Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013's storyline has been dramatically improved since the last Duels of the Planeswalkers release. The new game features a more in-depth storyline with an actual voiceover narrative to accompany the pre-match presentation. It seems the all-powerful Planeswalker Nicol Bolas is attempting to control the multiverse once again, but standing in his way are those other pesky Planeswalkers. Bolas plans to pick them apart one by one and sever their link to their Planeswalker abilities, so no one can stand in his way. Garruk, Lilliana, Jace, Chandra and Ajani will need to combine forces if they ever hope to put down the powerful being, but first they must learn to trust one another, if they are to defeat Nicol Bolas. The linearity of the storyline has returned from the original game, but you'll get a new narrated cutscene each time you travel to a new Plane and battle one of the game's 5 Planeswalkers, and the detailed biographies before matches are just icing on the cake.
Once you've completed the game's original campaign, you'll once again unlock the Revenge campaign, where tougher enemies await your challenge. Encounters can now be played in campaign, with challenges taking up a completely separate section with 10 challenges comprising the whole game mode. An encounter is a new game mode where your opponent's moves have been predetermined and will never change. You'll have to plan ahead and strategize to overcome each encounter the game presents to you to unlock the next corresponding encounter. Of course, Planechase has made its way into Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 as well, and the new four-player game mode is a ton of fun even if a bit time consuming.
Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 has introduced a plethora of new enhancements to an already addicting formula. Many of the best features from the past games have returned here including great sound effects and cool animations, but you'll immediately notice the addition of manual mana tapping, an end step and a red light in the middle of the table that signifies the attack phase. Many changes have been made out of games as well including a new player status screen that keeps tracks of statistics such as most damage done in a single turn, highest life total, most creatures in play, highest power of creature controlled, your most used mana color and leaderboard rankings. You'll also notice that deck manager can now be accessed without having to return to main menu, and you can unlock a whopping 30 cards for each of the 10 decks in the game. There are numerous other helpful changes in the game, but you get the point; this is hands-down the best version of Duels of the Planeswalkers ever developed.
If you've never played Magic: The Gathering before, this new release is the perfect way to learn the game. Not only does the game not allow you to make disastrous mistakes, but you'll easily learn important rules thanks to helpful in-game tips and hints that can be disabled when you're ready to move on. Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 also contains a very useful tutorial that will help ease you into the game if you ever feel overwhelmed by the card game's rules. Even advanced players can use help with cards' special abilities from time to time, so the feature that allows you to look up important terms and their meanings returns here as well.
If you're a fan of Magic: The Gathering, you should be playing Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 instead of reading this review. The new game offers up one of the best ways to play the game, and nothing we say will change that fact. Of course, playing a video game holds numerous advantages and disadvantages over playing the actual card game in real life, but this is still a far cheaper way to play the game than even what Magic: The Gathering Online offers. Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is also more accessible than ever thanks to the newest release being available for iPad. Buy this amazing new release, write Wizards of the Coast a thank you letter, head to your local store to pick up your special promotional card pack you receive just for buying the game and sit back and enjoy the wonderful and addicting new gameplay of Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013.
Game Features
Game Information:
Developer: Stainless Games
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Rating: T for Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence & Mild Suggestive Themes
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC (reviewed) & iPad
Release Date: June 20, 2012
Score: 10 out of 10
