Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers is a game with a very long name. Like comics owning a Magic deck is a geek thing I've never actually done. I've played a fair amount but never with my own deck. I've also collected and played other CCGs such as the ST:TNG one. So when I saw MTG:DOTP (wow even that's long) on Steam for a cheap pre-order I thought I'll buy that for a dollar (actually £7). The price was good, the screenshots looked nice and it's a while since I last played any Magic. I've always enjoyed the card game but choosing decks, dealing cards and doing combat calculations in your head can be a bit of a pain sometimes. So having a computer do those parts for you is a good idea in my opinion as that just leaves you with the fun parts. Sure some people might say maths is fun, I'm not one of those people! Now I'm aware that there is also Magic: The Gathering Online available for playing computerized Magic, but that's a super strict version where all the fanatics go. Also the idea of paying money for virtual trading cards sounds like a little bit of a waste to me. Duels of the Planeswalkers is much friendlier to newcomer (noobs like me). It has preset decks and automates everything it can making it really easy for someone with a basic knowledge of the card game (such as myself) to get started. Although that doesn't stop me sucking and losing a lot! While waiting for the game to be released I had a read of the game forums (often a bad idea). There seemed to be quite a lot of hatred for the game. Firstly because it was just a port of an XBox Live Arcade game (I don't have an XBox so that doesn't matter). Secondly for not giving enough options for the seasoned player to customize decks or do advanced game play (but that's what I was trying to avoid by getting a computer version). So, if you think Magic is a short bit of fun buy Duels of the Planeswalkers. If you think it's serious business play Magic: The Gathering Online. Otherwise go read a book or something.