Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers is one of the most popular and highly rated titles on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. It’s no surprise that Stainless Games wanted to take advantage of this with a full sequel. Is Magic 2012 worth the admission though, or better left as DLC? We’ve got the ‘deets’!
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At first glance I’ve already noticed a few small differences in Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, and while mostly cosmetic they can be classified as improvements. Upon reaching the main menu screen, you’ll notice that all the options look simpler and cleaner than the previous game. You can easily enter the campaign, multiplayer, or a variety of other options. The background is dynamic and scrolls smoothly behind your choices. The in-game UI has been tweaked as well and the CPU/Player icons have switched sides, along with the HUD being cleaned up a little. You may have noticed the original Magic title had some lag when choosing options and even during gameplay – it’s not gone, but it’s less noticeable now.
Featured in this new Magic game you’re going to find 10 new decks, a very hearty single player campaign including the new Archenemy and Revenge modes. Revenge Mode is simply a new name for Campaign+ which features a more difficult campaign to play. Beyond that the multiplayer mode returns, along with customizable games. Some of the decks such as the vampire deck are quite similar to the previous title, but there are some new cards to play around with. The decks appear to be more balanced and no decks seem to stand alone with an excessive power level over another. That’s not to say you come across a very rare card to change the tide of the battle.
As I mentioned regarding the UI, it’s been cut down, cleaned up, and the loading time is much quicker than the previous game. However, small features have been removed to streamline the process and focus on the core gameplay mechanics of Magic. Unfortunately one of my favorite small but noticeable features has been removed – background playing boards. Now you just have the standard board, and no variations of different colors of images to play on. It’s unfortunate but I suppose you have to give a little and take a little.
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The new mode, Archenemy, features online co-op and you can play with up to two friends against a very powerful AI opponent. Haven’t got friends? No worries – you can also adopt two AI players to help you out. It’s a decent mode, but often frustrating if you haven’t unlocked a powerful handful of cards for each deck. The card unlock system is a little different and it varies between modes. For example, you can unlock two cards by winning a round of Archenemy.
Once you’ve unlocked new cards you can use the new deck editor, swap core cards and configure your deck to be the way you want it. You can replace and swap as many of your action cards as you’d like, but keep in mind you do need to have a total of 60 cards in your deck. When compared to the deck editing option in the first Magic game, Magic 2012 features a much better and more rounded system. Once the inevitable DLC packs arrive, I’m sure we’ll see some impressive decks on Xbox LIVE and PSN.
The game is presented to you in a simple fashion including a pretty sweet opening video to set the fantasy-like mood, and the accompanying soundtrack is pretty mellow. You won’t find anything different from the first game in this sense, aside from some missing loading screens including the “Friday Night Magic” offer that reared its ugly head too often. The artwork and backgrounds used on loading screens remain impressive and amazing just like in the previous title.
Magic 2012 is another solid experience that really focuses on gameplay rather than cosmetics, and some of the challenges will have your attention for hours. The main campaign can be beaten in as little as four hours, but add in Archenemy, Revenge, and online play and you’ve got loads more content to enjoy. The real question is “Is Magic 2012 worth 800 :MSPoints: or should I wait?” If you own the original and enjoy the game, buy Magic 2012 today.
| Rating | Description |
| 9.0 | Gameplay The inclusion of fully customizable decks and more even-powered decks make Magic 2012 a must-own for fans of the game. |
| 8.5 | Graphics Cleaner UI and simplified menus, but no varied play-boards to use. Minor annoyance preceeded by other improvements. |
| 8.0 | Sound Mellow background themes, and not much in the way of voice acting, but the sound effects are effective to set the mood themselves. |
| 8.5 | Final Score |
