Pros
*Basic feel of the card game*Able to connect and play with friends online or players around the world
*Challenges are thought-provoking *Potentially useful tool to get new players interested *Comes with redeemable code that you can take to your local stores and get free cards Cons *Cannot create your own decks
*Interface on the 360 can be difficult at times
*No real story Console: Steam/Xbox 360 Live Date Released: 06/20/2012 Date Reviewed: 06/27/2012 Reviewer: Richard Magic the Gathering is a card game that has been around for almost 20 years. While it was not the first collectible card game, it is one of the most popular (only surpassed by the much younger Yu-gi-oh). Most card games rarely last more than a few years, but it is easy to see why Magic has stood the test of time. It is a game that is very easy to learn, but hard to master. I remember buying my 4th edition starter deck around 1996 and being fascinated by the gameplay mechanics and have been playing off and on for the last 16 years.
It is only natural that Magic be produced in video game form as the digital age progressed. While most incarnations were not successful, they did manage to produce a few gems such as Magic Online. In 2009, Wizards of the Coast introduced “Duels of the Planeswalkers” for Xbox Live and then later for Playstation 3 and PC. Duels turned out to be a success and two years later “Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012” was released and resolved many issues from its’ predecessor. And now, one year later, we have Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013. I usually purchase the Xbox Live version, however this year (much like last year) they had a special promotion to get a 6-card booster pack with an alternate art promo card, one for each console. Thus, I ended up purchasing the Steam version as well. While both versions are fundamentally the same, there are some slight differences and I will cover those to the best of my ability in this review despite my limited time with both.
Presentation : B+ Graphics / Animation / Sound Overall picture and sound is somewhat sharper and graphics look somewhat cleaner. They have added backgrounds of the various planes throughout the history of Magic in the menus, which is always interesting to look at. Otherwise, not much has changed since last years version in terms of eye and ear appeal. There are still battle effect scenes, but most players that I know tend to skip those in order to save time. The music is barely noticeable. I suppose they were trying to go for a mysterious” feel, it really didn’t do anything for me. I found myself more focused on the game than anything else. Single Player : A- Game mechanics / Length / difficulty Game mechanics follow the standard format of the card game. I will not go too far into detail about the rules of the game itself as the tutorial program shows beginners the basics such as draw a card, play a spell or two, attack with creatures if you can, then pass turn. Of course, there is much more to it than that such as manipulating the stack, and knowing when to play cards or attack, which players will learn as they go along. In a way, I kind of wish they had included a more in-depth look at how to play the game for newer or returning players wanting to refresh themselves. However, there are tips that pop-up as you play to explain things like keywords which should cover such a need.For veteran players, everything should feel familiar. It’s pretty much as if you were playing the game in real life against friends. Navigation can be somewhat difficult with the Xbox Live version. Perhaps if they integrate a cursor like they have on the Steam version, it would be much easier to highlight the cards you want to look at rather than randomly hitting the right thumb stick in hopes you get to the correct card. Another advantage for the Steam version is that once you highlight a card, you do not need to zoom in on a permanent on the field to see what it does. After a few seconds, a small pop-up box will show up with all the information on that card.
There are four modes to single player: Campaign, Revenge, Planechase, and Challenges. Campaign will take you across six planes each with a set number of Planeswalkers to challenge and “Encounter” events. Planeswalker matches are one on one games where you face off against various characters until you finally challenge the big bad himself, Nicol Bolas. Along the way you unlock more cards for your deck as well as the decks of the Planeswalkers you defeat. Encounters are also duel games, but they are played a bit differently. The opponent will typically only play a set number cards, sometimes breaking the four card limit rule. For example, the first encounter has you facing an opponent that constantly plays Suntail Hawks. While this may not seem a threat at first, if left unchecked, they will constantly fly over your forces until they reduce your life total to zero. The strategy is usually predictable, but whether or not you have a way around it is relies on the luck of the draw (unless you’re a blue player).
Revenge is essentially campaign mode, but on a much harder difficulty. This is only unlocked after you complete campaign. Planechase is an interesting twist to the game that was originally introduced in 2009 and reintroduced again this year with brand new planes. It essentially plays out as a normal game, but you have three other Planeswalkers to contend with as well as the ability to “Planeswalk” throughout different planes. Each plane has a static and triggered ability that can completely change the balance of the game. Along with the planes are Phenomenon cards that have one time effects but can just as easily change the game from destroying all creatures to reversing the order of the turns. Be warned, while normal matches can take 15-30 minutes, Planechase matches can take hours. Finally, Challenge mode comes back from previous Duels, and once again they are as mind wracking as ever. I would not recommend trying this mode until you have a more advanced understanding of the game. Once you get to that point, however, the challenges can help you think outside the box and overcome what seem like impossible odds.
One downside that regular Magic players will notice is the lack to create your own deck. Granted, the decks that they have available are powerful and you can customize them as you go through the game and unlock more cards for each deck, but it doesn’t quite feel the same. It is understandable though, as having the ability to create your own deck would likely result in severely powerful decks. But, not having this ability also takes away half of the fun of playing Magic in the first place.
Multiplayer : B Game mechanics / features / Online features I was only able to play online with the Xbox and it was an enjoyable experience for the most part. There are three type of matches you can play: Two-Headed Giant, Free-for-All and Planchase, or you can play normal or ranked matches. You also had the ability to search for matches between other Xbox Live users or just create a custom match with your Xbox Live friends. There were some connection issues between myself and my Xbox live party members, but after a few attempts we managed to play a few matches against the AI. One thing I was disappointed in was that when you created a match, it was automatically set for other players outside your party to join and neither of us saw a way to kick other players out. You had to be quick to switch all unavailable slots to the computer or else you would have to leave and create another game. It would have been nice if we could have just had the ability to make it a private match without going through all that hassle. Replay Value : C+ Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC While there will undoubtedly be multiple DLC for this in the coming months (supposedly the next 5 decks have already been leaked), and while it will definitely take a while before you explore each and every aspect of this game, in the end there will likely be another version of this out this time next year. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t buy this game as it is still a very enjoyable game especially when you don’t have the time to get together with friends but still want to play Magic. It is also especially nice for those who want to play the game, but don’t want to shell out the money after every set comes out to keep up with the times.Overall : B+
