Marvel Trading Card Game - PSP Review

I grabbed this game awhile back on a whim - it was one of my first PSP games. I generally dig card-based games, Marvel's a fun property and it was pretty inexpensive at the time. Overall, I had some fun with it. The game is lacking in bells and whistles, but the card strategy elements are pretty sound. There is not a great deal of revolutionary gameplay to discover here, but it does provide a pretty decent diversion.

Graphics 4:

I mean, there's almost no animation to speak of here. The cards are not real easy to read, and the layouts get a bit claustrophobic at times. I understand that this is a card game, but it sort of feels like a missed opportunity given the Marvel property they had to work with.

Sound & Music - 5:

The music is pretty decent actually, but it repeats a lot. The sound effects are absolutely minimal. Again, it is a card game and with that comes this sort of stigma where good graphics and sound are not needed, and while that is true, it does not mean they need to be so badly neglected either.

Gameplay - 6:

There are some different modes, including an online mode that seemed to be getting a lot more traffic a couple of years ago when I first got the game than it has now. Still, the game mechanics are solid and mostly fun, though some of the winning requirements to the story mode in a handful of stages were frustrating. The deck building is a lot of fun though, and the way you get cards for your deck is pretty addictive.

Intangibles - 7:

There are a lot of cards to go through, and a lot of different strategies you can employ in deck building. I love that part of the game. Deck design is one of my favorite parts of games like this. Unlocking more cards is addictive as well. The actual story mode is not too bad, and gives you a good excuse to play through solo. Online used to be a lot more active before, it seemed pretty vacant when I was recently poking around. Still, if you like single player card games like this, it can be found pretty cheaply.

Overall - 5.5:

I actually enjoyed the game more than the score would indicate, and at the price it may be worth a pickup. This game has been out for some time - I believe 2006. I saw a copy of this at Disc Traders for $4 the other day. That said, you have to be a fan of this type of game. It is not going to resonate real well for people who prefer heavy action games, but I thought that it actually suited the portable nature of the PSP better than it would have on say, a PS3 or Xbox 360.

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