Sorcery Preview

You're a wizard, Harry.

Wizards have had quite the ebb and flow of popularity in the past decade. First I thought they were kind of lame. I mean, what's with the hat? Shave your face, yuppy!

Then Gandalf and Harry Potter started to get back on the "hot" lists and suddenly Nintendo and Sony were releasing wand-like motion controllers. It seems like Sorcery is about to capitalize on the last gasp of the wizarding hot streak.


Utilizing the PlayStation Move controller, Sony Santa Monica and The Workshop have given players a magic wand to do action-RPG-esque battle with. Players will be armed with six different powers, including Ice, Fire, Wind, and Earth. But individually, these abilities mean nothing.

Combining powers is the real meat of combat. While games might usually limit the combination of elements to two, Sorcery lets players throw three different powers together to see what comes out. For instance, when faced with a particularly powerful enemy or a large group of baddies, you might want to lay down a wall of fire to section off a safe zone for yourself. Firing your standard magic bolts through this wall will turn them into fire bolts.


Similarly, whipping up a tornado with your wind power will allow you to create a maelstrom of fire and wind. Using your standard wind blast will let you direct this hell-tornado towards other enemies to pick them up and damage them as you carry them across the arena.

Of course, switching back to your standard bolt and firing at this fire tornado will ricochet multiple shots at everyone nearby. Knowing when and which powers to combine will be lesson one, but getting a good handle on these abilities is fast and fun.

It seems obvious that the PlayStation Move should transform into a magic wand, but Sorcery seems set to pull it off with style and substance as well. Wield the Move's magic on May 22nd when the title lands on the PlayStation 3.