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Magic: The Gathering (1997)
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Magic: The Gathering (1997)
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==Game Mechanics== The game is playable in several modes: a single-player campaign, a duel or tournament against computer-controlled opponents, and later a multiplayer experience added by the Manalink add-on. All three share the same dueling interface, which is based on the mechanics of the real-life ''Magic: The Gathering'' card game. In Duel and Multiplayer modes, the game allowed a player to construct his or her own deck (using a specialized Deck Editor), or to play with a randomly generated deck (simulating a "fresh pack of cards" as was the custom in various tournaments at the time). The single-player campaign however required the player to participate in a large-scale quest, during which he or she would endeavor to gather cards and thus be able to construct more powerful playing decks, hopefully powerful enough to defeat the campaign's chief antagonists. ===Card Duel=== This mode of the game attempts to simulate the experience of playing with actual ''Magic: The Gathering'' cards. The player is shown a tableaux which is divided into two halves - the lower half for the player's cards, and the upper half for the opponent's cards. Both players draw randomly from their own available cards (their personal "deck"), then proceed to play a standard game of ''Magic: The Gathering'', based as closely as possible on ''Magic: The Gathering'' official rules. The match progresses in phases and turns, corresponding with the M:TG rule-set, with the program automatically skipping over certain phases when no action is possible and/or required. The player can set break-points to allow him or her to execute "fast-acting" spells or card abilities in case the program is not smart enough to automatically spot such possibilities. Each player's life-counter is displayed on their side of the playing field, and will either rise or drop according to the progression of the game. The player can also rearrange his or her played cards to allow better visibility when the playing field becomes crowded, often during prolonged matches. When the card duel is initiated as part of the Single-Player Campaign, special rules may apply. Often this includes higher (or lower) life counter for one or both players, a card that appears at the start of the match for one or both players, or a global effect that influences both players (either beneficial or detrimental, often depending on the composition of either player's deck). ===Single-Player Campaign=== The single-player campaign was played mainly on an isometric representation of the game world, consisting of a randomly generated landscape dotted with terrain features and places of interest. The player would initially select a difficulty level and a preferred magical "color", and subsequently be given a randomly-generated deck consisting (mainly) of cards from that chosen color. The character was then transported to the world map, initiating the game. Travel across the world map was done in real-time. The player would move the character across the landscape using simple mouse clicks, evading or intercepting enemies who themselves were predominantly interested in intercepting the player-character. Upon a successful interception, the game would transfer into "duel" mode, where the player would compete against the encountered enemy using the ''Magic: The Gathering'' card game system. A card or set of cards would often be wagered, and particularly powerful enemies might offer additional rewards beyond the waged cards. Some enemies had unique abilities that allowed them to gain a specific advantage for the duration of the battle, while some enemies could summon up a surprise substitution to play in their stead (e.g.. a more powerful enemy). The landscape was composed of patches of different types of terrain, corresponding with the five colors of the game world. Different terrain might offer benefits or hindrances to movement, although roads could also be used for travel in which case the player-character moved faster than enemies. Terrain also dictated the boundaries across which enemies could travel, as they had to adhere to terrain matching their own color(s). More importantly, each type of terrain offered a chance for special encounters to appear, often unique to one terrain type or another. Such encounters would yield anything from combat to instant rewards, and often included riddles that required some knowledge of the various game cards. The world map contained a large number of cities which could be visited, and these formed the backbone for the underlying roleplaying mechanics in this game. Each city offered some cards for sale (of a color matching the terrain around the city), the purchase of food (required to prevent slow-downs on the world map due to hunger), and often quests that usually involved reaching another city, acquiring a specific card, or engaging an enemy in the nearby area. Cities would also buy cards from the player, allowing him or her to tidy the playing deck and make money for the purchase of food and better cards. Some cities would also offer special items that enhanced player performance, or allowed the player to create special effects such as instant teleportation. These items were unlimited in number of uses, although some depended on the consumption of colored gems that could be collected in various encounters and upon completion of quests. The landscape also contained a handful of dungeons, whose location would be discerned through various means, particularly the completion of quests and defeat of powerful enemies. Within a dungeon, special rules applied regarding combat, which could hinder or enhance a player's abilities. The dungeon interface was made up of a randomly-generates series of perpendicular tunnels, with enemies placed in various locations and intersections. The player would have freedom of movement within the tunnels (although enemies could not move here, unlike on the world map), but could not pass through a spot taken by an enemy without initiating combat with that enemy (again, combat using the Magic the Gathering card game system). The tunnels also contained bonuses that could be picked up, which gave a random effect on the player, often bestowing a free creature at the beginning of the next match played, or extra life to use in the next match. Dungeons were important because of the special cards contained within, that could not be found anywhere else in the game world. These were often high-value cards that would give the player a strong advantage, if used. The player's primary goal was to destroy the five mages who were vying for domination of the realm. To do this, the player would have to seek out and destroy the castle of each and every mage. Castles were played similarly to dungeons, except they contained no special cards, but instead contained the mage himself/herself which would have to be defeated. If the mage was defeated in card combat, the castle would be destroyed. Also, mages would occasionally send a minion to attack a city on the map, which required the player to react promptly, travelling to this city within the alloted time and defeating the minion in card combat. The player could also attempt to conquer cities, by completing the city's related quest. Upon "conquering" or "Liberating" a city, the player might be bestowed with an extra life point which was added to the player's total life-points for each and every match afterwards. Therefore, the game would often revolve around the player attempting to gain control of more cities, while preventing the enemy mages from gaining control themselves. After defeating all five mages, the player would then have to confront a final enemy who played with cards of all different colors. This enemy had many more life points than any other enemy in the game. The amount of damage the player managed to do to this final boss, before the fight ends, would then go on to constitute the player's final score for the campaign.
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