Vidal Tripsa plays some of Second Life's most promising games
Title: Combat Cards
Released: 2006
Rating: **** (out of 5)
Genre: Turn-based combat
Summary: Construct a deck of collectible cards to your liking, and take to the arena for fun and glory.
Price to Play: Free starter decks, custom decks for sale; individual cards start from L$50 each
Estimated Play Time: N/A
No. of Players: ~500
Where to Play: Europa (direct SLURL teleport)
Developers: Doc Boffin & Osprey Therian
Web Resources: Combat Cards
Combat Cards is a concept which has been eking its way into the Grid since 2005, built on the foundations of a prior duelling game named Sim Combat. Now with the team of Doc Boffin, Osprey Therian and a community of enthusiastic players and beta testers behind it, the game is steadily building an impressive presence in both our world and the physical one. Its basic premise, as explained in this enlightening tutorial video, revolves around trading cards which are bought from 'booster pack' styled vendors and assembled into an easy-to-use HUD in the form of decks. Take these decks of illustrated cards to a dedicated arena and you can take part in tactical duelling with friends, foes or 'bots.
I found a lot to enjoy inside this game. For one thing, it's rare to find a game with such comprehensive but easily-digestible tutorial content. It is still likely to take you somewhere around half an hour of trial and error to get the hang of the combat and compiling of battle decks, making them truly feel your own. Still, the game delivers its tutorials well by means of concise notecards, video tutorials and the chance at practice rounds with an impressive trio of 'bots.
I started my own round of contests with the freebie starter deck, which exposed me to my first batch of the illustrated collectibles. As you can see, each follows what you'd expect from its 'first life' counterpart - there's a name for each move, an illustration to fit that deck's theme (horror or fantasy), and a series of icons to inform you of that card's effects. Depending on what I drew during each round, I could attack three parts of the opponent's body or defend my own, and inflict special effects on both parties too. This play informs Combat Cards' unique game balance - depending on where I attacked or defended, and my knowledge of the opponent's cards and combos, I could, in theory, inflict and receive greater damage with just a little practice.
Accompanying these games of 'draw' and 'throw down' is a to-and-fro of animations, reminiscent of the visual feedback in turn-based role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy. Equip the game's free sword or dagger and your combatant will lunge and defend as instructed, even clutching those limbs which are wounded by critical hits. The result is a game which can quickly immerse you in the fight, despite being so reliant on such non-immersive media such as the material cards. For that, I would assume its cinematic HUD deserves some credit.
Overall, what can a player expect from Combat Cards? Although I try not to offer such appraisals lightly, Combat Cards is amongst a small number of very well-designed games on our Grid. Games of this genre may not be to everybody's taste, but it is hard to deny that turn-based options are very well-suited to a world which can often suffer latency. Mercifully, a lot of work has been put into keeping the cards well-balanced, and in my time I never drew an unbalanced deck.
By inviting players to take time over constructing their decks, shop for more and engage in trades, Combat Cards ticks a lot of boxes for activities we should all be well used to, and with a simple set of rules and tools, it seems hard to put a foot wrong while in active play. All that's left then is to choose your tactic, keep fingers crossed, and play to win!
Vidal is the Extropian author of Vidal's Dolly Realm, and is keen to explore games out on the Second Life Grid. If you have a suggested game for her, please send an SLURL and brief outline of the game to [email protected].
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