Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012

For all its flaws, it's still better than the manipulative microtransaction hell digital mtg has become lately.

This is exactly what I was looking for from a Magic the Gathering game. The single player story mode could be better but still interesting to progress. Also the puzzle "win in 1 turn" challenges are great fun.

A great game based on the legendary collectors card game series. I have had many great games both in single player and online. Unfortunately you can't grab it on steam anymore...

Das beste Magic the Gathering das je geschrieben wurde. Zeitlos. Das geht auch 2300 noch

Game changes, every game. Never gets old.

[u][b]Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012[/b][/u] is a digital version of the tabletop card game [i]Magic: The Gathering[/i] (henceforth referred to as "MTG") which has you take on the role of a Planeswalker to duel other Planeswalkers, includes some minor deck-building elements, and does a good job of streamlining the flow of the game for new and casual players; however, this over-simplification has some drawbacks which adversely affect more competitive players. Overall, I recommend it because MTG is simply a fun game to play and this does a great job of porting the game to a digital medium where it serves as a wonderful entry point for new players. Although it is far from perfect due to the negatives of its streamlining and the lack of cards compared to the total amount in the physical game, it is nevertheless good enough to satiate your need to play some solo games by yourself using low-power pre-constructed decks. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]S U M M A R Y[/b][/quote] - The gameplay ports the fantastic tabletop card game and streamlines the flow of the game, somewhat to its detriment as it unfortunately cuts out a number of mechanics that are essential to higher-level play, and the "deck-building" is quite shallow due to the small and random assortment of cards which oftentimes lack in synergy; - The replay value is quite high due to the story campaigns, extra game modes in free play, puzzles, online multiplayer, and 19 decks to play with (assuming that you have all of the DLCs); - The graphics are plain but the focus of the game revolves around its strategic gameplay rather than trying to impress with its graphical prowess while the visual effects for spells are underwhelming and range from little fiery explosions to scratch marks; - The soundtrack is composed of ambient songs which are not stimulating or enthralling whatsoever but exude a foreboding and tense aura and act as decent background noise to let you focus on the strategic aspect of the game with each Planeswalker having their own unique theme that sound very similar to one another due to their demure nature; - The game has no story as you simply duel the Planeswalkers for the sake of playing the card game but the loading screens provide tidbits of lore about the Planeswalkers and their relationships and conflicts with one another which is a nice touch that helps introduce you to the sprawling and immersive world-building of MTG; and - [i]Forest's Fury[/i], the Treefolk deck in the [i]Deck Pack 2[/i] DLC, is bugged and you cannot permanently unlock the additional cards because your unlock progress is reset every time you quit the game. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]A C H I E V E M E N T S[/b][/quote] The game has 26 achievements which should take 20-30 hours to acquire as most of them are relatively easy to get except for the puzzles which will require much trial and error to stumble on the single solution for them. Most will be acquired throughout casual play but nine of them require the [u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/49473/Magic_The_Gathering_2012__Expansion/]Magic: The Gathering 2012 - Expansion[/url][/u] DLC as well as online play which still appears to work, though there is a lack of active players so if you want to get all of the achievements then you should post on the discussion forums asking for help. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]R E V I E W[/b][/quote] [h3]Gameplay[/h3] The gameplay is fantastic as it ports the tabletop version almost exactly but streamlines the flow of the game which is helpful for introducing the game to new players and makes it more accessible for casual players who might not be able to remember all of the rules and finer intricacies of the game. That being said, this process has its faults as it ends up over-simplifying things a little too much which is detrimental for competitive players who are looking to eke out every advantage that they can. For example, the game automatically manages which lands are tapped for mana when casting spells which is frustrating for multi-color decks since the game uses your different lands equally even if you have a card in your hand or an ability on a creature that requires a certain color of mana. Additionally, it is almost impossible to activate something at the end of an opponent's turn (after they have played all of their cards) because there is no "end step" for you to do so. Instead, the final phase of a turn is the "second main phase" and the computer will always be able to respond to you doing something close to the end of their turn. Both of these are major oversights and the game would have benefited from the ability to have these as options that could be toggled on or off to tailor the experience to your liking. The game features a number of other game modes to keep the gameplay varied and fresh: - 2vs2, or Two-Headed Giant, where you and your teammate share a life pool and collectively block but, unfortunately, the streamlining prevents you from targeting a specific opponent which renders some cards useless (such as certain discard or sacrifice effects) since you always target the player opposite of you; - 3vs1, or Archenemy, where you team up with two others to face one opponent who gains a boon at the start of each of their turns and has a higher life total; - 1vs3, or Archenemy, where you play as the singular opponent but this is only available if you have the [i]Expansion[/i] DLC; - Free-for-all with three or four players; - Online play for all of the above game modes; and - Puzzles which require you to figure out the solution with the limited tools at your disposal. The game has 19 decks, each of which has 60 cards to start with and 20 more that you can unlock as you win duels with that deck, but 9 of these require the three [i]Deck Pack[/i] DLCs ([u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/49474/Magic_2012_Deck_Pack_1/]Deck Pack 1[/url][/u], [u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/49475/Magic_2012_Deck_Pack_2/]Deck Pack 2[/url][/u], and [u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/49476/Magic_2012_Deck_Pack_3/]Deck Pack 3[/url][/u]) as well as the [i]Expansion[/i] DLC. A majority of the non-tribal decks (those which aren't built around a specific creature type such as elves, vampires, zombies, etc) have a seemingly random spattering of cards and mechanics that lack synergy and feel aimless and unoptimized as a result. Many have an obvious theme but simply don't have the tools to properly execute their plan which is a shame because the concepts behind them are novel and can be fun whenever they are rarely successful. The "deck-building" aspect of the game is very minimalistic as you only have an extra 20 cards that you can include in place of (or in addition to) the 60 base cards so there isn't much variation within a deck, especially if your aim is to optimize it or focus on a certain mechanic. Additionally, the game does not allow you to adjust your land distribution which is another annoying (albeit minor) aspect that is a result of the over-simplification and streamlining of the rules. The user interface for editing decks is terrible as the mouse cursor does not register a click where it is pointing and the game has trouble switching between keyboard and mouse inputs, both of which are very irksome. Meanwhile, keywords for various cards aren't explained in the deck-building menu and if you want to look them up then you either have to do so on an outside source or the glossary which is located in a completely different section of the main menu and switching back and forth is extremely cumbersome. [h3]Conclusion[/h3] Overall, I recommend this game despite its flaws because it does a great job of porting the game to a digital medium for a wider audience, it simplifies the flow of the game to make it more accessible, and it provides an excellent outlet to indulge any urges you might have to play some solo MTG with low-power pre-constructed decks.

Have been a Magic player since my students taught me how to play when it first came out. I like all the online versions, but this one has some very interesting decks and cards. A real challenge! ABSmith aka Mme Defarge

lot's of fun!

This game is just a bookmark in my timeline of the time i smoked crack and it made this game fun.