves his right arm wildly, hurling magic missiles with ferocity at an incoming wave of goblins. This is Sorcery, the upcoming Move game that is all about putting you in the body of a powerful sorcerer.
The story of the game is still being worked out, but I was told that it's focused on Gaelic/Irish mythology. Not that the story was essential to understanding the game's appeal, as that became readily apparent as soon as the player started blowing his enemies away with small gestures of his hand. Normally, a motion controlled game like this would attach the camera's controls to the pointer, making spell casting with your hand a dizzying affair, but Sorcery gets around this by auto-aiming for targets based on the general area you were trying to cast in. This seemed to work in the demo, and allowed the player to focus on getting the spell casting motions right, rather than worrying about whether or not they're even facing the right way.
Players will likely have six to eight core spells when Sorcery launches, but these become more complex because the game allows you to combine them together. For instance, at one point in the demo the sorcerer laid down a wall of fire and then, using his whirlwind spell, sent a vortex of air across it to turn it into a spinning gust of fiery death. It looked great in practice, and the controls seemed to work well in the hands of someone who's used to them, but I'm a little worried that doing motions to cast spells for hours on end will become tedious. I mean, maybe it's just me, but any game that requires rigorous motion of my arm starts to feel like work without the happy ending.
Sorcery is obviously still very early, and it showed due to the relatively bland environments and enemies. The whole demo basically takes place in a very same-y looking dungeon, which is also filled with clones of the same goblin, apparently. Still, despite the kinks that need to be fleshed out as the game progresses, I have to say the Sorcery's relatively intuitive looking controls could make this a title that draws in a more casual audience to the system. I, for one, don't think it's just chance that the game immediately conjures up images of a Harry Potter title done right, even if it's not about a school boy or flying brooms.
If this game manages to throw a wide variety of environments and enemies into the mix -- and maybe a few cool puzzles just for good measure -- I could see it turning into a potential crossover title for the "? " and "casual" gamers. But, as it stands now, it comes across more like a really cool proof-of-concept piece than an actual game; a title that shouldn't be ruled out just yet, but feels like it was shown a little earlier than needed. Let's give this one a little more time to cook, eh, Sony?
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/111/1114039p1.html
The story of the game is still being worked out, but I was told that it's focused on Gaelic/Irish mythology. Not that the story was essential to understanding the game's appeal, as that became readily apparent as soon as the player started blowing his enemies away with small gestures of his hand. Normally, a motion controlled game like this would attach the camera's controls to the pointer, making spell casting with your hand a dizzying affair, but Sorcery gets around this by auto-aiming for targets based on the general area you were trying to cast in. This seemed to work in the demo, and allowed the player to focus on getting the spell casting motions right, rather than worrying about whether or not they're even facing the right way.
Players will likely have six to eight core spells when Sorcery launches, but these become more complex because the game allows you to combine them together. For instance, at one point in the demo the sorcerer laid down a wall of fire and then, using his whirlwind spell, sent a vortex of air across it to turn it into a spinning gust of fiery death. It looked great in practice, and the controls seemed to work well in the hands of someone who's used to them, but I'm a little worried that doing motions to cast spells for hours on end will become tedious. I mean, maybe it's just me, but any game that requires rigorous motion of my arm starts to feel like work without the happy ending.
Sorcery is obviously still very early, and it showed due to the relatively bland environments and enemies. The whole demo basically takes place in a very same-y looking dungeon, which is also filled with clones of the same goblin, apparently. Still, despite the kinks that need to be fleshed out as the game progresses, I have to say the Sorcery's relatively intuitive looking controls could make this a title that draws in a more casual audience to the system. I, for one, don't think it's just chance that the game immediately conjures up images of a Harry Potter title done right, even if it's not about a school boy or flying brooms.
If this game manages to throw a wide variety of environments and enemies into the mix -- and maybe a few cool puzzles just for good measure -- I could see it turning into a potential crossover title for the "? " and "casual" gamers. But, as it stands now, it comes across more like a really cool proof-of-concept piece than an actual game; a title that shouldn't be ruled out just yet, but feels like it was shown a little earlier than needed. Let's give this one a little more time to cook, eh, Sony?
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/111/1114039p1.html