Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers
I played Magic: The Gathering competitively from ’01 – ’04 and have continued to play sporadically since. Though it is one of the best games I have ever played, both tangible or digital, I was anxious, and a little nervous, to see how they could properly migrate the game to a console based title.
For The First Time Player
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers offers people a tutorial mode that can walk you through the steps and give you a pretty good grasp of how a match plays out. After going through the tutorial, someone who has never played MTG can start playing through the campaign mode immediately. In addition, there are many card and game hints while you are playing that will help you through the first few matches.
You can also use Xbox LIVE to search for a mentor if you still don’t quite understand the game. This will allow you to gain some valuable insight from people who have been playing the game for years, as well as people who just started out and are becoming Xbox LIVE MTG pros.
For The Experienced Player
At its heart, this game really speaks to the experienced MTG player by offering descent deck customization and the ability to use a wide variety of deck types. If you are familiar with the game, you will find the “Combat Animations” and “Zoom Player Card” features annoying, but you can easily turn them off and customize the game in the “Gameplay Settings” menu. I would definitely suggest removing these features because it will cut the amount of time it takes to finish a match in half. Also found in the settings is how to display your cards, so you can view your hand however you want.
Customization of your game has al it needs to enhance your game by adding the ability to choose you “Player Persona,” which is one of the Planeswalkers, change the background where you are playing, and choose your playing field to have your duels.
Xbox LIVE and Achievements
After you finish the campaign, you should be ready to play against people on Xbox LIVE, which dramatically extends the gameplay you will get out of this title. Though it does play a little bit slower on Xbox LIVE, waiting for some inexperienced people to make their next strategic move, the games are very smooth and allow for up to four players to simultaneously play in a single match.
You will get 200 gamer points for finishing all the achievements, most of which are easy to accomplish and can be finished few hours.
BONUS!
If you really enjoy the classic, physical cards of Magic: The Gathering, you may still want
to purchase this game to receive your free foiled Garruk Wildspeaker, which is worth about $24 and is an incredibly powerful card. All you need to do is enter the code they give you over Xbox LIVE on the Magic: The Gathering website and it is on its way.
Final Thought
Deck customization is limited, and the graphics are hardly above average, but this game plays really well and will live up to the expectations of most long time Magic: The Gathering fans. It offers a great experience for both novice and experienced players and the campaign mode and online play offer a near endless combination of matches that will keep you occupied for a while. With a 200 Microsoft Points ($10), this game is definitely worth it for both veteran players and anyone who wants to learn how to play.
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