Death is just the beginning…
Medieval Moves is an on-rails hack-n-slash game with motion controls, think of the Sword and Archery games from Sports Champions but fully fleshed out and you’ve got it down perfectly. It’s taken them only around a year to make, so was it time well spent?
The evil Sorcerer Morgrimm has invaded Prince Edmunds Castle and plots to take over the kingdom, raising an army of skeletons from beyond. While trying to stop Morgrimm, our hero, Prince Edmund is also turned into a skeleton! Now named “Deadmund”, he must fight to save his homeland and defeat Morgrimm and his minions to restore order to the kingdom. It’s not a terrible plot, although a bit clichéd and the whole “Deadmund” thing is just laughably bad.
You are given a sword and shield to fight off the enemies who rush you, but you can also use a variety of other items like a bow, throwing stars, grappling hook and so on. Enemies aren’t very smart and parrying their attacks to counterattack is easy thanks to the accuracy of Move. It’s not a terribly long game either, but it is good fun and that’s what is important, although it would have been nice to roam around the levels longer with the Navigation Controller to pick up collectables instead of being forced to move when you aren’t ready.
The story is told through comic-book sequences like that of Infamous, but obviously not to the same quality. Voice-acting is cheesy, but feels right in the context and feel ripped from a Saturday morning cartoon. Load times are long though and the visuals are average, yet it’s still the most enjoyable Move game to date. It’s far from perfect, but makes up for its shortcomings with accurate controls and a truly enjoyable experience.
The Verdict
Medieval Moves makes the best use of Move so far, it’s damn good fun and there’s lots of replay value to be found. If you’ve been dying to find a game worthy of the hardware, then here it is.