I think Prof. Richard Garfield never believed that his collectible strategy card game was able to get worldwide popularity. Wizards of the Coast released the first edition in 1993 and people went mad for it (and lauded the company to the skies). Since then it is available in more than 70 countries, played by millions, and has ten editions. After some PC and console games the subject of this article (abbreviated as DotP, because the title is too long) was released last year on Xbox360, and in view of the success they converted it to PC (available on Steam).
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Before I dissect DotP, it's worth to clarify what Magic is. Basically, there are two wizards impersonated by the players, and the game is about their duel. Both of them have 20 Hit Points (HP), and the goal is to lower the opponent's HP to null (or even under that) while keeping their own HP from harm. To reach this goal they cast spells, summon creatures and use items, but all of these cost magic energy called Mana. And they can get Mana from lands they own. All these things – creatures, spells, items, lands – are symbolized by cards, and as in most card games they play their cards out by taking turns. At least generally it goes this way. However, there are cards which can be played in the opponent's turn. I don't want to bore anyone with the details, because reading the rulebook can shed light on almost everything, and the software contains a tutorial with explanations for the basics, and the help describes every other snippety things. Don't be afraid, the rules are not too complicated, easy to learn, and from this point you need only your sense of strategy and a little (?) luck – I tell you about this later – for being successful.
But, if there is a Magic: The Gathering Online (MTGO) available for eight years now, why was this game created? Well, while MTGO is the same as the “normal” card game with the same rules, game modes, basic and booster packs (it even has the same price), then DotP is a limited version: The game contains eight packs of 60 cards which you cannot edit. By winning matches you can free up 20-20 more cards for each packs, and with these extras you can change the compilation of your packs. The eight packs come from the five fractions of the fantasy setting of Magic, and there are three given combination (in the “normal” card game you can customize your pack by compiling any combination you want – but here you get combinations ready for play). This is all, you have no voice in the compilations of the given packs. Of course, the trick is validated by sheer logic: You get only one starter pack for 10 dollars in MTGO (and in the shop too), so if you would get eight of them for the same money WotC would work against itself. I think it a compromise you can undertake by accepting its disadvantages, about which I tell you later.
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If you play it alone, you have three choices regarding game modes. During the Campaign you can fight 16 duels against the machine, and after winning 2-3 matches you will get new packs – because you can choose between only two at first. In Challenge mode you have to solve a given situation: For example win the match in one turn. Besides these you can fight duels against the AI with nothing at stake, and in this mode you can change the rules a little (regarding starter Hit Points, number of cards in hand, such things). If you wanna play with a friend at the same computer (and have a gamepad, because it's the requirement for two-player matches on the same machine), you can play the Coop Campaign (14 new duels) or just simple duels against the AI like above as a single player. The difference is the “two-headed giant” mode – it means 30 HP at first which is a joint score (both of you get hurt from the same attack), and you see the cards of each other, so you can work together and help each other in attack and defense equally. However, playing on the web you can fight against 1-3 players with one of your packs. Playing against more players means you can be attacked from more than one sides at the same round, so keep your wits about it. Of course, the winner is the last man standing, but you can play in “two-headed giant” mode as in a coop game. The match can be with no stake at all or ranked, in which case the game tries to find opponents with similar amount of points. In spite of single player mode you have limited time to think and act, which is understandable – this is not chess where long minutes (hours?) can pass between two steps. Besides, the game gives the opportunity of mentoring, so you can teach others for combinations, strategy and tricks – or you can learn from others, of course.
Regarding appearance, there is no cause neither for praise nor complaint. The arena and the menu can be customized by setting one of the five colors (belonging to the five types of magic) as default. Of course, these colors or types of magic are not “just colors”: Behind them there are different philosophies, principles and strategies. Taking an example, black is fond of operating with fear and undead, so the arena looks like a necromantic altar. Green belongs to the Nature, so if you set it, the table will be decorated with leaves. Each card looks like scanned from the real one, and you can zoom on any card on the table or in your hand, and you can get information about any given card by clicking on it. It's worth to mention as a mood booster that the cards of flying creatures are levitating above the tabletop, and the most important abilities (like attack, defense and First Strike or Flying, etc.) are always visible. You can turn the camera around the table with the numpad – it's another thing that you don't really need this option. The animation is poor: There are some lightning, flaming, clawing on the cards when you use creatures or spells to attack your opponent (and the numbers are changing, of course), which is entertaining at first, but later you will turn it off, because it holds the pace of the game back (especially in multiplayer matches). But one of the worst mood killers is the music. After a time it becomes monotonous, because there are not too much tracks, and also they break the style. The funky feeling of the music is simply not fitting to this basically fantasy game. Controls are all right with mouse, you can draw the cards nicely to mark the attackers and defenders, and there is also gamepad-control, which is not bad, but personally I felt it a bit roundabout. (I got used to it easily – Garcius)
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To this point DotP could be an excellent game with some minor problems, like a lighter version of Magic, perfect for beginners (or for those who – like me – doesn't want to spend a fortune for packs and boosters, but would like to try it out). However, some things forbid the GD Top score. Although the packs seem balanced enough, but you will loose sometimes just because the shuffling routine shuffles the cards in a very strange way. It happened several times that I drew only lands – which basically is a need, but they have no use in combat (they give Mana but cannot defend or attack). The inverse of this is equally annoying, when you draw strong and even stronger creatures one after the other, but have not enough land – and so, not enough Mana – to summon them.
This is why there is a need for a less limited pack editor, an opportunity to get ready for cases like these – but at least for an opportunity to change the number of the lands in your pack, because when the game shuffles the cards idiotically, you lose even before you start the match. Or a better algorithm for shuffling, to “scatter” the land cards in the pack a little bit more (after all, it doesn't want to scare the beginners off – Garcius). Besides, the AI is not too challenging, it does stupid things irrespectively of the games' set difficulty level. For example, at the end of its turn it summons a creature which could attack in that given turn, but the AI leaves the opportunity out. (It's not so strange: the creature is summoned not at the end of the turn – but the AI ends its turn after the summoning, because attacking is not obligatory. This is a tactical question, but sometimes it's strange indeed that the AI doesn't attack, even when I have no defending creature on the table – Garcius) Because of these things your biggest enemy is luck: With a well shuffled pack you can beat the AI easily. So get over the campaign at first to have every pack unlocked, but after that only the multiplayer games are worth to mention.
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Anyway, DotP is still an excellent game. Even considering the above it can hold your attention for a long time (except you get the “Curse of Bad Shuffle” card too often – Garcius), and if you have only a little time (as, for example, I have at my workplace), you can absolve a quick match in 10-15 minutes (yes, and sometimes it takes an hour, because you cannot save the game, and while it is fully understandable in the real card game, but annoying in a computer game – Garcius). Of course, it is a good entertainment for longer sessions too. With Steamworks integrated you get some extras like achievements, problem free multiplayer, leaderboard (to get more balance in internet based multiplayer matches), Steam Cloud (you can reach your saved processes from everywhere – the example is me again: Against my colleague I can use my cards and packs unlocked at home). At the moment, there is only one DLC available if you are longing for new packs, cards and challenges – but even Xbox version got only two DLCs.
Update: now it has three DLCs with new decks, unlockable cards, challenges and extended campaign. They do worth their price!
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Title: Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers What I liked:
What I didn't like:
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