Genre: Card Game
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Release date: June 17, 2009

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This game is a must-have for any Magic: the Gathering player that owns an Xbox or any new player wanting to improve their skills at the game before playing out in the real world of tournaments and free play.

Graphics:
The graphics are really good. The images on the cards look almost as good as the real cards. The game gives you options to change the table you play your games on as well as the picture that represents you. Everything is bright and visible. The text on the cards can be zoomed in to a larger size so it can be read clearly, instead of forcing people to squint their eyes just so they can see.

Sound:
The music is nice. It isn’t like most games where it’s one little phrase repeated over and over again, but it does get a little boring after a long time. The sound effects that are used when doing things like playing a card or the attacking sounds during the combat steps really help improve the game.

Controls:
The controls are pretty simple in the complexity. The basics are easy to grasp: A to play a card, Y to move steps, X to pause the turn timer, and Left Stick to move around your field. There are other little things like using the right stick to view any card on the field and hitting the bumpers to zoom in on a card that take a little bit to figure out.

Flow:
As far as the campaign goes, it has a really nice flow. Each level gets a little trickier, and each level you should have a new card for your deck. The puzzles get harder and harder, too, but with those you don’t have to go in order, which is nice.  One really nice thing is the hints that pop up. These are great for new players that may not know about Summoning Sickness (a creature cannot attack the turn it was played) or other game mechanics that experienced players already know. You can either press A and continue or press B to have them never show up. For new players or people that haven’t played in a long time, these are a really nice thing to keep around for a couple games.

Fun Factor:
This game is a lot of fun for anyone that loves trading card games. Experienced players of the game can enjoy figuring out the challenge puzzles and enjoy the campaign mode. New players can set the difficulty a little easier and go through a tutorial to learn, then jump into the campaign mode. Got a buddy that plays or wants to learn? No problem! There’s even a co-op campaign. If you don’t like that, you can set up custom games where you play against a specific planeswalker to test if your deck will work or not in all situations.

Female Factor:
The player of the game is you, so if you’re female, then the player is female. There are also female planeswalkers that you play against during the course of puzzle and campaign mode. In the help & options section of the menu, you can change the picture that represents you to either a male or female character, as well.

Replay Value:
There is plenty replay value to this game. Not only can you keep playing with the deck you have, you can replay the campaigns with the other decks you unlock to complete them all. For a collector, there’s even an achievement for unlocking every single card of every deck, which can only be done by playing!

Overall, this is a very nice game. There are good graphics, great replay value, and it’s just a lot of fun. If you don’t have it yet, it’s well worth the 800 MS points.