Magic represented poorly in video/computer game form.
The Duels of the Planeswalkers releases on PSN and XBLA have xlearly been built to create a jumping on point. In fact the 2013 edition has even been streamlined to aid learning the game and to lead you into playing the real deal.
While the new edition does indeed do a good job of introductions, it does little else, one times feeling more than an overly extended tutorial for a game that never comes, or a card game you could have just bought instead. So while it does a good job of teaching the basics, it also feels like it costs way more than it should for what you get.
The centrepiece of the experience is a six hour campaign that's both short on story and much like the rest of the experience; little more than an extended tutorial. It's made up of two duel types – story duels and "encounters". Encounters are structured matches in which your opponent takes the same actions each time you play, intended as a learning aid that allows the player to adapt to different specific strategies. These are all well and good but, much like all the matches you'll partake in, your progression feels more reliant on pot luck than any skill or knowledge you obtain.
Keep playing and you're bound to get through any match eventually, given enough persistence and basic knowledge. While this could be argued as a small flaw inherently connected to all card games of this type, at least the real card game allows more flexibility with your deck building and preparation.
Here you are restricted to a selection of three pre-created decks (you unlock more as you go), with thirty extra cards unlockable for that deck. You cannot do anything to these pre-created decks beyond add cards from those you've unlocked, or removing cards you already had to start with. You cannot mix and match decks or card types as you would want, and indeed be able to, in the real card game. There's a distinct lack of freedom when it comes to how much you can do to your decks and this can affect duels more than it would in the real game. A lack of flexibility over your deck and how it's shuffled can make you feel like being unfairly handicapped; that the cards are literally stacked against you.
If you'd made a bad deck choice and it had come back to bite you, than any loss you suffer in the game would feel entirely fair and something you could learn from. When you lose a match due to a flaw with your deck, and you're not the one who had a hand in creating it, it leaves a bit much greater sting. In our experience, one match of note consisted of us getting a single usable card and than being stuck drawing useless cards one after another until defeat.
Because we had no control over the way the cards were shuffled as we would if we had been playing with a real deck, we were left with the feeling of watching a one sided game we were unable to partake in. No one wants to play something where you don't get to do anything and are then made to feel like you've done something wrong. It's horribly one sided.
This can also affect multiplayer, should someone happen to have unlocked a better deck than you. Your opponent is more often than not guaranteed victory if they happen to have a strong card higher in their deck. While this can also happen in the real card game, it's still something where your loss feels more honest because you really have a hand in its occurrence; be that via a bad choice of cards or unlucky shuffle. Once again, here the lack of customisation and deck influence brings things down to pot luck.
Along with the basic campaign, and its shorter and slightly tougher second campaign (unlocked once you clear the main one and essentially consisting of the boss characters, minus the encounter based duels), you also have Planechase matches and Challenges.
Planechase duels are a four-way match-up that adds a dice and new types of cards to what is an already slow to learn game. Attempt to partake in one without looking up anything and your left more confused about what is going on than you were when you came to the basic game. Fortunately the fact they are separate from the campaign gives you the freedom to take them on if you're really up for a challenge.
Challenges are a bit more interesting, dropping you into the middle of a duel with a specific set and testing your knowledge of the game and cards you've used so far. There's only ever a couple of ways to pass these and they provide an interesting change of pace to learn new strategies for the real game. Although, much like the rest of it, they are something that you will eventually just fumble your way through, lacking any true depth in the experience.
Presentation wise Magic 2013 does a good enough job, considering what is needed for a game of this type. Everything is glossy and of a visual quality that's pleasing to look at. The soundtrack, while repetitive, is well produced and fits the feel of the game just fine. There's also a smooth and easy to get to grips with interface which constantly pops up helpful messages during to play, to try and ease you into understanding the games mechanics.
While the presentation may be there, the loading times are diabolical. If this were a complex FPS running at 60fps it would be understandable, but even restarting a match can result in a long wait. When you take into account that the playing board is always the same for every one-on-one encounter it's illogical that the loading should be quite so extensive.
Ultimately Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is a perfectly acceptable means of introduction into the real life card game, and we left with a good understanding of nearly all the mechanics involved in the card game. But there was still that feeling that it wasn't an entirely fulfilling experience when taken as a standalone game. More extended tutorial than digital equivalent. Add to this it's lack of customisation, arguable overpricing, excessive load times and hit and miss match-by-match experience and you're left with a slightly sour taste in the mouth.
If you have a mild interest in the Magic the Gathering card game then look online for details and buy a real starter deck. Conversely if you're a long time fan and player, you should also just stick to the real deal.