Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 (2013) Online

Console:

PS3. A PSN download

Genre:

Fantasy card game

Setting:

I think it's alternative universes...or something.

Gameplay:

You can choose to be dealt a random deck of cards or you can hone a particular deck. You face either a random opponent with their own deck of cards or you can choose to fight a particular opponent with their own deck of cards. Decks of cards can be identical or radically different to each other...which affects the outcome of the game. During a 'fight' between your deck of cards and your opponent's, you play certain cards or discard them. Some cards represent mystical beasts and depending on their value or attributes, you can defeat your opponent's mystical beast card (for example).

Story:

Uh...there is one...but it's pretty minimal...and since I had my sound turned down the infrequent parts of the game where that is progressed I missed...and when you replay those parts of the game they don't play again. Like those arcade beat 'em ups, I suppose that the story can be summarised thus: "FIGHT!!".

Graphics:

Nice enough for the load screens and cut scenes but generally all you see are the playing cards...fortunately there is a zoom function in the game, so you can view the all important info on the incoming cards that you or your opponent get.

Strengths of the game:

* Zoom function so you can easily see what the strengths of your or your opponent's cards are.

* Being in a hopeless position against your opponent then snatching victory from the dragon's sphincter of defeat.

* Sound isn't important, so you can listen to music or other stuff if you want.

Weaknesses of the game (a lot):

* Being in a hopeless position against your opponent and not drawing any cards to help you. The game is over even before you have taken your first turn! Sooo boring!

* Poor clarity when a card gives you a choice between harming your opponent's creatures or harming the AI directly...many times I thought I was choosing one option only to have the other play out...just poorly designed visuals there.

* Endlessly replaying seemingly rigged games against the AI to progress.

* A lot of times the game has all the strategy of a session on the pokies. Of course, playing the pokies you can have all your fruit line up and pay out a jackpot...but it's just dumb luck.

* There is no "undo" button...that would help as you come to grips with the various outcomes your cards give you...you can play a card and it turns out you just wasted that card. Of course, at times you must discard a card for no practical outcome, apart from making way for a (hopefully) more useful or powerful card. That option would be most helpful in single player mode. Even more annoying is when the AI suggests you play a card and...you waste your turn playing it.

* When playing against the AI, the game really seems to be rigged. It's like the AI knows what cards you have and then specifically deals itself cards from the bottom of the deck to obliterate you. E.g there is one card which spawns 2 beast cards and then tosses a coin to allow that original card to be used again...a 50% chance of being able to spawn 2 more beasts later on. The handful of times I've seen the AI play that card I think it won the right to get that card back. The handful of times I've played that card I lose the chance to play the card again. So, I'm assuming that the devs give that figure of 50% based on the average between the computer having a 100% chance to reuse that card and you having a 0% chance to reuse that card. Total fbs! * The different decks often seem unbalanced...honestly, the devs should know that they could balance out the different decks to make them more competitive with each other by running simulations to iron out the kinks in the gameplay. I.e. make it (roughly) equally as likely for one kind of deck to defeat another.

* The game should be less random...i.e. you should be dealt a hand that makes it playable right away or soon enough. I've played games where I wasted my turns discarding cards when I was dealt too many. Why should the game deal me too many cards? Why should the game deal me cards I can't play right away to reduce my hand? I quit that game because losing all my turns in this way just sucked and put me miles behind the AI opponent.

General observations:

Perhaps the 'fun' to be had is in the online mode of this game (which I haven't tackled yet). Whilst playing the single player campaign you unlock new cards for your deck but now it's not clear to me how to unlock the rest of the cards in my deck(s). You can BUY the full set of cards in a particular deck. So, it looks like that this game is a potential money pit...the default deck you get is so frustrating that you are tempted to pay MORE for a more 'playable' deck. That seems wrong to me.

The cards are sometimes really obscure in function or how to use them. I suppose you could become a mage like person in mastering them...but why not spend your time on stuff like...schoolwork?

Since this is the first game of this type that I've played, I suppose others may like this kind of game more than me...if you are willing to 'invest' the time and money. I'd like this game better if it had more strategy and less dumb luck.