GDC 10: A few minutes with Magicka

6:40 PM on 03.10.2010   |   Brad Nicholson

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Screw Barbarians -- wizards can roll hard, too. This afternoon I played a peculiar action adventure title called Magicka. In brief, it’s a ranged-heavy twist on Diablo. You play as one of four multi-colored wizards, each with the ability to cast and combine a diverse amount elemental spells via a quick-snap radial menu. For example, you can combine a lone Water and a Lightning element to make a super nasty electrical attack or couple a Water and Fire for a steam attack.

Top-down and simple, I’m unsure if the mechanics will hold up after several hours of play. My spidey sense tells me repetition could get the best of me. But Magicka is a four-player coop-focused game, meaning there’s more to the experience than just the core game. Friends don’t let friends get bored with orcs. That's a fact. Google it.