Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny

"This duel could have used some tuning"

''It's time to duel!''

Over the years, after the Pokémon craze died down, a new growing phenomenon has risen. The new game among kids these days is Yu-Gi-Oh. Starting out as a manga in Japan, several games based on the popular card game have been created. So far at least one Yu-Gi-Oh game has been on the Playstation 2, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance. Now it’s the Xbox’s turn. Will this game turn out good, or bad? Find out in my review.

Gameplay
Being based on a card game, Yu-Gi-Oh The Dawn of Destiny is based heavily on strategy. Now before you go off with “Yu-Gi-0h iz t3h suX0rz!!111'' comments, I remind you that Yu-Gi-Oh is one of the world’s most popular card game and anime/manga (Approximately 3/4 as popular as Pokémon was at it’s popularity peek.) I mean, tens of thousands of people can’t be wrong... can they?

Basically, the point in the game is to deplete your opponents Life Points before they do that to you. There are three different types of cards found throughout Yu-Gi-Oh:

• Monster Cards:

The cards mainly used to attack your enemies. There are many different monster cards found in The Dawn of Destiny, ranging from the weak and frail Kuribo, to the masterful wizard Dark Magician, to the all powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The higher your monster’s attack points, the more damage it can do. If the opponent has a monster out on the field in attack mode, you need to destroy them before you can attack the opponent’s life points directly. When you destroy a monster in attack mode, the difference between the attack points determines how much damage to their life points (Example: If you destroy a monster with 1000 Attack points with a monster with 2000 Attack points, then 1000 damage is dealt to the opponent’s life points.) If you place your monster into defense mode, then Defense points come into account. If your monster is in defense mode, with let’s say 2000 defense points, and the opponent monster only has 1500 attack points, then the opponent can’t attack your monster without getting hurt. Attacking a monster in defense mode with a monster with less attack points, then the target’s defense points, then the difference is dealt to the attacker (Example: If Player1 attacks Player2's 2000 defense point monster, when Player2's monster is in defense mode, with a monster with 1500 attack point monster, then 500 damage is dealt to Player1.) However, if your monster has more attack points then your opponent’s monster in defense mode’s attack points, then you can destroy their monster. Keep in mind, that destroying a monster in defense mode does not decrease life points, but while in defense mode your monster can’t attack. Also, defense points only matter when your monster is in defense mode.

• Trap Cards:

Trap cards are a big part of strategic planning in Yu-Gi-Oh. There are a large variety of trap cards to be found. Most of the time, trap cards can be activated when your opponent plays a card. While your trap cards are not in use, your enemy can not see what card it is. There are many different types of trap cards to be found. There is the ever annoying Trap Hole, which eliminate the enemy’s card they just played. You can find similar traps like these, such as trap holes that eliminate every card on the field, including your own. Some other trap cards to be found are the kind that can nullify you enemy’s attack. However, you can obtain trap cards that can cancel out the effects of all other trap/spell cards on the field. There are many more different types of trap cards to be found. Trap Cards are usually essential for taking out tough opponents.

• Spell Cards

Much like trap cards, spell cards are almost always needed for strategy against stronger enemies. Spell cards often effect monsters on the field. They have effects such as paralyzing one of yout foe’s monsters, increasing your monster’s attack/defense points, and so on. Some other types of trap cards include Solemn Wishes, which gives you 500 life points for every card you draw. You can also get spell cards like Harpy’s Feather Duster, which destroy all of your enemy’s trap/spell cards. There are also cards like Polymerization, which allow you to fuse monsters together. An example of this is mixing a Summon Skull with a Red Eyes Black Dragon, forming a Black Skull Dragon. Another type of spell cards is a Ritual Card. With Ritual cards, you can sacrifice two monster cards to summon a ritual monster. However, in order to summon the ritual monster, you need to have the ritual card for that monster, and the ritual monster in your hand.

You need to have a good combination of monster, trap, and spell cards to make your way through the game. There are over 1000 different cards to be found in this game. In order to get new cards, you need to defeat your foe’s in duels. The back of the box says “spectacular 3D battles”, but don’t get excited. The “amazing” 3D battles consist of two monsters appearing on the screen, and one attacks the other with a beam of light. You don’t actually do any fighting, nor do the monsters really fight.

Throughout the game you encounter many characters found in the popular anime/manga, such as Yugi and his friends, Seto Kaiba, Bandit Keith, Maximilian Pegasus, and even the evil Egyptian sorcerer, Marik. Sorry, but there is no option to use the Japanese names, or the Japanese cards. In other words, you are stuck with the US versions of the cards (which many consider uglier then the Japanese cards), and the hacked-to-death WB version of the anime.

The A.I. for The Dawn of Destiny, while improved over the previous Yu-Gi-Oh games, is still cheap at times. Cheap as in drawing the right card at the exact moment they need it, or knowing when to attack your monster and when not.

When playing this game, don’t expect a deep story, because... there really isn’t a story at all. Pretty much it’s just consecutive matches against many characters in the series. There isn’t even any world to walk around in, it’s just click a character to fight and battle them. A disappointment to me.

Graphics
The graphics in Yu-Gi-Oh The Dawn of Destiny aren’t impressive at all. While the beginning cinema scene captures the look of the anime in 3d perfectly, the in-game graphics don’t look all that great. The monsters look blocky, and don’t take advantage of the Xbox hardware.

Sound and Music
The music found in the menu’s sound like that of Egyptian music. The duels have slow music, so it doesn’t get you pumped-up. Don’t expect to hear any voices from the show, because there is no voice acting at all. You’re stuck with reading through lines of text, instead.

Multiplayer
While the game does feature System Link multiplayer to battle your friends, there is no Xbox Live feature in sight. Another let down on Konami's part. At least there is always Xbox Connect.

Final Thoughts
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny isn’t a horrible game, but it defiantly isn’t amazing, either. If you like strategy games, card games, or are a Yu-Gi-Oh fan in general, then you’ll find yourself right at home with this game. However, for the others, you may want to pass. If you own any of the previous Yu-Gi-Oh games, then you may want to just stick with that, since The Dawn of Destiny isn’t all that different.

Final Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/04, Updated 04/08/04