MTG 2014 (XBLA): "Double Take"

I know some of you are wondering what this "Double Take" review/article is all about, so I will gladly explain. As a gaming journalist I strive to give accurate details in my reviews, and as thorough as my initial review of MTG 2014 was it ended up seeming more like a "First Impressions" type of article. I absolutely do not like doing things half-assed, and as thorough as that last review was it still seemed half-assed to me. Being the perfectionist that I am I have decided to right my wrongs, and deliver a more in-depth review of MTG 2014. A game like "Magic the Gathering" is truly complex in nature, and takes some quality time to fully understand. As such a gaming journalist like myself should not rush their work just to get the job done. I knew I needed to spend some more time with the game, but at the same time felt that I needed to rush to get the review out there to support the game. For this I apologize. As I mentioned earlier I am here to rectify that wrongdoing though. So, without further adieu, let us get into this beast of a game that is MTG 2014!!!

In MTG 2014 we find that the game's main protagonist, "Chandra Nalaar" has been tricked by an unknown Planeswalker. She has literally stepped into the middle of a trap, and must find out who's behind it before things get worse. Throughout a singleplayer campaign mode that acts as the main story you play as Chandra Nalaar's friend, an assistant of sorts. As her faithful assistant you must take on several duelists in order to gather the artifacts needed to track down the infamous Planeswalker known as Ramaz. Your journey across several planes (Innistrad, Ravnica ...) will ultimately put you up against an interesting variety of new duelists, as well as some old Planeswalker encounters. As you might imagine each duelist you encounter specializes in their own unique color themed brand of spell casting, and will pose a proper threat unless you are familiar with your own deck of spells. In the end, with the aid of Chandra herself you'll be able to take on the all-powerful Ramaz via a 2-on-1 duel. It will take all of your MTG know how, and proper deck management to best these mages of the planes, and overcome the threat known as Ramaz.

Like any version before it MTG 2014 eases the player into the gameplay mechanics with a well fleshed out tutorial mode. The tutorial mode is definitely leagues better than the previous game offerings, and is served up with a well-spoken narration provided by a male voice actor. You will be able to gradually hone your skills through preset demo matches, and learn all there is to know about the various card interactions found within the game. By the time you finish the tutorial you should be educated enough to play the game properly.

After you've finished graduating the optional MTG 2014 tutorial course you will be able to experience the rest of what the game has in store for you. You'll find that the singleplayer, and multiplayer modes found therein offer a selection of similar game modes/types including "Free-For-All", "Two-Headed Giant" as well as the new "Sealed Play" game type. If you want to start off properly though it is best to take on the singleplayer campaign, so that you can unlock all of the decks found within the game. The campaign itself is divided into sections according to the Plane name. Each section in turn has four duels, and the added option to challenge one of the older Planeswalkers as well. The first three duel encounters for each Plane are more challenge driven, and will require certain in-game tactics to win. After completing the third encounter of each set you will be given the chance to take on that Plane's main duelist in a fourth duel, ultimately winning their deck along with a story relic should you come out victorious. It isn't until you've defeated this fourth duelist threat that you will be given the additional chance to challenge/unlock one of the five former MTG 2013 Planeswalkers (Garruck Wildspeaker, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Ajani Goldmane & Liliana Vess).

The Campaign mode plays out through in-game gameplay as well as animated cutscenes that depict Chandra Nalaar. Character driven dialogue also delves deeper into Chandra's current predicament. The animations, while a little primitive in design are something entirely new to the "MTG: Duels of the Planeswalkers" video game series. The animated cutscenes in essence basically serve as a means to visually breathe life into the main protagonist, and make the game more engaging in the process. Other animations found within the game include the almost fullscreen standing animated image of Chandra Nalaar. Her hair is aflame as one would expect it to be, and is blowing in an imaginary wind. Aside from this interesting visuals you'll also find that Stainless Games has added an "Extras" menu that includes an art gallery filled with character paintings, and bios as well as a video gallery that collects each animated video cutscene from your campaign playthrough.

After you've defeated Ramaz in the game's main campaign mode you will be gifted yet another campaign to playthrough. This new campaign titled, "Revenge" will pit you against the handful of duelists that you previously encountered in the initial campaign. The only difference this time around is that the encounters are way more difficult than they were before, and will require a proper understanding of the deck you chose to use. You will not have to go through the additional three encounters to get to the final duelists, so this is definitely more of a straightforward experience regardless of it's enhanced difficulty.

Also returning to the forefront are two fan favorites. You'll find that both the "Free-For-All", and the "Two Headed Giant" are still available in the offline, and online modes. Free-For-All is exactly as it sounds. You will choose your deck, and go up against 1-3 other players. The winner in such a match is the one who fully depletes their opponents' life. In the online version of the "Free-For-All" game type your deck choice will be kept secret from the opposing player making for a fairer encounter. In the offline version this feature doesn't really matter, because you are up against an AI opponent. Another thing to note is that the game supports headsets, as well as the Kinect video feature. Last night while taking on some Online opponents I got to see the Kinect function in action. The player had a stuffed "Gizmo (Gremlins)" sitting in front of the Kinect's camera making for a truly laughable moment. The Kinect images take place of the character personas within the game.

Speaking of Personas, MTG 2014's "Player Status" menu is quite a bit different this time around. Not only will you see the usual favorite deck, chosen persona, and overall stats, but there's also an added "Titles" feature that gives you an added bit if flair as well. The selectable/unlockable personas found within MTG 2014 are for the most part basically the same as they were before. You'll find many familiar character faces that were made available in MTG 2013. There are also a handful of new personas that require certain methods of play to unlock. The same goes for the "Titles". In order to obtain the different titles, and personas you will need to perform certain in-game tasks. These can be anything from playing a certain colored deck repeatedly to playing the game at a certain time of day/night. The more difficult the title is to unlock the more the online prowess it offers your once bland Gamertag. You should also keep in mind that losses are not counted this time in the "Player Status" menu. Only wins are counted as well as certain card based achievements (creatures on playing field, health points ...).

Moving on ... The "Two-Headed Giant" game type is just as it was back in MTG 2013. In this game type there are two teams of two players. The players in each team work together to defeat the opposing team. Life for the teams as you are likely well aware of is a shared feature. Each team starts of with a total of 30 life, and the first to deplete the other players' life completely wins. Players in the "Two-Headed Giant" game type cannot help out their partners, or manipulate their partner's cards in any way. Even so, as a team you must work together to defeat your opponents. Another thing to note is that effects such as poison will affect both players on an individual team in the "Two-Headed Giant" game type.

Aside from the return game types you'll find that the innovative masterminds over at Wizards of the Coast have created an entirely new MTG experience. This new game type that is appropriately titled, "Sealed Play" features a booster pack oriented deck building tutorial, and a unique gaming experience all it's own. During your initial offline play of "Sealed Play" you will be gifted several new unopened MTG 2014 booster packs. Upon selecting each pack via a button press the packs will open up on the screen revealing the random cards that are contained within. You will open a total of around 5 packs before being sent to a newly designed deck management menu. In this new deck management system you will learn how to properly construct a viable deck. The deck management menu will allow you to sort your newly gained cards manually, or with the assistance of an auto-management option. Either way your deck will be rated via a visual scale, this scale in turn will give your finalized deck a rating from "Weak" to the best possible "Awesome". Continual play in both the offline, and online versions of "Sealed Play" will reward the player with additional booster packs making it more of an ongoing experience rather than a mere deck building tutorial. I should also mention that the offline "Sealed Play" is a campaign in itself, and that will pit you, and your newly created deck against the five main Plainswalkers. By winning you will gain up to two new booster packs that are found within a couple of the Sealed Play Campaign's duels. 

Lastly you'll find that MTG also brings back the "Challenges" that were featured in earlier versions of the Planeswalkers saga. These "Challenges" come decked out in their own two part mode. The first "Challenge" type will ease you into using the more advanced techniques of MTG, while the latter unlockable Challenge type will require some expert thinking on your behalf. You will ultimately have to overcome each card based scenario placed before you by outwitting your AI opponent with the cards you have in hand, and on the battlefield. There is only one way to win each preset duel, and this could range from playing a single card from a given selection to taking a more defensive stance against an incoming attack. In the end you will usually have to reduce your opponent's life to nothing.

Now onto the deck assessments ...

MTG 2014 has an overall good selection of new, and seemingly old decks to choose from. These decks range from the usual single color decks to the more involved decks that have multiple colors to manage. Return Planeswalkers bring along with them newly revamped decks that feature similar cards as well as some new cards that weren't previously introduced. You'll find that some of your favorite cards from MTG 2013 may not be there anymore though, and that there are other cards have taken their place. My favorite deck, Garruck Wildspeaker's "Hunter's Strength" for example returns without many of the creature cards that I had grown to love in the MTG 2013 deck. Is it any less powerful? Not really. The cards that now make up the deck give the player more options to greatly enhance the strength of their 3/3 - 4/5 creatures. Cards like "Enlargement" will give your creatures a temporary +7/+7 boost. There are also armor type equipment cards such as the "Oakenform" card that will give your creatures a more permanent boost. In other words, this newly formed "Hunter's Strength" deck is just as powerful as it was before. You'll just have to adjust your gameplay style a bit.

Another deck that seems to be a bit OP is Jace Beleren's "Mind Maze". I had called this deck out in my previous MTG 2014 review stating that it had great potential, and as it turns out it most definitely does. Often times you will find yourself dueling against a "Mind Maze" player in the online mode of the game. Jace's deck plays heavily on creatures that build other played creatures up to ridiculous strength/defense sizes. Certain illusion cards will also allow "Mind Maze" players to capture, and control opponent's creatures. Since Jace Beleren is a mind mage you'll also find plenty of powerful spell oriented cards that can deal massive damage to both player, and creature. The title, "Mind Maze" definitely suits this deck's play style.

Aside from these two powerhouse decks you'll also find that Lilian Vess returns with a vengeance like no other. Her solid Black deck titled, "Deadwalker" will make a miserable mess of your online experience with cards that punish you for you punishing them. The zombie type cards often times cannot be destroyed, and any attempt to do so will only resurrect them in a more powerful, and menacing way. Liliana's deck also wields cards that will cast your creatures, artifacts, and spells into oblivion. There's no doubt in my mind that you will encounter many "Deawlaker" players online as I have. her deck comes in a close second being as great as that of Jace Beleren's.

Last, but not least I'd like to touch base on what I call an underdog deck. While Sigismund's "Avacyn's Glory" might have the lowest creature size, and may not look appealing stat wise this deck houses some very powerful spell cards, and creatures that can take even a seasoned MTG player down. The only downside I'v found to this deck is that it relies heavily on your having a good supply of lands in hand. If you do not play lands quickly your more powerful creatures, and spell cards will end up useless as you are dealt a barrage of attacks from your opponent. Should you get those lands out there quickly though you will have a deck worth reckoning with. In my time with the "Avacyn's Glory" deck online I have toppled a handful of skilled MTG players. This included a player yielding the Black "Deadwalker" deck. Like I said, this is most definitely an underdog deck that most players won't see coming. I'm sure there are other decks that are underdog worthy as well, but for now this is my call.

Now onto the verdict ...

MTG 2014 brings to us yet another thoroughly enjoyable experience. Not only does the developer reinvent the old offerings, but they also bring with them some entirely new things. The campaign which is decked out with animated videos, and an end song is quite the engaging experience. I will admit that the graphics in the videos do look a bit dated, but at least the developer attempted to do something new with the main protagonist's story. Other new found features such as the art gallery, and the animated card images (forgot to mention that one O_o) add a proper accent to the core MTG experience. I also loved the new tutorial mode, and the added "Sealed Play" which in itself acts as a deck construction tutorial. Everything offered this time around makes for a more solid "Magic the Gathering" experience. It will no doubt educate newcomers of the game about past features, but will also serve as an entirely new experience for veteran players of the Trading Card Game.  I highly suggest you getting this game if you have not done so already. For 800 msp you are getting one heck of a deal!