Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds – PC – Preview

E3 2003 –
First Look

Magic The Gathering fans are
in for a treat. The game has just become a lot more visual and a lot deeper.

Magic The Gathering:
Battlegrounds is still firmly ensconced in the card game format but the game has
added a variety of options and features that will likely draw in players from
other genres and reward them with a challenging and evolving gaming experience.

The game, slated for release
in November 2003 from Atari, was demonstrated at E3 in Los Angeles. It will be
available as a Xbox Live! title.

Features include 70
different spells, 16 levels of play, downloadable content, a wide variety of
gaming options including multiplayer and versus modes as well as quest and story
modes.

This is real-time strategic
fighting between factions. The easier side of the draw, Red versus Green, in a
duel mode will take approximately three-to-five minutes to determine a winner
whereas the more complex and strategically oriented classes (like the Blue and
White decks) will take much longer in a battle.

If you consider the mental
challenges associated with the actual card game, then you have an idea of that
which waits in Battlegrounds.

The look of the game is
similar in style to titles like Gauntlet, with lush graphics and solid
animation. The duel screen, because of its smaller size, can seem chaotic, but
the player interface makes the real-time combat move smoothly. There did not
seem to be anything that truly popped out in the audio department.

Magic The Gathering has a
fanatical following, and while Battlegrounds may initially confuse those not
familiar with the style of gaming, it will draw players in with its challenging
style of play. This is not just a reflexive exercise.