Magic: The Gathering. Most people know it as a popular collectible card game, but it's branched off into its own videogame. Magic: The Gathering — Battlegrounds isn't a card game videogame as I expected, but this is completely different. It's an actual Battle Game, which surprised me. What surprised me even more is the fact that I, knowing nothing whatsoever about the card game or anything related to it, somewhat enjoyed this game, though I felt it did have some major flaws.
There truly is no story to this game, it's just battling. You pick from 5 different types of Magic. Black, which is evil creatures; , Blue, which are all water based creatures; Green, which are trees and woodland type creatures; Red, which are based on fire; and White, which are based on healing and Light Warriors. You and your opponent are put onto a playing field, you on one side, he on the other, with a line down the middle you cannot cross. You summon creatures with your magic to battle your opponent's creatures. You must collect mana spheres, though, to keep your magic up. You can also cast spells to attack your opponent or to raise your creature's attack/defense. You begin with a LVL 1 character, but as you move up and defeat all the LVL 1 creatures, you gain LVL 2 people, and so on until LVL 3. Each type of Magic has its own 3 set of people. And that's basically the entire battle system.
The controls are simple enough to manipulate. One button to get into your list of creatures, another to get into your list of spells. A third corresponds to the creature/spell you wish to use. The control stick is used to run, and the R button to attack creatures that may be attacking you, or, if your opponent is close enough to the line, you can hit them as well.
Graphically, I found this game to be beautiful. The backgrounds and surroundings were done very well. The characters you play and the creature graphics left me awestruck. All the different colors around you as things are summoned and creatures attack was breathtaking. It was very well done. You never even really notice the music playing in the background, you're so focused battle.
My one biggest complaint is how annoying the sound of summoning monsters becomes. You hear your character yelling the same name every time he/she summons. For example, when you play as a White Magic character, she has a summon known as Youthful Knight….and, if you summon that 5 times, you hear it 5 times. Just imagine that…x10! Plus everything else you have to summon, and what your opponent is summoning. It becomes rather annoying
The difficulty is very uneven. When you complete the first round of characters it isn't too difficult. But, once you reach LVL 2, it's becomes nearly impossible. It can take you over 20 tries just to beat one character. This, being one of my videogame peeves, did not please me. Personally, due to the difficulty, I couldn't become too immersed in this game. It's fun, but I don't feel like putting up with the frustration.
Overall, I found the game entertaining, but, unless you're a diehard Magic: The Gathering fan, I don't suggest you buy it. It was fun, but, once again, it was just a little too hard for me, and I usually enjoy a challenge, but this just went too far. A good frustrating weekend might be the better way to go.
I am currently a 22 year old college student at Salem State College in Salem, Mass. I hope to graduate with a degree in history and go on to become a high school teacher. I have the best friends ever (better than yours) and would hate to live without them. I work at Stop & Shop ... and I hate it.
I like videogames FAR too much. I play them too much, spend too much money on them ... and I LOVE IT! There is no single videogame type that I don't like, and I am willing to play anything. Games are a big part of my life (and my wallet). Metal Gear Solid is by far my favorite videogame of all time, and to this day, I don't feel as if any other game can top the story, character design or atmosphere that any of the Metal Gear Solid games show us.
