RSIgamers

In 1997, we were blessed with the original Magic: The Gathering game on PC. With a fun single player campaign and infinite possibilities with the robust in game deck builder, it was really all a fan could ask for. Today, we have Duels of the Planeswalkers, which is the latest Magic game released on XBLA. Does it live up to the original?

Lets start with the basics. Duel of the Planeswalkers offers a few modes of play, including Campaign, Co-op Campaign and Challenge Mode. Campaign mode is a standard arcade style mode where you battle against progressively harder opponents. Unfortunately the developers seem to have decided that in the current age of Xbox Live, online co-op would seem too passe and have only included an offline option. On the other side of the scale, Challenge mode is an interesting concept that involves a pre-determined situation in which you are guaranteed to lose unless you defeat your opponent in the current turn. You are tasked with analyzing the situation and performing the necessary steps to win the game.

Challenge mode is an interesting addition indeed, but like any other puzzle based game, you’ll find it’s a one trick pony and you probably won’t be going back after you complete it the first time.
Online, there’s the usual player and ranked match, with up to 2-4 players, or the ‘two-headed’ giant, which is basically a 2v2 option.  This is where you’ll probably be spending most of your time.

You’re probably right that Challenge mode is a one trick pony. But I did have a lot of fun in that mode. While most of these challenges wouldn’t put up much resistance against a seasoned Magic player, some of them did offer very innovative and unique solutions outside what you’d normally encounter in the game (one in particular involving facing down a Goblin army). There is a lot of potential in this mode for expansion through DLC. The developers have already stated that they have multiple expansions planned and I can only hope they continue to support this mode. Its one of those things that give the game a unique flavour, beyond the standard checklist of campaign and versus modes.

Yeah, if Wizards actually manage to live up to the claim of the DLC they are promising, this game could have a decent lifespan.  New challenges could be added, and the cards from the latest expansions could be added in. The deck customization, is where I find the game falls short a bit. The game offers (x number) of pre-made starter decks, all of which except one has to be unlocked by completing the single player campaign. Additional cards for each deck can also be unlocked, allowing you to swap out only a few cards of your choosing.  It’s just more restrictive than what the average MtG player is used to, and feels like you’re being forced into playing the basic MtG styles like green creature rushdown or a red burn deck.

I would have to both agree and disagree with that. Part of the fun of MTG was to go through the whole deck customization. However, to be brutally honest, I was never really any good at it. This XBLA title seems to fill a very niche area of people who enjoy the game but don’t have the time or inclination to perfect their decks. I get the feeling this will limit their sales potential with true Magic players.

Okay, so this might turn off the most hardcore of Magic players out there. But think about it this way. Part of playing MtG in real life is also about how much you are willing to spend on your deck.  In DotP you don’t pay for any of the cards, which is great.  I would assume that this is how Wizards of the Coast stop players from loading up their deck with all of the best stuff from the get go.  At least there’s good variety in the cards they have provided in terms of the sets they came from.

Good point. I did notice while playing through this game that the types of decks they have included in here have a good variety for all kinds of play styles. They cover most of the standard archetypes from red burn, blue counter, black suicide/discard, green overrun and green elf as well as many multicoloured and artifact decks. Although some decks did offer cards which (in the real world) are more rare and expensive, there seemed to be a good balance so that (with the exception of the last 1-2 opponents in the campaign) you wouldn’t be hopelessly outmatched by using one of the earlier decks. Multiple playthroughs earn you more unlocked cards which you can use to supplement the existing cards and strengthen your deck. Unfortunately you can’t remove cards which form the primary deck. This was very limiting, but not a deal breaker for me.

The interface works pretty well too.  They’ve made the playing field kinda like a table, as if you’re playing MtG in real life.  You can also zoom into cards, and rotate the view to other player’s views (you can’t see their hand obviously).  There’s also a kind of a 5 second ‘buzzer’ you can press in the opponent’s turn whenever you want to play an interrupt or instant.  The only things that kinda bug me is how long the animations of the cards moving around can take sometimes, but thankfully you can speed it up with a button press.  I actually skipped my attack phase by accident once though.   The other is that it’s sometimes hard to select your opponents cards in order to zoom and read them.

You can also turn off all the card animations through the menu system but it does take some fiddling. On the whole, I like the interface. The only reason anyone would be playing this game is if they are a fan of the card game. In the past the series has experimented with trying to replace the cards with animated creatures and wizards with varying degrees of success. Going back to its roots just feels right for the series.

If you’re a fan of MtG and enjoy playing competitively, I think you’ll enjoy this game.  Just don’t expect an in depth single player experience like the original MtG PC game in 1997.  The set decks are more akin to picking characters in a fighting game, with a bit of customization of course.

That’s an interesting parallel with fighting games (and an accurate one). In both cases you get to choose a character (or deck) which has a relatively defined set of abilities. The challenge comes in maximizing those abilities by applying your own skill to the game. Overall I’d say I was happy with this purchase. The card game has gotten increasingly complicated with new expansions and releases and this game does a good job of bringing it back to its roots. Some of the highlights for me are the Challenge mode (which has huge potential for expansion), and the variety of decks and play styles being included. It would have been perfect if a full deck builder was part of the package, but given that this is an XBLA game, I’m going to cut the developers some slack. At the very least the included decks are varied and interesting. The negatives I would bring up are the already mentioned lack of a deck builder and lack of online co-op which is unforgivable in this day and age. If you’re still on the fence about this game, wait for the inevitable DLC and make your decision based on that. I’m giving it a 3.5/5.

I’m not sure how well Wizards are going to do with the whole kinda ‘casual’ approach to MtG they’re trying for this game.  I don’t really think there’s such a thing as a casual MtG player, and I think most MtG players will find it hard to get over the fact that there’s limited deck building options.  Still, at 800 MS points, it’s great for pick up and play without worrying too much about your deck.  Hopefully Wizards will deliver with the promised DLC for this game.  I’m also giving it 3.5/5.