E3 2011: Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest Hands-On Preview

Though it's not immediately apparent, Zindagi Games' Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest has a lot in common with the developer's previous game, Sports Champions. Played exclusively with the PlayStation Move, Deadmund's Quest is a third-person fantasy action game in which you do battle with skeletons and the like. After the game was announced at Sony's E3 2011 press conference earlier today, we had an opportunity to play through a demo of it in the middle of what was essentially a Jane's Addiction gig. We can't really speak to the quality of the game's audio, but we're happy to report that the rest of the game looks very promising.

Medieval Moves is a rail shooter of sorts; you don't have direct control of Deadmund's movement, but as he moves between different areas, you're able to dispatch foes using your bow and arrows, throwing stars, and sword and shield. The controls for these weapons are similar to those used in Sports Champions' archery, throwing disc, and gladiator events, respectively. Even when playing with a single Move controller (there will also be an option to play with two), switching among the different weapons in your arsenal is quick and effortless, and using the sword and shield together isn't difficult. When you hold down the Move button, raise your shield, and then let go of it, you can swing your sword. Using simple motions in tandem with the Move and trigger buttons, you can perform all of the melee and ranged attacks you need, as well as use a grappling hook to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. You can even drink bottles of milk to restore your health by making much the same motion you would when drinking something in real life. The only face button we needed in the demo was the circle button, which was used to advance to other areas manually. All of the controls were explained very well in a tutorial that preceded the demo proper.

After completing the tutorial, we were treated to a brief cutscene in which Deadmund appeared to be running from a giant skeleton. He entered a tower, and our goal was clearly to battle our way to the top of it, perhaps to get a shot at the aforementioned skeleton's head. Inside the tower, much smaller skeletons posed an almost constant threat; some were armed with ranged or melee weapons, some carried shields, and others simply charged toward us carrying explosive barrels. We found that the throwing stars were often the easiest weapon to use because they were quick and effective both at short at medium range, but enemies using cover at distance more or less demanded to be taken down with arrows. Similarly, the skeletons that were carrying large indestructible shields were most effectively dealt with by counterattacking with the sword immediately after blocking their attacks.

When we weren't doing battle with skeletons, our time with Deadmund's Quest was spent attacking health-restoring milk bottles to pick them up, hitting other point-scoring items in the environment, shooting arrows through ropes, and solving simple puzzles involving cogs and the like. All of the controls were impressively responsive and precise, and by the time we reached the end of the demo, we were switching among weapons and targets instinctively.

Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest is currently scheduled for release this fall. We look forward to bringing you more information on the game just as soon as we're able to get our hands on a more complete version of it.