Growing up, Magic: The Gathering was almost always a part of my life. Even in grade school my friends played it while scoffing at the rest of us who chose to waste our allowance on Pokemon, which they considered a cheap knock-off. As I became older, and my tastes refined, I started getting more into the game; going from someone who made decks stuffed with all their favorite cards to someone who methodically worked on combos and other strategies.
I have fond memories of playing in our high school lunch room, waiting until the last few moments before class started to collect our lunches and scarf them down; all for the sake of a few more turns. So it was my pleasure to review the newest addition to the franchise: Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers.
Duels of the Planeswalkers is Magic – a collectable card game of battling elemental sorcerers – taken online, pure and simple. The game starts with an optional tutorial which can be somewhat redundant for experienced players, especially considering the hints that pop up during play. Otherwise, the tutorial does a good job explaining the mechanics new players.
Magic is a game that has always been a struggle to teach, simply because there is so much to it. However, Wizards of the Coast and Stainless Games have found a way to streamline the process. In removing “unneccessary” stages of play they have created a simpler version of the Magic system that contains only two main phases and a combat (attack/block/damage) phase. These are well explained in the play-along tutorial which touched on every subject with the exception of summoning sickness, which got mentioned in a pop-up later on. I’m sure most any novice player would feel at home with such wonderful direction at their disposal.
However, the welcoming spirit ends there. Once the tutorial is finished, the player starts campaign mode in which you are pitted against a very intelligent AI bot in order to unlock new cards and decks. You start with a Green deck (a color focused on creatures), going up against one of your fellow Planeswalkers wielding a Red deck (the color of damage and destruction). This match was, for me, relatively easy and I moved forward brimming with confidence…. confidence that was promptly shot in the foot during the next match against the White deck. Several times I pitted my green monsters against those white beasts, and each time I was utterly destroyed. I finally had to switch up my game and play with the Red deck I had unlocked (much to my chagrin) to finally win. After that it was on to battle to same Green deck that had fought by my side in the beginning, which promptly chewed me up and spat me out.
To say that the AI is unforgiving is an understatement. It will more than eagerly knock your life into negative double digits for its own perverse robotic joy. This was definitely a surprise, since the game had been very user friendly up until this point. However, the AI does have its slip-ups. In one match, just as I was about to win, it felt the need to regenerate one of its creatures, which was not blocking and didn’t need to be regenerated. It then proceeded to regenerate this creature 10 times in the same phase, for the sole apparent reason of having some sort of last stand, despite it being utterly pointless.
If you’d prefer to have opponents with actual weaknesses you can always play online. You can choose a game against 2-4 other people, or you can spice it up a bit with Two-Headed Giant, where you and a partner work together against an opposing pair. While there weren’t a plethora of available matches, I had no problem finding one to play in. In the 3 and 4-player matches you have the option of staying and watching the game if you are one of the first to be defeated, or you can exit and find a new match. I will admit, the latter was my first inclination since real life matches between more than 2 players can last a while. However, the new streamlined system allows for quicker games so you aren’t strapped to your seat for a couple hours while two guys duke it out.
You might think that online serves only as an endgame once you’ve beaten the campaign mode, but you’d be sorely mistaken. While new and better cards, received after winning campaign matches, definitely help your situation, they’re not necessary for victory. I have not yet beaten campaign mode myself and was still able to hold my own when it came to online play. If anything, this goes to show that Magic isn’t about the cards, but the strategy.
In the end, I don’t think Duels of the Planeswalkers will create too many new Magic fans. Where original and long-time players will feel at home, new players could find it daunting. I worry that the brutal AI could scare off any would-be newcomers who aren’t already familiar with collectable card games. That said, I think old players will find a challenging and well put-together experience that you can pick up and play anytime.
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Things We Liked: Streamlined gameplay makes for simple and quick matches. Very helpful towards new players. Intelligent AI.
Things We Disliked: May be too difficult for players new to collectible card games.
Target Audience: Long-time Magic: The Gathering players. New players who may have prior CCG experience.
(Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers – Available on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360. New to CFD’s reviews? Read our explanation here.)
