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Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers

EMAIL PRINT xbox360

8.2 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 28 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

Developer: Stainless Games

Genre(s): Strategy, Simulation

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: June 17, 2009

Summary

An extension of the world's premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers' brings a pulse-pounding mix of strategic thinking, fantastic artwork, and arcade-style thrills to Xbox LIVE Arcade. Experience an epic game of fantasy and strategy, as never before, when you take on the mantle of a planeswalker - a powerful mage capable of traversing the infinite planes of existence - and forge your destiny! [Wizards of the Coast]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Gameplanet

The digital realization of this popular game is equally impressive, as the developers have done an amazing job of retaining the essence of the card game.

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Video Game Talk

For $10, “Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers” is a lot of bang for the buck.

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GamePro

Seemingly everything Magic players would want in a virtual adaptation of the now classic card game.

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HellBored

As it stands, Duels of the Planeswalkers is a really enjoyable game. It allows newcomers to learn the ropes while letting experts get straight into dueling. Should it receive extensive support in the future – buying decks online, booster packs, online trading of cards – it could be massive. We sincerely hope it will be expanded down the line, because after a few days straight playing, we’d like to see some variation or the ability to construct dueling decks from scratch. But for your Microsoft Points, it’s something that comes highly recommended.

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GamingTrend

Duels of the Planeswalkers isn’t a perfect interpretation of sitting down and playing a few rounds with friends at the kitchen table, but it’s remarkably good all the same.

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Edge Magazine

The game’s depth is matched by a generous breadth of modes and options.

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Official Xbox Magazine

A campaign of surprisingly smart A.I. opponents. [Sept 2009, p.87]

Absolute Games

Duels of the Planeswalkers (which bears the same title as the 11-year old expansion to MicroProse’s adaptation of M:TG) is a neat, albeit simplified, adaptation of the classic game.

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Console Monster

One of the better card games on XBLA. For those new to the world of Magic, I would suggest checking out the demo first, just to see if you're into this sort of game.

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IGN

An entertaining brand of card battle game, with plenty of depth, complexity, and unpredictability to keep you drawing from your library again and again.

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TeamXbox

For those who don’t care about the game’s look, but simply want to play with a remote friend or not have to bother with the rules/dealing minutia, Duels of the Planeswalkers will probably be a great buy.

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Destructoid

So, here’s the deal: if you want a recreation of the Magic experience without having to fuss with booster packs or shuffling, or if you need a refresher on the M10 rules, Duels of the Planeswalkers should be a game to consider.

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PALGN

Although there are some niggles for both newcomers and pros, Magic: The Gathering is a great card game that translates well into a fun video game.

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Multiplayer.it

Magic: Duels of Planeswalkers is a perfect replica of the classic card game formula. The only drawbacks are the limited amount of available cards and the fact that you can't create a set of those from scratches, with just the options to combine a few bonus cards with the basic sets provided to the player. Multiplayer and Co op modes will last for many hours, balancing the limited amount of available cards.

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Gamervision

The allure of the online experience over Xbox Live should be tempting to fans of the game, especially with hopes that some of the issues might be fixed with future downloadable content to add further customization.

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Gamer Limit

Even if you've never played the card game before, then this is your best bet at an introduction. If your a prior enthusiast; you will love this game.

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Cheat Code Central

Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers may not revolutionize computerized card-based games, but is does one simple thing right, it allows for new and old fans to meet on equal ground.

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Meristation

The popular card game Magic: The Gathering arrives on Xbox360 via Xbox Live Arcade. Good tutorial options for beginners and all the essence of the card game for pros, but with poor environment graphics and effects.

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GameSpy

Duels of the Planeswalkers sacrifices that customizability in order to present a friendlier, easier brand of Magic to Xbox Live Arcade. Without deckbuilding, and with such a limited card pool, this is ultimately going to be a novelty for any serious Magic player.

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3DJuegos

Duels of the Planeswalkers is a decent game that will keep you busy for a very long time.

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WonderwallWeb

Magic is a decent game and at times is also quite addictive. Any fans of the cad game will enjoy playing this.

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MS Xbox World

Duels of the Planeswalkers will keep you busy for a very long time.

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Eurogamer Spain

This is not a game for hardcore Magic fans, as those will find frustrating the inability to create a customised deck. But it's a great game for novice players and those interested in having a fun multiplayer game.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Matches are often intense affairs tempered by just the right mixture of strategy and luck.

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X360 Magazine UK

It's cheaper than an actual Starter pack. [Issue#49, p.103]

GameSpot

If you're already a Magic expert, this is an acceptable way to get in a few games online with friends, though you'll likely find the inability to create your own deck to be a pretty major drawback. If you're a Magic neophyte, you'll get more out of this experience.

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NTSC-uk

In terms of its game mechanics Duels of the Planeswalkers is a great conversion of the card game with an excellent interface in place, but unfortunately the heart and soul of the game have been torn out. What’s left is just a shell of the Magic experience; it looks and sounds like Magic, but has little of the depth, challenge and satisfaction that the physical version offers.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 28 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

David D. gave it a10:
Absolutely Love it!! I don't know how this game can be any better. I was never a die hard but I did play a little bit here and there. The things I didn't like about the actual card game was all the cards that you had to handle. And of course I had no one to play against because all the people were so freaking nerdy with their broken decks!! In this, anyone has a chance to win because you can't have every and any card you want. Everyone is on the same footing almost. You unlock cards as you go through the single player. And of course the online game is great because you can always find someone to play against.

Vampire gave it a1:
This suks, realy suks. Why? Thers one reason that drops this game to trash - lack of deck builder!! Thats the heart of MtG!! i didnt played too much this game (demo) but i want buy it - thats for sure. Time limit is too low, allocating damage on multiple defenders changes rules of game!! Who did this crap?! NO NO NO for MtG on xbox!!

Z9000 gave it a4:
What a monstrously bad attempt at sloughing off what equates to an extended demo of Magic The Gathering and then charging people for it! Designers had a horrible understanding of how to build decks and proper number of cards in type, and required tools. Too bad, you are stuck playing them as there is no true deck builder. You can't even remove stock cards to put any "unlocked" cards in. Instead you can only add to the poorly designed decks and dilute their effectiveness. This whole mess seems consistent with what appears to be Microsoft's new focus, being an ad based service. If you want a real MTG game, go dig up the Microprose release from the 90's, it's still king.

M D gave it a7:
Overall this is a good treatment of MTG. The card artwork is beautiful and the "table" you play is attractive enough. MTG has very complex card interactions and they all seem to be handled faithfully. The AI even uses all the nasty card combination that experienced players HATE to be on the receiving end of (but we love it when we can use them). Unfortunately, the game does have a couple of medium-sized problems as well as a few annoyances. The biggest issue by far is the lack of a true deck builder. The included decks (which you "win" by beating the AI) represent a decent range of playing styles, but you can only customize them by adding/removing cards that you also have won through play. Neither land cards nor the "stock" cards that the deck starts with are customizable. Want extra Giant Spiders in your green deck? Sorry. Want to go land-heavy so you can afford all your Craw Wurms? No can do. I understand that they need to prevent users from stocking a deck with tons of ultra-rare, game-changing artifacts (which IRL would be quite expensive to collect), but they can handle that with rules (no more than 4 rares per deck, etc.). Hopefully a true deck-builder will be added in a DLC patch, though it's going to irk me to pay for it. The other medium-sized issue, IMO, is the mandatory timers in online play. More than once I have been prevented from calculating an effective attack or block (which calculations can get very complex!) because the stupid timer expired. Even the "pause" button (which you have about 4 seconds to press) only slows the timer down. When the host sets up an online game, he/she should be able to specify which timers, if any, are active. I understand that they want to prevent players from indefinitely pausing a game to force the opponent to quit, but when I'm playing with a known friend I should be able to disable all of that and have a relaxing game that lets me take 2 or 3 minutes to figure out the best way to whack the other guy's stupid forestwalking flying pixies with +11/+11. Grrr. Minor quibbles include challenges with impossible starting conditions (how could a card with the effect of "if this card is not played from your hand, you lose" already be on the board?), an apparent bug regarding playing of instants during the block phase (it only allows one?), and no way to over-allocate damage on multiple defenders (for example if you have 4 damage to allocate between two 1/1 defenders, there's no way to allocate 2 and 2; you must choose a defender and allocate exactly 1 damage to it, then the other 3 goes to the other defender). The "campaign" mode is kind of silly, but that's how you unlock decks and cards so you gotta go through it to get the good stuff. None of these issues is a dealbreaker in any way - the game is well worth the $10 and all MTG fans should buy it. If they add a full deck-builder, the game will be 9/10, and if they allow the host to set game & deck rules (including shutting off the timers), it's 10/10.

mike w gave it a10:
DotP is a great way to enjoy a casual game of Magic without having fork over a hundred dollars putting a couple of decks together then trying to find someone to play with you.

Andyman gave it a9:
Finally, a very affordable way to play Magic. It's very nicely done, with a clean interface, great sound, good animation, and a crapton of things to do. I'm eagerly looking forward to playing it on Live... once I get a bunch of the unlockable cards.

C A gave it an8:
If you're a fan of MTG, here's what I think you want to know - you start with 2 basic decks, you earn new cards and new decks by playing against the AI opponents. (Not by buying more cards with real money) You can play through the campaign either single player or co-op (co-op is offline only, and versus is online only), and you can play online with friends, or against strangers in ranked or unranked matches. Online play includes support for 2, 3, and 4 player matches. The biggest drawback so far seems to be the lack of a full deck editor. You unlock the decks they have for you, and can't change any of the basic cards of the deck - all you can do is add to it (or not) from the other cards you earn. (I'm hoping once I get far enough, I'll unlock the ability to fully edit the decks, but for now it seems like they streamlined this to prevent people from making "broken" decks.) There is also a puzzle mode I haven't really dug into that seems similar to the old puzzle set ups they would have in issues of "The Duelist." Aside from that, the presentation is great - the timing system takes some getting used to, but works well (Make sure you turn off simplified targeting if you're an advanced player!), and I'm having a blast with it. Highly recommended if you ever had fun with any of MTG's video game or real world incarnations, or if you just want to see what all the fuss is about without dropping a lot of cash.

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Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

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