If
Yu-Gi-Oh! came out on toilet paper I wouldn't wipe
my
hey!..I've got to remember this is a G-rated
website.
If
anything, Yu-Gi-Oh!, like Pokemon, is a lesson in
marketing. Sure it's a decent card game but these
types of card games have been around for hundreds
of years. Don't believe me? Did you know that Nintendo
began as a card game manufacturing company over 100
years ago? Do you think they just made cards for old
people to sit around and play Bridge with? Strategy
style card games have been big in Japan for centuries.
The
actual card game of Yu-Gi-Oh! itself is good enough
to stand the test of time but the card collecting,
animated TV shows, comic books and videogames make
this series almost impossible for youngsters to resist.
Youngsters is Konami's target demographic. It's the
equivalent, to me, of a fried chicken wing smothered
in hot sauce. The only thing better than a fried chicken
wing smothered in hot sauce is lots of them.
It
never fails to amaze me how Konami can wring another
buck out of this tired, old, goldmine. In this attempt
they offer online play. It probably won't win any
new recruits but it will allow the fanatics to play
against other like-minded freaks anytime, anywhere.
This is especially good news to those kids that have
dissed all their friends in the hood. Now they can
diss kids from Israel, Pakistan, Japan and Saskatchewan.
I bet you don't know where Saskatchewan is. Don't
worry, even they don't know where they are. I know,
I've been there.
If
you don't know how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! you're going
to need a very patient friend to explain it to you
since you won't get a comprehensive tutorial in any
of the videogames, including this one. At best you'll
get a rough idea of the premise but you don't want
to experiment with this game since it will cost you
money for each duel. The price of the game is less
than ten bucks but that's just the software. You have
to purchase duel passes. A card of 150 of them works
out to about a dime a game. It can bet expensive if
YGO is your life.
Once
you set up your account you will be sent to the lobby
where you can choose your own game or let the server
set you up with one. You'll be dealt 40 cards which
you can add to later on in the game. Collecting and
trading cards is one of the franchise's most addicting
features and you can do that online. It's claimed
that new cards will be offered online as long as kids
are still playing the darn thing.
You
can chat with your opponent online but it opens up
a window that obliterates the screen. It's also easy
to miss a communication from your opponent as the
only signal you have that someone is trying to reach
you is a tiny blinking light in the corner of the
screen. There is a language filter that is supposed
to eliminate any bad words. See how many bad words
it recognizes - and remember that someone had to program
them in there in the first place. You'll also be amazed
at some of the words that the filter deems as offensive.
The
interface looks like your basic YGO set up. There's
not a lot of animation, special effects or sound effects
but that kind of quality is not expected to accompany
this game since it never has and kids don't miss what
they've never had; another good marketing strategy
implemented by Konami.
If
you're a fan of YGO then nothing I say will dissuade
you from getting this game, and in a way I do feel
somewhat jealous that I can't get excited about this
game as some kids obviously will. Think of me while
you're crippling your opponent with the Magic Ghost
and I'll think of you while I'm inhaling my 20th hot
chicken wing with a song in my heart and a tear in
my eye.
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