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| | Gameplay
Sound
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Value
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| | Genre: Board & Card | | Min OS X: Any Version  CPU: Any CPU @ 450 MHz RAM: 256 MB |
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Graphics The graphics are beautiful, and they fit the game well. The monsters are really well-modeled, and some of the spell effects are engaging, too. Each monster has a unique picture, usually just a head shot or a picture from the waist up. Although the graphics are simple, they add to the charm of the game. There are no fancy 3D animations, but those kinds of graphics would have hindered Magic Stones instead of helping it. Sometimes the spells have small graphical glitches, like your spell not appearing while its effects still happen; however, the gameplay is not affected by this. Overall, these graphics make the game fun to play, without cluttering it with things that would just hinder it. The graphics show what needs to be shown. Even with the graphical glitches for spells, the graphics fit well with the game, and it definitely has an old-school feel to it.Music and sound The music is very good, particularly because it has Celtic themes that enhance the theme of the game. The game immerses you in the Celtic culture, and the music helps a lot with this task. However, there is no music in battles, which hurts the immersion. Sounds, on the other hand, are present in battle: you hear growls when you attack with creatures such as hellhounds, bug sounds for your bugs and so on. Spell effects have sounds as well, but just small sounds to show that you are casting a spell. Overall, the sound and music department needs some work, but is still good.
Value This game is well worth its $24.95 price tag not only because it is fun, but also because it is being expanded upon. Winter Wolves has stated that you can expect more patches that will add spells, creatures and items to the world, which means that you will be playing this game well into the future.I found myself thinking of strategies for the quest mode often while playing, as a few battles had me stumped; I had to think of what creature could be good against a certain group of creatures, which artifacts to bring with me and so on. Magic Stones is a great buy, and a game that you will find yourself playing for quite some time. It will keep expanding, and the author is already working on an expansion that will change the gameplay considerably, making smaller creatures useful again by letting them gain levels as you fight. With this change, every creature will finally have a use again, which will make for an even more interesting game.Magic Stones' unique and compelling gameplay, quality presentation, and great value make it an exciting game for anyone who enjoys strategy with a dash of role-playing, and is a game that I can whole-heartedly recommend.
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