Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers Xbox 360
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
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  1. NTSC-uk
    40
    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.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 4 out of 16
  1. arbie
    5
    Middling to poor. I played the demo and decided it was worth my NEARLY 15 DOLLARS (after conversion rates and local gouging in Japan) to download the software knowing its limitations and ignoring the harsher reviews on Metacritic, which means I have myself to blame. I do want to enjoy it, and will probably continue fiddling with it from time to time. I was let down by the game AI -- it's not true AI as most have noted because you're going up against nonvariable conditions where "players" are instructed to do X when possible, or Y when stuck, which makes it about the same as online chess against a computer, which means the insult is when you realize there are only two real computer opponents: those who play expert and come at you with a pre-programmed strategy, or those who leave you be when you leave YOURSELF wide open to attack. Without being able to properly build your own deck you do struggle to beat the opponents at higher levels, but the gameplay is predicable and the computers don't mix and match their own decks at any point, making replay pointless. Playing casually or hardcore against another human is pointless as being in the same room with another Magic player, you're both going to own cards already -- and if you're looking for online Magic buddies, you'll have known about (and been paying for) the PC service for ages. The XBLA Magic "game" is targeting cash-heavy suckers, essentially, since the Venn diagram for Xbox gold membership gamers and Magic card players only overlap in the area of disposable income. But I'm making unfair claims about people now -- I obviously bought the damned game, I have an Xbox, I play Magic casually, I ignored the Metacritic reviews past the second scroll, and I feel burned. The game does offer a nice change of pace from most of my Arcade collection. Ah well. BUYER BEWARE!… Full Review »
  2. DavidD.
    10
    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.… Full Review »
  3. Z9000
    4
    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.… Full Review »
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