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.

A boy and his blob takes on a whole new meaning in this Indie-developed game for Xbox Live

What do you get when you cross aliens, a mysterious galactic force out collecting those aliens, and a bottomless pit in the shape of a blob? You get developer Twisted-Pixel’s hilarious new take on the platforming genre, “Maw”, which hit XBLA shelves on January 21st. The game was showcased on the floors of 2008’s Penny-Arcade Expo (PAX) and earned the Audience Choice award during the expo’s showcase of new independent games.

Equipped with only a leash gun, you play as the title’s protagonist Frank; an alien who befriends and controls the real star of the game, Maw, by “leading” him around the levels of the game in order to get him to grow and gain new abilities which allow you to solve the level’s puzzles and continue on through the game. Maw starts out as a tiny pink blob on your screen who is only able to eat the tiny puffball creatures that inhabit the first (and most of the subsequent) planets in the game. As he eats more his size increases and he is able to eat the larger and fiercer creatures that play an integral part of the game. Being able to eat these larger creatures becomes important because as your blobular friend eats certain animals he inherits the abilities that each of these creatures possesses; these abilities become necessary to solve the puzzles that Frank and Maw encounter as they progress through the game’s straightforward level designs.

Though the difficulty has been turned down, controlling Maw can become slightly annoying at times with no true way to get him to go where you would like (all he does is follow you and hopefully he’ll get the hint and do what you were planning for him to do), and the storyline itself is quite bland and mostly non-existent the experience itself is there and will push players forward to finish it. This game is a colorful and light-hearted take on the platformer genre that will have experienced players chuckling at the antics of Maw and newcomers to gaming receiving a good introduction on how a game should be played and especially the definition of what a quality game actually is.

As of January 21st, Maw was available on the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade System for 800 points ($10) and is well worth the price tag for anyone who thought that platforming was becoming a bit stale, for parents looking to get their children a light-hearted, kid-friendly game, or for achievement hunters (as most of the game’s 200-point achievements can be received through a weekend of casual playing or a day’s play-through).

Twisted Pixel has also recently announced that Maw will be getting three additional levels in the coming months for the small price of 100 MS points a piece. Each of these levels are supposedly going to flesh out a little bit more of the story and will play as “Deleted Scenes” from the game as well as coming equipped with an additional achievement for each. No specific dates have been given but Twisted Pixel did say that these would be three seperate releases from one another.

Bottom Line:

• Presentation: Colorful, well-done graphics that are truly amazing for an Xbox Live title and easy-to-like characters make this a winner in the presentation department. The game, while easy, can easily grab players of all kinds and allows for a truly enjoyable experience.
• Sound: The Soundtrack is a mix of funky music and hearing Frank yell for Maw as well as Maw running away from enemies is a truly humorous experience that almost always seems to get a laugh.
• Replay Value: Moderately Low, though achievement hunters may replay the game in order to get the full 200 points most people will be done with the game once it’s over. That may change though with the promise of extra levels and content looking promising. This could substantially raise the value if the levels are actually worth the price.
• Difficulty: Good for newcomers to platforming and younger gamers but can almost become boring to seasoned veterans. Older gamers will have to look towards the overall enjoyment and humor presented in the game as well as the art-style to hook them into this title.

For more information on this game, visit the website http://www.whatisthemaw.com