I can’t for one minute even pretend to be a fan of the Magic series of games, but that’s not to say I wasn’t slightly interested in Magic 2015 when it appeared on Xbox One. For in actuality, I was a little gutted it appeared on Xbox 360 first because it was something I wanted to try out.
Now I have no excuse. But the big question is this….Is Magic 2015 – Duels of the Planeswalkers on Xbox One worth a shot for a complete and utter newbie?
Well, yes…and no.
Magic 2015, if you were not already aware, is the videogame version of one of the worlds most popular physical card games. The basic premise is that you take your deck of magical mana filled cards and throw them up against an opponent with a similar (or not so similar as I quickly found out) set in an attempt to take down as much health from your opponent as possible. There can only be one winner and that accolade will normally go to the guy or girl who manages their cards efficiently, attacking when needed and blocking opponents attacks at just the right time. But there’s also a great deal of luck involved as if your starting hand is not the strongest then you’ll be up against it right from the get go.
From the outside looking in, Magic 2015 is a pretty complex game, but thanks to a rather neat tutorial mode that is happy enough to hold your hand until you’re up to speed with the jargon, the know-how and indeed the confidence before throwing you loose into the game itself, there was never really a time when I didn’t know roughly what was going on. Without this tutorial, I would probably still be sat here now with absolutely no idea where I was seemingly heading and so those who have yet to experience any of the Magic world, should be grateful for the ease in which you are taken into battle.
The addition of custom decks and card collection pages give something to aim for and with the huge variety of cards involved in the game, it’s no overstatement to say that it’ll take you absolutely hours of gameplay and numerous matches in order to acquire each card for your collection. This does however bring an element of replayability into 2015, to such a high degree in fact that I can’t think of a single game that may boast anywhere near the same amount of hours for ‘completion’.
The Xbox One version of the game has also arrived with the inclusion of Garruk’s Revenge, a DLC pack that brings even more campaign levels, four to be exact plus the chance to have a look around Alara. Beware though, it seems to be rather tough and some difficult old opponents may mean that even at the cheap price, it’s something the hardened Magic fans will appreciate much more than the casual player. You do however get to play as Garruk himself though so perhaps that’s the real big selling point!?
However, Magic is like anything; prepare to throw many hours into it and you’ll fairly quickly grasp the whole concept and eventually be at a point where you can start thinking a few moves in advance, countering and then attacking your opponent with a fair degree of ease. All this does however come after many big losses which just about test your metal to the full. The whole thing however is fairly addictive and even though I guess I’ve been coming at Magic 2015 from a slightly different perspective than most, am now happy to have at least experienced the offering….even the rock-solid Garruk’s Revenge downloadable content.
Multiplayer comes in the form of two, three or four player matches but seem no matter which option you try, any matchmaking seems to be sparsely populated. If you do manage to get a game though, make sure you take your A-Game to the table as it’s a bit of a tough place to be learning the game…Xbox Live members as a whole aren’t known for their mercy and it is no different with the Magic players.
Overall Magic 2015 – Duels of the Planeswalkers is much better than I expected. If the superb tutorial wasn’t included then there is no doubt in my mind that I would have binned it after only a few hours; as such, I’m now sitting here after spending many an evening with a game that I like to now go to whenever a ‘relax’ is needed.
If you have even a slight inclination to learn the way of the Planeswalker, or are already a fan of the Magic series, then 2015 should be something you’ll relish. Be aware though, if you are a complete and utter newcomer, expect to be treated to some extra special ass-whoopings the second you take your deck online. It’s not good enough to make me invest in a set of physical cards, but I now firmly believe that unless you’re fully entwined in the community Magic 2015 is a decent old starting point for the newbie.
You never know, I might even be back next year as the addiction is growing with every passing game.
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