It's been over 10 years since I last played Magic:The Gathering(MTG) and today I'm finally back at it. I tried out Magic 2012 trial on PS3 and I liked it, so I bought a $20 value PSN card(cost SGD$39) to buy it off the US Playstation Store. The game cost only USD$9.99 which makes it the cheapest digital card game so far in my library! I wasn't sure if my credit card will work for the US store and PSN was also hacked not too long ago where credit card accounts got stolen so...
After playing so many handheld digital card games, it's nice to play one in 720p HD quality. MTG also used painting quality art and the interface is also very sleek and beautiful. My knowledge of the game was rusty but there are tips throughout that help.
One note about the game, the decks are pre-constructed and you are only allowed to unlock and change 15 cards so you do not get to build your own deck in the game. It is a refreshing change and players can pick up the game immediately without having to search for deck recipes. I rely on my old knowledge from this Inquest magazine that rates MTG cards that helps me choose cards which I think it is better to modify the deck. Once you unlock cards, you have to go to the deck manager to edit as the com just adds them into the deck. Similar to Yugioh, you'll want to keep your deck size to the min allowed; 60.
There is also the previous version, Magic Duel of the Planeswalkers 2011. I read some comparisons and it seems that 2012 has improvements and a better interface. There was a forum poster that mentioned 2011 decks are more fun. I tried out the 2011 trial and it didn't appeal to me at all. 2012's expansion is also out recently(14 Sept) as a download content for US$4.99 and it adds more stuff like unlockable cards and I will be spending the rest of the $20 value on that.
Update: I really need to tell you that the loading times on the game are horrible! It loads for a long time even when loading up a deck in the Deck Manager which I think is unacceptable for a game that is run from the hard-disk.
