On MTG XBLA and Wave
So, MTG DotP on XBLA. Let's just say that, while it has been nice to play with RedneckNinja, Yakumo, and D4nte like we used to, the experience is sorely lacking.
Yes, you get to play MTG online with other people. That part is good. 1v1, 3p FFA, 4p FFA, great. No messing with physical cards, don't have to find a place to set up, rules are taken care of automatically so you just play - all fine.
Then the annoyances start coming in. Glitches. Freezing. Timer that is too quick for some situations, such as complex blocking with 6+ creatures. Lack of a "concede game" button.
Finally, you get to the severe problems. No deck builder. Limited pre-constructed deck choices. Limited customization. Grinding unlock system. Lack of online co-op. Lack of online two-headed giant. Opponents quitting in Ranked. Very few challenges. Necessity of playing through the campaign twice, without online options.
The game felt pretty good at first, then quickly started being annoying, and now finally is revealing itself as not very well put together, thought out, and probably rushed to production. MTG in its physical form has endless variety to keep things interesting. The XBLA offering is so limited and glitchy that it gets boring/annoying very quickly, especially if you are trying to get all the cards unlocked. Yet again, boosting appears to be the way to go to minimize the annoyance factor.
I feel like the $10 is a good price point for an introduction to the game, but the experience is lacking once you're trough the tutorial. I'm fine with addon DLC that includes more cards/decks/challenges/avatars/playmats/music/modes/etc, as long as they include enough content at a reasonable price. However, there still needs to be a free update that includes, at minimum, bugfixes, deeper rules and timing explanations (double regen on combat/deathtouch), increased timer depending on the situation, online co-op and 2HG with no local requirement, concede, and a fix for quitters.
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Google Wave looks like an amazing concept. I watched that whole video, and am very enthusiastic about the possibilities. Once there is Wave integration with the discussion boards and major sites I'm interested in, I'm set. Just imagine a post here which is part of a thread on LAG, LeMed, and AGE, an email to those who may not read it here, and IM session with whoever is online at post time, and is also available at twitter - and anyone from any of those sites/systems can post replies to it to be seen by everyone else at each of those sites. That is amazingly efficient. Mobile, too.
I already find myself copy/pasting from site to site, or re-writing the same post 3-4 times on the different sites. And then I have to check back at each of them every time I want to see the updates. Not with Wave.
... That's the theory, we'll see how it plays out once it launches. I figure it will be a couple months minimum before the major discussion boards figure out their integration, then it will either be half-assed or rock. And probably a learning curve, too. Hmm, maybe a few more months to a year before it really comes into its own. Can't wait.
Yes, you get to play MTG online with other people. That part is good. 1v1, 3p FFA, 4p FFA, great. No messing with physical cards, don't have to find a place to set up, rules are taken care of automatically so you just play - all fine.
Then the annoyances start coming in. Glitches. Freezing. Timer that is too quick for some situations, such as complex blocking with 6+ creatures. Lack of a "concede game" button.
Finally, you get to the severe problems. No deck builder. Limited pre-constructed deck choices. Limited customization. Grinding unlock system. Lack of online co-op. Lack of online two-headed giant. Opponents quitting in Ranked. Very few challenges. Necessity of playing through the campaign twice, without online options.
The game felt pretty good at first, then quickly started being annoying, and now finally is revealing itself as not very well put together, thought out, and probably rushed to production. MTG in its physical form has endless variety to keep things interesting. The XBLA offering is so limited and glitchy that it gets boring/annoying very quickly, especially if you are trying to get all the cards unlocked. Yet again, boosting appears to be the way to go to minimize the annoyance factor.
I feel like the $10 is a good price point for an introduction to the game, but the experience is lacking once you're trough the tutorial. I'm fine with addon DLC that includes more cards/decks/challenges/avatars/playmats/music/modes/etc, as long as they include enough content at a reasonable price. However, there still needs to be a free update that includes, at minimum, bugfixes, deeper rules and timing explanations (double regen on combat/deathtouch), increased timer depending on the situation, online co-op and 2HG with no local requirement, concede, and a fix for quitters.
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Google Wave looks like an amazing concept. I watched that whole video, and am very enthusiastic about the possibilities. Once there is Wave integration with the discussion boards and major sites I'm interested in, I'm set. Just imagine a post here which is part of a thread on LAG, LeMed, and AGE, an email to those who may not read it here, and IM session with whoever is online at post time, and is also available at twitter - and anyone from any of those sites/systems can post replies to it to be seen by everyone else at each of those sites. That is amazingly efficient. Mobile, too.
I already find myself copy/pasting from site to site, or re-writing the same post 3-4 times on the different sites. And then I have to check back at each of them every time I want to see the updates. Not with Wave.
... That's the theory, we'll see how it plays out once it launches. I figure it will be a couple months minimum before the major discussion boards figure out their integration, then it will either be half-assed or rock. And probably a learning curve, too. Hmm, maybe a few more months to a year before it really comes into its own. Can't wait.