Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planewalkers

List Price: $29.95 Discount Price: $38.20

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine	The Matrix

Customer Reviews:

top of my list [Posted on 2003-07-14]
I began playing the card game several years ago, and when the PC software came out, I knew I had to have it. I have just about worn mine out playing it over and over again. I would say it is a must have game, but since the online version was released they have shown no interest in upgrading this version. Therefore, if you are running Windows 2000 or XP, or plan to upgrade soon then you are out of luck as far as enjoying this marvelous game. I recently upgraded to XP and now I wish I hadn't. Only the oline version works on a newer OS, but you have to buy electronic cards. This really ..., especially for those of us who started out playing the original game and spent hundreds of dollars on the cards already.

In closing, the game is awesome and if you have Windows 95/98 and plan to stick with that OS for a while then definitely add this to your gaming collection. Windows 2000 & XP users, on the other hand, are just out of luck!

Duels of the Planeswalkers on Windows2000 and XP. [Posted on 2003-12-30]
For those who have stumbled across these older reviews of the game where the incompatibility with Win2K and XP was listed as a downside, note that there is an unofficial patch that was released some time ago that let it run under NT based versions of windows, and slowed the 'shandalar' campaign down to normal levels on modern machines. It also replaces the serial networking option with a TCP/IP LAN/Internet direct connection for multiplayer(so it can still be used online), and has tons of tweaks and bugfixes to the game. Just search for 'Unofficial manalink patch 1.3.2' to find it and once again enjoy this wonderful game.

I never played much of the 'shandalar' campaign style game, but I must say that the actual card game within the engine is a top notch representation of the physical card game, and I really prefer it to the more modern and free options such as Magic Workshop, which to me was more of an interactive Magic-themed shared whiteboard, where anyone can do anything, wether it be an actual legal action or not.

shandalar error [Posted on 2005-08-05]
im using win98me and i got a problem
when i enter shandalar i get cardartlib.dll error
at first fight and game crashes.
the only thing i can do is duel with random packs and edit my own packs but i can'T go in shandalar as first fight crashes
i whant to know if there is a way (patches or reg manipulations)
and about patches where to get them to make game works :(.
please help me

A Great Way to Get Your MtG Fix [Posted on 2006-07-01]
Magic: the Gathering has always been a great CCG... far and away the favorite of the handful I've tried. This software allows you to play the game against the computer or friends in a network, building any decks you want from it's stock of several hundred cards. It's awesome to have that kind of freedom without having to pay for it... the cards in this game are from the first sets of cards released, so any deck you build would no doubt cost you thousands of dollars if you tried to recreate it in real life! That's the main reason I loved this game, it let me indulge in the strategy of Magic without turning it into a game of who-has-the-bigger-wallet, which would oftentimes happen in the real game. The interface is quite full-featured and facilitates quick play. The game has a handful of other features too... like a humourously archaic face editor to create your wizardly visage, a video tutorial featuring people in funny costumes, and a simple adventure mode where you run around collecting cards to battle the ultimate evil fiend. Banzai!

This game isn't without it's problems, though. This is a Windows 95 game, which means newer operating systems may have trouble running it (as usual, Compatibility Mode is useless). Also, the computer's AI is far from perfect, making what many would consider awful mistakes even on the highest difficulty. There are a lot of cards in this game, but seeing as how a lot came out for this game after 5th edition (the latest set this game covers), people who also play MtG or MtG Online may wish the sets were updated.

The Verdict:

For fans of Magic and other collectible card games, I have to recommend this one. You won't find anywhere ekse where you can play Magic, against others, with the deck of your design for $40. If you're a fan of CCGs and not a fan of the price (like I am), this is your ticket. I kindof wished they'd kept making expansions like this, but once WotC realized how cool it was they decided they were going to make Magic the Gathering Online and charge people for cards.

Pros:
+Full featured MtG action
+Deck editor with 800 cards you don't have to pay for
+Online and offline play

Cons:
-It's an old game
-Doesn't include newer cards
-AI is servicable, but never good

Duels of Planewalkers - Windows XP [Posted on 2007-01-02]
Duels of Planewalkers is a an upgrade to the original M:TG game. This version adds: the current engine upgrades (fixing many bugs and incorporating ManaLink), the newer interface (as seen previously in Spells of the Ancients), and 80 new cards from Legends and The Dark.

The Unofficial Manalink Patch (some sellers provide link for download) makes this game work on Windows XP.

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