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Product summary
Magic Online is undoubtedly the best software representation of Magic: The Gathering released thus far--quite possibly surpassing the physical card game in many respects.
Specifications: ESRB: Teen See full specs
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 07/02/2002
- Updated on:05/17/2006
- Released on: 06/14/2002
Wizards of the Coast, the company behind the extremely popular Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, has taken yet another stab at a PC re-creation of the tabletop game. In the past, Wizards has sanctioned the use of a variety of methods to impart the excitement of a duel between players, whether it be with animated versions of card art and characters, or with a gameplay system focused on challenging computer-controlled opponents in order to win cards to add to your collection. This time around, Wizards has enlisted developer Leaping Lizard Software, which has taken a direct, bare-bones approach to delivering an efficient tool that players can use to engage in card duels over the Internet. With Magic Online, you don't get many frills--just the cards, chat rooms inhabited by other people, and an easy-to-learn, efficient interface that can turn anyone into a competent deck builder and player. It's because of its accessible nature that Magic Online is undoubtedly the best software representation of Magic: The Gathering released thus far--quite possibly surpassing the physical card game in many respects.
Magic Online's duels remain true to the original card game.
You may know that Magic: The Gathering, the card game that Magic Online is based on, is a competitive dueling game in which two or more players face off against their opponents in an attempt to defeat them using a variety of different cards representing magic spells. Each player begins the game with 20 life points, which can be reduced by direct magical assault or by the attacks of summoned creatures that are rated according to their power (the ability to deal damage) and toughness (the ability to withstand damage). Players can cast enchantments that can have permanent effects, and they can also make use of magical artifacts. Turns pass between players until someone's life total reaches zero, or someone runs out of cards. Achieving victory is based as heavily on technique as on the color or colors of magic chosen. There are five colors of magic: white, green, red, blue, and black. White magic is that of healing and light, green represents the forces of nature, red signifies chaos and fire, blue is the color of water and thought, and black embodies death and decay. In order to tap into these forces, players must make use of natural resources that channel this energy--plains for white, forests for green, mountains for red, islands for blue, and swamps for black. Play commences with each player drawing a hand of cards, then taking turns placing down land cards, one per turn, and rotating them in order to release mana points, which pay for spells.
Magic Online isn't the most visually stunning computer game available. In fact, much of what makes up Magic Online seems almost oversimplified from an aesthetic standpoint. The client looks like a Web browser with three major frames, including a chat box on the bottom, left-hand navigation, and a main window. Logging in to your Magic Online account is not unlike entering a collectible card game portal of sorts--you have access to many different destinations, including game-related Web sites, bug report forms, a moderator and support room, the Magic Online store, your collection manager, a deck editor, clan and league areas, and, of course, the various game rooms.
Choose an avatar to play against other players.
You select an avatar from a small selection of figures--including a goblin, wizard, or merfolk--that represents you in the game rooms. When participating in duels, these avatars go through a few frames of animation, and the overall effect of seeing a bunch of tigers and skeletons seated around a table, engaging in a rousing game of cards, can be humorous to say the least.
However, Magic Online does include the complete set of current Magic cards, including the seventh edition of the game and every expansion released since then. Each of the cards includes the original artwork, viewable in three different sizes, as well as the complete rules and flavor text. The illustrations on these cards feature a wide array of talented modern fantasy artists, and it's almost a shame that you can't view the impressive artwork in a gallery of some kind. There's plenty to work with as far as variety goes. There are more than 1,000 cards available in Magic Online, and countless types of decks can be built around their abilities.
Magic Online clearly lays out all of your cards and their abilities.
The gameplay takes place on a split playfield, where competing players' cards can be viewed as they are played. Playing a card can be as simple as a single click. Left-clicking generally plays cards from your hand, while right-clicking accesses each card's special abilities. Tooltips and pop-up information boxes relay all the information you'll need concerning a card's abilities, and a handy phases list on the left-hand side of the screen tells you what portion of a player's turn is being played and which cards are playable. In the game's preferences menu, you can select any and all of these phases, which let you set exactly how often you are prompted for confirmation before a player can proceed through the segments of his or her turn.
The game's interface is powerful. It lets you sort, organize, and make decks from your cards based on their color, rarity, and mana cost. But it isn't all that easy to pick up--it can get cluttered at times, and some of the more important icons in the game tend to be a bit too small to see clearly. However, once you get used to it, Magic Online's otherwise intuitive interface allows little room for errors in a game whose history has been filled with player arguments over rules. The Magic Online client itself is a judge. For all intents and purposes, players simply can't break the rules. You're forced to comply with card effects when played, shuffled cards are sorted randomly, life and mana totals are tracked, and the only thing you can really get away with is a mistaken land usage or attack command, for which there is a handy "undo" function that can be used before confirming. Only applicable targets for spells and the like are selectable, so players will always make a legal move.
In addition to standard one-on-one constructed-deck games, there are a handful of other match types to explore. Sealed-deck tournaments challenge players to purchase a new deck of cards as starting material and then build a deck to compete against others within an allotted time period. Booster drafts are games where much of a player's winning strategy is employed before a single card is dealt, with players selecting cards from a general pool. The variants for more than two players are particularly entertaining. Emperor and the two- and three-headed giant games let up to six players get together for matches in which cooperative gameplay is necessary.
In addition to casual play, Magic Online also has large-scale online tournaments.
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