Genre: Strategy |
Year: 1997 |
Publisher: MicroProse Software, Inc. |
Developer: MicroProse Software, Inc.
Game Review 1 (written by Zendeath) Added on: 09/12/2006
Let’s begin with the basics on how the game is played. The character generation is relatively unique in how you can customize your various characters but the deck choices is simple and not powerful enough to put any dents in strong enemies right off the bat. When entering combat the amount of life is preset to 10 for you and varies for your opponent pending the strength of the enemy and its deck. Avoiding running into enemies is relatively difficult in open ground but when in the dungeon modes find alternative routes around them is easy.
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The riddles are easy if you have played the card game and are familiar with the creatures or spells. When in combat mode (sorry for the side track there) the turns run just as it would during the card game is played; from upkeep to final turn phase. The controls are a little confusing since there is no instruction manual to help you start so you end up looking at the help menu a lot if your not sure how to perform something (at least I did at first). With the starting deck it is difficult to achieve a victory with cards but after a few wins and buying/finding cards you can practically make any deck that want (black/red/green is my favorite). As your deck gets
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better so does your chances of taking down stronger enemies decks.
Some difficulties of the game is buying cards from towns after you click on them. When the card you want gets clicked there is no yes or no option; when this happens, just use the keyboard and press (y) for yes and (n) for no. The set life points is a bitch to get over, but getting advanced life before a fight helps a lot against the wizards in the towers. Use the save function a lot, incase you lose a duel and it forces a card from your deck. Try to purchase the world items when available and remember where they are located if you don’t have the money at that time. Don’t waste time on getting the clues after you know where the place is close to, just find the town on the map and go in that general area till you find it. The enemies’ decks are all the same for that particular enemy (ex. All black knights have the same deck). If you need help or looking for cheats look under yahoo search for "magic duel planes walkers" and find what your looking for.
In conclusion, This game is worth playing! Enjoy it!
Game Review 2 (written by Mrbags) Added on: 09/11/2006 Magic the Gathering was originally released in 1997. There were 2 expansions to this game: Spells of the Ancients and Duels of the Planeswalkers. This game is one of the best board game to video game translations of anything I ever played, and I have been playing games for many, many years. There were three major steps or parts to this game. There was a deck builder mode where you could create decks from the sets of Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Antiquities, Arabian Nights, and numerous "special" cards created specifically for the video game. The last expansion enabled it so that you could play online versus real live opponents.
The second part of this game was the Duel factor. The AI of this engine was surprisingly smart considering all of the complicated rule sets and combos that this card game has to offer. There were a couple of dumb plays the computer would make here and there, but most of the time you would be pressed to win if the computer got his creatures out fast and early and you were having trouble getting mana out.
The final piece of this game, which I think is probably the best part of it was the fact that it was a game that taught you the cards, their abilities as well as how to play strategy. You were a wizard pitted against 5 other evil wizards, who were trying to tap various cities around the fictional world of Shandalar. Whenever you didn’t rescue a city that was under attack fast enough, that city would become tapped. Cities where places that you could buy and sell cards as well, as take on a helpful quest by the sage of the city.
These quests would net you special cards and / or win you life taps which would give you 1 more precious point of life when it was time to face a minion of one of the evil wizards. If a city of yours became tapped when you had a life tap from there, obviously you would lose your life. The game’s strengths, however, was the randomness in its nature. Most of these new Magic the Gathering players probably didn't even know that the card game used to have the option of being played in Ante mode where when you lost a game of magic, it was more than just bragging rights, you had a chance at losing one of your cards forever. Think how many moxes and black lotuses were lost in the day due to a game of ante. Anyhow, this is how the game of shandalar is played.
Every time you run into a creature in the world, you have to duel him with whatever makeshift deck you start with. The more games you win, the more choices you have to making a killer deck. The best part of the game happens when you get into a castle of one of the colored wizards. There are "sphinx" points setup all around where you have to answer a riddle about magic cards. Well, not really a riddle, but it asked you magic specific information which made you always stay on point with cards and what they did inside the real game of magic. Don't know what card has Islandwalk ability? Too bad, face a tough opponent. Can't remember which one of the card choices has a casting cost of 1BB? You lose this round. It was a blast to know every card and their abilities. One of the best games of all time!
Joker313 (08/24/2009) This is one of my most favorite old school games. I used to own this game and lately I've been looking for a working version.
Daverlap (07/25/2009) Very addictive game. I owned it when it first came out and spent hours playing it. Now, years later, I wanted to look for it again.
Redmcrae (06/23/2009) I love this game. It's so close to the actual card game that it's easy to get into. I've been playing it since it first came out back in 97.
Spliff69 (06/12/2009) I loved this game. I would play this game all weekend long! This helped me to build my decks when I would play Magic with my friends!
Cheyne45 (06/03/2009) I played this game when it came out and it got me interested in strat games. Love that I can play it again.
Crispybacon (04/27/2009) Playing this game was the start of my card gaming life. Thoroughly enjoyed gameplay and it's likeness to the card game itself
Nikzoumpos (02/08/2009) I remember I used to play this game when it was first released for pc in 1997, and it would be very nice to have the opportunity to play it again after so many years. I am so excited by the idea.
Acheus (01/13/2009) Awesome game, brings back such great memories! All the options for deck customization and such are definitely great! If only there was a more modern version!
Zahr (01/04/2009) Same thing happened here, just remembered it out of nowhere, and wanted to download it. Such a fun game. Best representation of the card game so far. Highly recommended !
Chaoshotty (01/04/2009) I'm glad to be able to play this game again. I haven't played in years. It was hard to find
Makushime (12/29/2008) It's a great game. This game is fun to play and a good way to be interested in Magic! Highly recommended game!
Nickloggedoff (12/27/2008) I loved Magic the Gathering the card game and when I first whipped out this game, it was a blast from the past and made a lot of impact on the gaming market. There was little action like the newer version, but had more of the basic aspects that should be in a game created out of a card game!
Rajnah (12/14/2008) This is a great game from the past. I loved going around and winning cards from the other wizards around, and creating decks from very little to eventually a lot a cards. A must if you enjoy playing magic.
Hakyn (11/25/2008) Amazing! Unlike many other Magic the Gathering games, this one actually has the Magic Rules built into it, where it automatically performs each rule for you! It's so much easier to play!
Muskratjoel (11/10/2008) I used to love this game. I think this is what got me going in the card games originally. It's amazing that this game is as old as it is, but it is still an all time classic in my eye. A must play for anyone who ever has liked the game of Magic.
Rolan1177 (11/10/2008) Great classic game. I had it on 5.5 disc long time ago. LOL. While still collecting Magic cards, this game will keep you going with all the cards you actually have. It is a good graphic copy of it. Must play.
Lejann (10/22/2008) I loved this game the first time I played it on my old Pentium 166. It is a fun game based on the card game, and the duels played like the actual game did.
Cloud_sypher (10/17/2008) This is such a great classic! I used to love playing this game all the time but haven't been able to find it to give it another play from years ago.
Roltorres (10/16/2008) Finally found one of those good old games. I used to play this game because it became so popular that it was later brought back in form of cards for kids to play (2000-current) this is a very complex game with lots of time growing potencial.
Bbrigge (10/08/2008) I just loved this game when I first played it 10 years ago. I wonder If it's as fun today. But like lots of others wrote before me: If you like the cardgame mtg you will love this game, at least for a while.
Bruno (09/23/2008) Ah, classic magic with an RPG elements. A very addictive game. Even when I had a super deck sometimes, I'd lose a great card and be back at square one. The collect ability is fun, and some of the dungeons have restrictions on card types. It very good.
Lichi (09/18/2008) Great Game, played the cards in my youth and gathered them for years. I always preffered a red/black deck with red spells to do damage against a player and black cards to destroy his creatures and torture his strategy.
Derilick (09/18/2008) Wow, I've been looking for this game for a long time now. Glad to see a site with some good oldies.
Nando77 (09/13/2008) Very nice game. Nice to have it back. I used to play it a lot, and lost it when I had to reinstall my computer.
Paolod8 (09/08/2008) This game is amazing! I was such an avid Magic the gathering player back in highschool and this game really helped me play around with basic card combinations. I was able to create dream decks that I had no chance of building in real life. The game play is pretty OK and the AI was predictable but all in all an addicting game. Hope they create a more updated version though. Highly recommended.
Fluk22 (09/02/2008) Thank god I was able to find this game 'cause I was going mad searching it. Really a fantastic game! I used to play it a lot with my childhood friends. I really wanted to play it again!
Jraffe (08/31/2008) Great game, classic magic gameplay against a variety of opponents. Options for any color deck allow you to customize your character in whatever way possible.
Ben fields (08/30/2008) One of the greatest games ever made. I haven't played in years and I was frantically searching for it.
Ramew (08/27/2008) Fun fun game. This is a great way to start learning about magic. There is no way to play magic with others in person as often as I'd like. This is the way to go to take care of that MTG jones.
Westmoorenerd (08/19/2008) Great game, I loved playing this game for hours when I was growing up. AI lags sometimes when it's stuck in a difficult decision, but for the time it was A+.
