Marvel Trading Card Game is Upper Deck Entertainment’s latest in Trading Card extravaganza. The basic concept is simple: It’s a battle between two players, where each one of them will “fight” with a deck of cards, attacking their opponent by pulling out a card with enough “power” in it. Will Upper Deck Entertainment’s latest convince new gamers that the Trading Card craze is actually fun? We have the full report for you.

In Marvel Trading Card game, the cards are separated into different categories. The first one is characters, where you will obviously get a chance to use the always mysterious but uber-cool Wolverine, the intellectual Mr. Fantastic, the gorgeous Jean Grey, and everyone’s friendly neighbor, Spider-Man. The other categories are equipment, locations, and even “plot twists”. Yes, you read correctly. While the Character category is the most important one (because these cards are the ones you will be using for primary attacks), the equipment and location cards will help you increase your power and abilities. Plot twists will also help you enhance your power, but they will also help you by “confusing” your opponent (like most plot twists do) making them respond with a “discard” card.


Cool artwork!

So here’s how the game works. You start by choosing a character, but you can’t use it unless it has all the necessary power built up. This isn’t something that will happen quickly, either – you have to take your time to slowly increase the power of your character with each card you use. Even though the game depends a lot on luck, you will also have to strategize when you make your moves. For instance, there are some characters that have affinity to others (think Sue Storm and Reed Richards), which will help them when each of their cards is placed next to the other.

Marvel Trading Card Game’s biggest problem is actually its difficulty. Even with all the tutorials offered (and trust us, there are a lot), the game is still hard to swallow; not because it’s a bad game, or because its characters are not charming enough -- but because the rules are too difficult to follow if you are not already a fan of the “real life” card game. What’s humorous is that tutorials will never, ever help you as much as simply joining a game and trying it out for yourself.

The game’s graphics are nice to look at. Granted, there aren’t a lot of graphics going on per se, but the artwork that’s featured in the game is fantastic, especially if you are a Marvel Comics fan. When you do some Plot Twist-chains (which consist of using several plot twist cards in a row), the game will provide excellent artwork of your favorite Marvel Comic characters. There are even some sparks going on when there’s a “clash” between two characters, which makes the game look even nicer.

Aside from two Campaign modes offered in this cartridge (one for the Heroes and one for the Villains), there’s also a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection multiplayer mode. You can play against your friends using the always infamous Friend Codes, or just play against some random fellow who is also a fan of the Marvel universe. It may not be a robust mode, but it’s still a welcome addition to the game.

Cooler Than Gambit’s Cards?
Marvel Trading Card Game will please any Marvel Comics fan and/or any Trading Card enthusiast. Come to think about it, it will probably satisfy Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon aficionados as well. Do you see where we’re going? Yes, it’s true that Marvel Trading Card Game is a lengthy game, that makes great use of the Marvel characters, and doesn’t mess around with the already proven Trading Card formula -- but it still has to tinker with it a bit if they ever want new gamers to try out the Trading Card craze and see what all the fuss is about. But evaluated as a standalone card game, Marvel Trading Card Game has a lot going on, and Marvel fans will be thrilled to play and battle with cards that are probably just as cool as Gambit’s.

-- Miguel Yanez