”Magic: The Gathering” honestly needs no introduction. It is the father of all CCGs (collectible card games) and over the 15+ years it has been sucking the wallets dry of die-hard fans, a number of attempts to bring the game to the video game market have been made, with the most high-profile being “Magic the Gathering: Battlemage” and “Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds.” Both these titles strayed into real-time strategy territory and strayed too far from the core mechanic to be effective. Aside from Wizard of the Coast’s “Magic the Gathering: Online” players not wanting to shell out a lot of money to collect the cards haven’t been able to experience the game in a legal digital format, until now. Stainless Games’ “Magic the Gathering: Duel of the Planeswalkers” has managed to the impossible: bring the game to consoles in a format that is friendly for both (open-minded) veterans and newbies alike. The game however, is not without some notable limitations.

Gameplay

I will forgo explaining the rules of “Magic” as they are far too complex to do so in any concise fashion and if you are unfamiliar with them, the game’s tutorial and in game tips system will get you started in no time. Additionally there is a “mentoring” function where you can get help playing from volunteer gamers; it’s a nice addition and a great way to welcome new people to such a long running series.

The gameplay is very straightforward and the interface is quite elegant, considering the core game relies on multiple cards played out on the table, often with artifact cards attached to them. Selection of cards is handled with the analog sticks and it’s always clear which card you’ve selected thanks to a nice little highlighting mechanism. The right rigger zooms in on the selected card so you can read any game text, see casting cots, or admire the always-wonderful artwork. The designers saved players one major hassle by adding little boxes on each creature card showing the attack and defense value, saving you at least 50-75% on your zooming to cards time. The current game phase is always highlighted at top and the game advances phases either through the timer running out (very rare), the player choosing to end the current phase, or the player in a position where they can do no further actions (at this point, the phase is automatically switched). The latter took a few playthroughs to get used to, as I was quick to hit ‘Y’ to continue and often skipped the next phase on accident due to the auto-change function.

Battles are very clear with arrows showing cards attacking players as well as which cards are serving as blockers. In an attempt to make things a bit more engaging, the designers made the battle resolutions slightly animated. I found it to be a nice touch, but turned it off in the settings after an hour of play, as it slowed things down too much. Also worth noting is the in-game settings; experienced players will definitely want to turn off a default settings, especially the setting where the computer chooses the order in which damage is dealt from battles with multiple blockers. These settings are fine for new players, but will cripple any intricate strategies from more seasoned players.

The big draw for most players will be the online multiplayer which is excellent, with the one major exception of players being able to quit matches early without penalty. This should be fixed ASAP. The game however, features more than just one on one multiplayer. In terms of online play, gamers can play with two, three or four players. Two Headed Giant mode is also present, unfortunately, in perhaps the biggest mistake by the designers, your partner must be playing on your console with you. This is an inexcusable flaw; there is no reason why four online players shouldn’t be able to play this mode. My only thought is the designers figured not everyone online would be able to communicate with their partner. Still, players who can communicate with a partner shouldn’t be penalized here and the option to either play with a local or online partner should have been standard on launch. This is an issue that definitely needs to be fixed with a patch.

Offline players can play a campaign mode where they will unlock the eight different decks in the game (more on this in a bit) and the 17 bonus cards for each deck. The AI in the game is quite challenging, especially on the highest setting, and you’ll definitely have to try different strategies to complete the campaign. There’s also a co-op campaign, but this is strictly for local multiplayer, so for those going for the co-op achievement as well as the 100% achievement, you’ll need a friend to play or plan to man both controls yourself. This is another flaw that should be remedied with a patch to take the mode online. Lastly, is a set of eight challenges. Each challenge sets up you against a specific scenario and requires you to win the game by the end of the current turn. I was shocked that I spent a good 90 minutes running through these side-diversions; a few were genuinely tricky and clever, even for veteran players.

The final gameplay aspect I’ll address is the decks, the key to any good game of Magic. There are indeed eight separate theme decks (one for each core color and three multi-color decks), but your customization options are limited to adding and removing the 17 bonus cards you’ll unlock, each time you win a match (offline or online). This will anger a lot of veteran players as deck building is by-and-large the key to winning, but personally, I like the more restricted play for a game of this nature. If players were given access to either entire sets of cards, online play would be dominated by one or two unique deck designs and the fun for newer or casual players would be drained quickly. The decks that are featured are unique enough to allow players to try quite a range of game strategy and the designers have confirmed additional theme decks will be available for purchase at a later date. If these decks are reasonably priced and equally balanced, the replay value of this game could easily skyrocket.


Graphics and Sound

In the graphics department, “Magic” is a very simple affair. The majority of your graphics come from the cards themselves, and the artwork is great. One of the big appeals of “Magic” when I was younger was the original fantasy artwork Wizards commissioned. The rich cast of creatures and characters honestly take this from merely being a pure numbers battle and breathe in the life and fun a good game needs. The virtual tables share the same style of design and are pleasant, but don’t distract from the game at hand. Again, these aren’t mind-blowing graphics, but the human aspect that went into making each card unique, should be appreciated.

If there is one area where the game just isn’t impressive, it’s sound. The background music is catchy at first, but ultimately repetitive. There are a number of unique sound effects for various actions, but it’s nothing cutting-edge. I find myself quietly putting on my own music when I play campaign mode for any extended time, and when online, try and chat with my opponent, since this is intended to be a social game.

Closing Thoughts

For $10, “Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers” is a lot of bang for the buck. You get eight theme decks (which retail for $7-$10 each in the physical world) that should keep you having fun with online play for quite some time to come. Veterans unable to get past the card set limitations, will likely want to stick to the physical game or digital pay-per-play version from Wizards. The single player campaign, depending on your skill level will keep you busy for a few hours at you’ll need to rack up 130-140 wins in any mode to unlock every card possible. The only fault I can find with the game, as a casual “Magic” fan, is the lack of online co-op play, which as I stated previously, will hopefully be fixed in the near future with a patch. Provided, Wizards and Stainless Games doesn’t botch add-on packs, this online version of “Magic” is going to keep a lot of people entertained and happy, without having to shell out big bucks for the physical cards themselves. Highly Recommended.