The much anticipated PlayStation 3 exclusive Sorcery releases tomorrow, but we have spent the last week casting spells and taking down bad guys using the PlayStation Move controller. Was the game worth its weight in faerie dust, or should you leave this one in the cauldron?

Read our review to find out.

It’s not everyday that a game is released that forces you to use a peripheral that not everyone has adopted. The PlayStation Move has been around for a while and hasn’t really had that ‘killer game’ yet that would make gamers go out and grab one. Sorcery just might be the game that does that.

In Sorcery, you play as Finn, the teenage apprentice of an older wizard named Dash.  Finn has a great deal of promise as a sorcerer, but he’s impatient and undisciplined.  Dash’s careful and studious approach to magic has left Finn bored and impatient. When Dash has to travel away, Finn decides to look for a wand to practice with. While practicing, his recklessness destroys one of Dash’s potions he was working on and some of the ingredients are hard to come by. Dash’s talking cat Erline, in an effort to scare Finn into a more obedient state, tells him he must travel to the land of the dead to retrieve more of these rare ingredients. While there, instead of being scared straight by the undead, he learns that he’s just as strong of a sorcerer as he thought he was.

While in the land of the dead you learn how to cast spells using your motion controller. A flick of your wrist sends an impulse in the direction your Move is pointed, and this impulse can destroy objects lying around, as well as enemies. Destroying objects like vases nets you gold coins, which will be used to purchase items (more on this later). Be sure to destroy as much as possible because gold is always valuable. The feel for the controller might take a little to get used to, but once you get past the short learning curve, you’ll be blasting things with precision in no time. Learning how to curve your shots takes a little more practice than a dead on shot, but is well worth learning.

The storyline follows you and Erline as you try to stop The Nightmare Queen from casting eternal night upon the Faerie Kingdom. Your sorcerer leaves the picture for some time, and you’ll have to learn new spells on your own. You’ll eventually learn spells that allow you to master the earth, wind, fire, ice and electricity. By mastering the quick change system of spell casting, you can learn combos that can turn a wall of fire into a fire storm with a flick of your wrist. Blast your pulses into this fire storm, and fire balls will shoot out to take out massive numbers of enemies in seconds. The key to being a powerful sorcerer lies within those combos. Learn them well and no number of ice trolls will stand in your way.

Along your journey there will be chests holding treasures and/or items that you will use with the in-game alchemy system. Potions can be brewed that will upgrade your spell abilities, make you stronger, or turn out to be useless. The 56 combinations are varied and the only way you’ll learn all of the potions is by combining the many different ingredients. It takes 3 separate ingredients for each potion. The actual mixing of ingredients also uses the Move controller, and adds to the great overall feel of the game.

Ingredients are obtained from the aforementioned chests or by purchasing them from the Alchemist that shows up from time to time along your journey. He will give you gold for any treasures you may have found along the way, and will sell you items you’ll need for your potions. The potion bottle is by far the most expensive item he sells, and you can’t make a useful potion without one. Careful thought should be made before hastily purchasing things from him. Looking through your inventory, and knowing what you need for a certain potion, should allow you to make wise purchases. The alchemy system is well thought out, and how you develop your sorcerer is strictly up to you. You can upgrade a few spells heavily, or you can evenly distribute the upgrades across the board. The choice is yours.

The enemies in the game vary from undead ghosts, to overgrown trolls that are generally a pain in the butt. Each enemy has its own spell weakness, and knowing which spell that is is the key to success. There are five unique worlds and each has its own set of unique enemies. The enemies are detailed nicely. Ice trolls are a mean looking sort, as most trolls should be. The many different types of enemies gives the game a varied feel.

The worlds are almost all linear, with a few side tracks that can lead you to hidden chests. Leaving the beaten path at times is a plus, and finding all of the chests is no easy task. For you completionists out there, there is no level select and no back tracking, so finding everything on one run through will be a challenge.

The graphics are top notch and the level of detail within each world is nicely done. This is a very good looking game, with no pixelations even on a big screen TV. While it does only play at 720p, the graphics are still great and easy on the eyes. Gameplay also includes some puzzle solving, and the level of detail on some of these might test your brain power.

The sound track for the game was composed by the award winning composer Mark Mancina. The music ranges from light and fun, all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum with some of the boss battles. The tempo rises and falls depending on your situation, and sets the tone for the overall feel of the game nicely. The sound track is already available on the PlayStation store, and its 28 tracks are worth a listen to.

The PlayStation Move controller hasn’t always been treated with the respect that it deserves from developers. It’s understandable that there are gamers out there that think it’s nothing more than a gimmick brought out by the PlayStation brand to just make a buck. The problem hasn’t been the Move itself, but the lack of a great game utilizing it.

Sorcery is that great game.

9

Ubisoft just announced their plans for beta testing for their upcoming sequel Far Cry 3.

Find out how you can win entry into the beta after the jump.

Today, Ubisoft® announced details for the Far Cry® 3 Multiplayer Beta, which will run for two weeks this summer on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

In the multiplayer beta, up to sixteen simultaneous players per match will have the opportunity to choose from six playable classes and will able to experience online action within multiple maps and modes – including the innovative Firestorm mode. Dozens of weapons with hundreds of upgrades and customizations will also be available. Gameplay includes teamplay-focused experiences with support points and weapons, as well as the ability for all classes to revive fallen teammates.  Zip-lining, combat sliding, psyche gas and barrel bombs are just some of the gameplay elements that can be experienced when playing.

The closed beta will be accessible by invitation only.  With the purchase of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier™ from GameStop retail outlets on May 22, 2012, GameStop® PowerUp Rewards™ members will receive an invitation code to be redeemed at: http://www.gamestop.com/code.  The site will be live on May 22 and validate the invitation code provided exclusively at GameStop. Players can choose to play on either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.  Once the beta is live, players will be e-mailed their actual code which they will enter through their console of choice.

Consumers may also choose to enter via Facebook for a chance to win one of five hundred beta keys at: http://www.farcrygame.com/sweeps.   Consumers that have entered on Facebook and won a beta code will receive an e-mail notification when the beta launches this summer.

Beta keys will also be distributed through Ubisoft social channels such as Ubi.com, farcrygame.com, along with partner social channels and community and media websites.

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, Far Cry 3 is slated to be released in North America on September 4, 2012. For more information on Far Cry 3, please visit www.farcrygame.com
and follow the game on Facebook at www.facebook.com/farcry.

Today, Ubisoft announced that the entire Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha short film is now available on YouTube.

Check out the video after the jump.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha is the 25-minute prequel film to the video game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and follows the Ghosts as they are dropped deep behind enemy lines in order to eliminate one of the world’s most sought-after war criminals.

Ghost Recon Alpha is deeply connected with the video game, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

•  Characters: The main four characters in the movie are the same four playable characters in the video game.

•  Storyline: The movie takes place immediately before a key turning point in the video game’s storyline, a vicious attack against a major European city.

•  Location: the location where the movie takes place will be one of the multiplayer maps available in the adversarial mode of the video game.

•  Exclusive unlock: a secret code is also hidden in the movie, enabling access via Ghost Recon Network to an exclusive weapon unlock playable in Ghost Recon Future Soldier.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha boasts a line-up of top Hollywood talent.  The film was directed by Academy Award winners Hervé de Crécy and François Alaux, who won an Oscar in 2010 for Logorama, and produced by Rhea Scott for Little Minx, a Ridley Scott & Associates company. Tim Sexton, 2010 Academy Award nominee for Children of Men, and Gregory Pruss wrote the gripping script. The film was shot by District 9 cinematographer Trent Opaloch; edited by Pietro Scalia, two time Academy Award winner for Black Hawk Down and JFK; with sound effects and sound effects editing by Per Hallberg, two time Academy Award winner for The Bourne Ultimatum and Braveheart as well as Michael Mann’s Heat; production design by Jan Roelfs (Gattaca, Alexander; and costume design by Sammy Sheldon (V for Vendetta, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Black Hawk Down).  Military Weapons Specialist Harry Humphries, consultant on such notable action films such as Transformers, Thor, Iron Man and Armageddon, ensured that the futuristic weaponry in the film was entirely realistic.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will be available May 22, 2012 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. It will be available on PC on June 12, 2012.

*Note: Ghost Recon Alpha is not rated by the ESRB.

The creators of Warhawk bring us another third person shooter. Did Dylan Jobe and Lightbox Interactive create a successful sequel, or should this title be lost in space?

Read our review to find out.

Incognito software released Warhawk back in 2007 to decent reviews. While it was a multiplayer only game, it still went a long ways in creating a great overall experience. Developer Lightbox Interactive was born in 2009 with Dylan Jobe coming over as president from Incognito. SCEA Santa Monica Studio has partnered with them and have developed their latest release Starhawk.

The first thing you’ll notice with Starhawk is that it’s not multiplayer only. Instead of a couple of simple tutorial levels, you are given a full on campaign mode, as well as 5 co-op levels. While not all that lengthy, it’s still worth the 5-6 hours you’ll need to play through it.

The Starhawk universe is set in the distant future, out in the far reaches of space where factions battle over a rare and dangerous resource known as Rift Energy.  In this galaxy, colonies of humans, called Rifters, explore a scattering of planets, known as the Frontier, in attempt to mine this energy to make an honest living, but find their way of life threatened by the Outcast, a ruthless species of humans who have mutated into psychotic monsters due to exposure to this very same Rift Energy.

Caught in the middle is Emmett Graves, a hired gunslinger ostracized from society because of his own exposure to Rift Energy, leaving him partially mutated, but still able to retain his humanity.  Always around, and mostly always orbiting above you, is your ally in space Sidney Cutter. The story plays out almost like an old west style movie, with the exception of alien worlds and space travel.

The story is well written and easy to follow. It is told through cut scenes between levels with graphics that are comic bookish. It’s an art style that looks great and fits the overall feel of the game. The plot and characters are well thought out. Some of the best narrative comes from in-game chatter between Emmet and his buddy in space, Cutter. Cutter seems like an old cranky feller that fits the old west styling of the game. He acts as your tutor and over-seer. Before each level starts, Cutter will let you know where the Outcasts will be coming from, and in the order of their appearance. This gives the game almost a real time strategy feel to it. That’s not a bad thing, as strategy becomes paramount to survival, and requires more thought than just pointing and shooting.

Starhawk introduces the new-to-the-series Build and Battle system. As you play through each level, taking out bad guys will earn you rift energy. This energy fills up an incremental meter at the top of your screen, and each full piece of energy can then be spent for calling down objects from a drop ship. These objects range from a simple defensive wall, which multiples can be linked together, to landing pads which can spawn warhawks. Strategy becomes necessary if you want to get through later levels, as the difficulty increases as you progress along. Items are dropped and assembled at a speed that is incredibly fast and efficient.

Once you’ve made it through the campaign, and we strongly suggest you tackle that first, you may want to grab a friend and play some co-op. Co-op allows for up to 4 players, either through 2-player split screen between two systems, or with 3 other players from across the Globe. Co-op is basically a horde mode, where you’ll have to survive 6 rounds of incoming outcasts and keep your rift harvester from being destroyed. There is a repair tool on each level, so you may want to locate it before installing your harvester at the beginning of the level.

The rounds begin only after you install that harvester, so taking a look around at the map is probably in your best interest. there are also rift canisters scattered around each map, so finding them before beginning the round is a good idea as well. Each round gets progressively harder, and each round also adds different types of incoming troops. One other useful tip: enemy snipers can’t hurt your harvester, so leaving one off in the distance will keep your current round from ending, and gives you a chance to hit those rift canisters again.

The later rounds will have some airborne Outcasts coming in, so be sure to have plenty of anti-aircraft weapons lying around your harvester. Beam Turrets are very effective against enemy warhawks. If you create your own warhawk and leave it unattended, the Outcasts have no qualms with stealing it and using it against you, so always keep a close eye on those things. They aren’t called Outcasts for nothing. Grand Theft Warhawk should be punishable by death, and it’s up to you to make sure it is.

After testing the Build and Battle System in campaign and co-op modes, you should be ready to jump right in to the multiplayer portion of the game. This is where Starhawk truly shines. All of the basic MP modes are available to choose from. Zones, CTF, TDM and straight up DM are all awaiting you. The community features for the game take this to the next level with clan support, leaderboards, and the ability for users to create Player Hosted Tournaments.

Starhawk’s gameplay does an incredible job of mixing so many different aspects of war into one game. Whether you are wanting to dogfight in space, go toe-to-toe in hand to hand combat, or mix it altogether in one epic battle, the choice is yours. With up to 32 players in one match, battles can truly be on an epic scale. Customizing a map rotation for a group of your buddies is pretty simple and is probably the best way to enjoy the game.

Light Box Interactive and Santa Monica Studio have created an excellent title that should make all Warhawk fans want to move on to the in-spirit sequel Starhawk.

8

Another update for MLB 12 has been released.

Details after the jump.

This brings it up to version 1.16. Check below for the details and let us know what you are seeing.

• Schedules and box score were misaligned for a portion of the games for certain teams.
• Occasionally when loading into online games, an empty field (home plate view) would be shown and user has to PS button out.
• Analog bunting interface, versus a behind the pitcher view in online games would cause a frequent freeze when the user on offense bunted.

Download size is 97mb’s and is only available for the PS3 version.