Better Late Than Never; Magic hits PSN
It’s been well over a year since this stripped down, arcade-friendly version of the popular Magic the Gathering videogame, Duels of the Planeswalkers, hit Xbox 360’s Live! online gaming service. Back in June, the game launched for the PC, giving those of us who were left out by the Xbox exclusive launch a chance to own the game. Well, now it would seem the game has finally launched on Playstation Network, complete with all three current expansions. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved the original trading-card game but in addition to being incredibly addictive, it was also perhaps the most expensive hobby I’ve ever had — aside from music. I can’t fathom how much money I must have wasted in college trying to build decent decks. The nice thing about this scaled down version of the game is that it includes all the rules and gameplay of the original at a fraction of that cost. How so?
At only $9.99, less than a current starter deck, you get an entire game. The catch? You’re forced to play with some pre-constructed decks that are arcade friendly. Does that mean that they’re incredibly limited in scope? Not exactly. Instead of letting you build the decks from scratch, you unlock cards to add to each pre-constructed deck. There is an option for online head-to-head, and local co-op play. The expansion packs only cost about $5 a piece and provide new decks, puzzels, and addition foes. At about half the size of the original game, the price point is about right and well worth the purchase, making this arcade port the perfect fit for those of us who crave the original but don’t want to break the bank in the process. Again, the game is currently available via Steam for the PC, Xbox Live! and Playstation Network.
Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for their popular gaming blog, Destructoid, and the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.