'Sorcery'

Sony

Sony PlayStation 3

$39.99 (PS Move required)

ESRB rating: Teen

Review rating: 3.5 stars

It hasn't been very long since Sony and Microsoft promised to revolutionize gaming with their own proprietary motion controls, but very little has actually changed. In fact, the only magic I've encountered is found in Sony's latest title, "Sorcery." By combining motion-based magic controls with an interesting storyline, this game will appeal to more than mere muggles.

Wannabe magicians take on the form of a sorcerer's apprentice named Quinn who is eager to learn the trade. Quinn's master goes missing when the evil Nightmare Queen suddenly covers the Faerie Kingdom with darkness and unleashes her dark army. Now it's up to Quinn and his furry sidekick, Erline, the talking cat, to save the day!

To master the arcane arts, players must use a PS Move wand and either a dual-shock controller or a PS Move Navigation Controller. My preferred setup is using both Move controllers because this combo is much more intuitive, and it helps keep me immersed in the fantasy world of "Sorcery."

Using both wands also makes the game feel more like a generic Harry Potter game with much cooler spells! Movement is controlled with the analog stick in the player's left hand while the PS Wand is magically transformed into a sorcerer's wand. All it takes to cast powerful spells is performing the correct gesture and 'flicking' the controller at the TV screen.

I really appreciate the wide variety of elemental and arcane spells at the player's fingertips, and the ability to combine spells adds to the creativity. Freezing an enemy and then shattering it with a concussive blast is a basic combo, but learning how to set twisters on fire and unleashing them upon the masses is very rewarding! It's also fun to move pillars with magic and mix potions to make Quinn more powerful.

"Sorcery" can become tedious after a while because of the strong focus on action, but it's still a great showcase for Sony's motion controls.

'Nexuiz'

THQ

Windows 7/Vista/XP

$9.99 Download

ESRB rating: Teen

Review rating: 2.5 stars

Both the immense popularity of the "CoD: Modern Warfare" series and recent game releases such as "Tribes: Ascend" prove that twitch-based shooters are making a comeback. My only question is, why would the developers of "Nexuiz" create arena-based combat with a paltry 4 vs. 4 scenario when modern technology is capable of so much more?

Like many old-school FPS games, there isn't much of a story found in "Nexuiz." Perhaps the greatest mystery is why this Quake mod has such an odd name, and what the hell does it mean? Nevertheless, all players have to know is that they're participating in the intergalactic Nexuiz Competition, so try not to get killed!

This game is fast and furious from the moment the first match begins. Although it was started as a mod, the new version runs on the CryEngine 3, so it looks gorgeous and plays silky smooth. Fortunately, the controls are also very intuitive, and handy features like quick weapon changes make combat even faster.

One of this game's distinct features is the ability to use 'mutators' to alter game play. These are usually dynamic and activated by running over 'powerups' found throughout each map. Some mutators are quite minor, like temporary invincibility or forcing enemies to drop their equipment. Other mutators, like giving everyone jet packs or one-shot, one-kill weapons, have a greater effect.

Sadly, all the mutators in video game land can't help a mutiplayer title if no one is playing. Dedicated servers aren't available, and it's extremely difficult to find any active servers. In addition, none of the weapons are innovative, and most are simply generic renditions of weapons I've already seen in hundreds of games.

"Nexuiz" is a good effort at bringing a community-created mod to life, but the end result could use some work.