This is as good as straightup card battling gets.
A slew of new modes of play are available to you which are a major plus. You have your challenge duels which put you in a special situation, or limit the amount or types of cards you can use. This is a very nice way to practice and learn new tactics. Among the challenge duels, the duel puzzles are the best of the lot. You are to win the duel in one turn with a special situation. There are many to chose from, and you can unlock many more as you progress.
Another good addition to this year's WC title is the ability to change the Forbidden/limited card list. As most Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG fans know, some cards are banned from play and some cards are limited to the amount you can use. You can update the Forbidden/limited card list every month by inputting a line of code into the game. You can switch between each list if you want, but most duelists will just stay with the more current list. It is worth noting however, that computer players do not regard the ban list at all.
The AI in the game performs very well in this game too. Very rarely did I find the AI making a ridiculous move. Most moves are planned out nicely with strategy.
The meat of this game comes from the free duel. You are given a set of 5 opponents to play and you must beat them a certain number of times before advancing to the next difficulty level. Now, this is not like the past games where the first tiers of opponents were just a waste of your time. These little guys actually have a theme and a good strategy to their deck which makes them worthy opponents. Veterans of the series though should not have any problems.
As far as graphics and sound go, the game does not really have animations for you to watch nor are there many sound effects. It is mostly monotonous so you might want to listen to some music while you play.
Overall, this is a very solid card battling game that all fans should play. It definitely stays true to the formula and gives you many things to do throughout the game. There are no storylines, or useless animations to get in your way which is what most card battling fans want. For everyone else though, you might want to check this game out before you buy it.