Review: Magic the Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers

Playing Cards is a serious business

I’ve never played Magic:The Gathering before. I know this means I’ve lost the little bit of “Geek Cred” that I may have earned, but I have played a number of Trading card games (what most people refer to as TCG’s) in the past (of which will remain unnamed for reputation’s sake). With Stainless Games and Wizards of the Coast’s (creator of the original card game) newest release on the XBLA, I figured that now was a good time to get familiar with what is seemingly one of the most popular card battling games to exist. I can honestly say that, after entirely too many hours playing this game,  I have definitely missed out on a great franchise.

While the game itself is littered with small lags and a confusing Xbox Live  multi-player element, it is still a great introduction into the series. Beautifully crafted cards, an ongoing tutorial as you get deeper into the game (you can turn it off if it gets annoying), and a really simple interface make this probably one of the best “teaching” programs for learning the game. While it won’t teach you the finer points of a traditional TCG since it does not allow for deck-building or a deeper customization of the pre-existing decks (all you can do is add new cards that you win for being victorious in your duels either through the story or online), it does give you a sense of the grand scale of play that this game offers. With multiple colored decks that each have their own strengths and weaknesses that can also be combined with one another into some pretty deadly combinations, there’s a lot to the game at hand. But don’t think that after you’ve mastered this game you can walk into any hobby shop and master the tables because this game is only a slice of what actual players experience out in the world of reality.

One of the main problems with this game is a problem I mentioned earlier and is one that sets it apart from the traditional card game as both a positive and a negative: the inability to build and customize your decks. While it’s been rumored that the developers will eventually allow for players to build decks and buy different booster packs, until that happens the game really doesn’t have the same sense that makes games like this so great and that is actually learning what works and what doesn’t within a deck. These games are more than anything else games of trial and error mixed in with a little bit of luck and while this offering does show you that luck of the draw is an important piece of the game the decks are still built mostly like they should be for optimal playing which means you don’t have the feeling that most players get when they finally realize they’ve built the right deck for their play styles and crush their opponents. This does mean though that the game remains a relatively inexpensive ten dollars and that you don’t have to drop hundreds of dollars in order to be a worthy opponent online. This is one of the catch-22’s of all TCGs: those who spend the most money have a better ability to build better and more powerful decks and makes them seemingly inaccessible to a “casual” player unless they’re surrounded by others who are just like them. This is where the 360 title shines; in the fact that it gives the casual player (at least for now) a chance to learn and enjoy the game without spending an entire paycheck or maxing out a credit card in order to build a playable deck.

One other problem that both hardcore and casual players will find is the online offering. It does work but takes some getting used to and is quite limited in its offering. The games can be slow (much slower and laid back than playing an actual game) and the only offering that seems to be over XBox Live is the 2-4 player duel. Cooperative mode and “Two-Headed Giant” mode (which seems to be like a double co-op duel between two teams) seem to be limited to offline multi-player (though if I’m wrong please let me know as I just couldn’t figure out how to play either of those over the Internet), which does make sense with the nature of both of these modes. It would be nice if they could make it work as the Two-Headed Giant mode seems, after it being explained to me by a veteran magic player, like it would be a lot of fun (its quite difficult for me, a casual player of this game, to really explain it in-depth so I’ll refer you to Laura Mills and Anthony Alongi of Wizards to explain it a bit better: it’s old but it gets the job done).

While hardcore Magic players will find the game’s few limitations frustrating , new and casual players will find a game that is quite addictive and a good learning experience that really makes the game itself seem more accessible and not nearly as scary as looking at row upon row of magic cards and books that one would find if they were attempting to get involved in the actual game. Stainless Games and Wizards of the Coast have created a game that could quite possibly hook more players (and their wallets) and it almost seems as if making this offering a full magic game might take away from the subtle introduction that it is into the vast world of Magic: The Gathering. Both companies really need to pick their path wisely as they may end up doing what the actual game seems to do: scare off casual and new players with having so much to learn and do before you can actually play a game. To me it seems like this idea works better as an interactive, basic instruction manual and should remain that way (deck-building or not) as both casual and hardcore players can still find tons of enjoyment from the game without it being a full experience.