Eye of Judgement

Platform: PS3
Verdict: Eye candy
Rating: 3½/5
Those ignorant enough to that think gaming is still the preserve of the geek need look no further than the DS and Wii's success at Christmas - our once niche hobby is now becoming the mainstream replacement for DVD and music sales. Worry not fellow gamers, Eye of Judgement is a relic from the past, come to abuse new technologies while spitting on casual gaming with the +2 sneer of a basilisk's caustic saliva.
Essentially a card game in the vein of the all-consuming nerdfest Magic: The Gathering, Eye of Judgement uses the PS3's updated eye toy technology to create a mixed reality game where your cards come alive on the screen.
Split into a 3x3 grid, the playing board sits under the gaze of the eye (toy) while you take turns with your opponent to place a warrior card, cast spells and compete to be the first with five cards in play (or be last man standing). When you place a card on the board, the camera reads it and transforms it on-screen into an animated version.
With each move reliant on mana (which regenerates slowly every turn), cards can't just be placed down at any time – big nasty monsters cost a lot to use. Once down, a card is locked to its location and may only be rotated (to face a different adversary) and used once per turn when the mana allows it. Starting off slowly, each game eventually becomes a tense tussle for space on the board with the constant threat of a big hitter being played by your opponent.
Provided you're playing in good light the technology works well, with speedy computation and a charming mix of virtual and reality. The 3x3 board is a regrettably small area in terms of strategy but elemental based mechanics, spells and different attack ranges manage to keep things deep enough to be satisfying.
Online play is also included for those without geek minded mates but ultimately highlights how unnecessary the physical nature of the cards really is. Eye of Judgement is a fun idea, executed well but stands more as a tech demo than a necessary evolution of gaming.