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> Results: Yu-Gi-Oh Online
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Someone once told me that Yu-Gi-Oh translated into English means: "American kids will buy anything." It doesn't, but it sure feels like it. A pack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards will set you back about $5.00. You get nine cards for that price and you need forty in your deck to play. You may have invested in a starter deck for $15.00, but you still need two of them for a game. For a hobby marketed towards children from ages 6-12, it sure has an adult price tag on it. Even with a modest allowance how is a kid supposed to keep up? Yu-Gi-Oh Online just may be the answer you are looking for.
It really was only a matter of time before Konami put this game online. They have had three PC titles so far in the Power of Chaos series, Yugi, Kaiba, & Joey. In these games you duel against a character from the TV show but only the titled character. The games themselves were very limited and feel more like a training session. The Joey version did allow you to play against another person if you had the LAN set up. They all sell for $19.99 on average and Joey is the only one worth it. Yu-Gi-Oh Online however is free to download, it's just not free to play. You can get the game via the Yu-Gi-Oh Online Website (warning, it's a big download: 441mb). From there you register and create your account name. It is a very bare bones and basic sign up. You will then be given 10 free duels to test the software and see if you like it. If you do, you can then purchase a "duel pass" for $14.99. With your newly acquired pass you now have access to 150 more duels. Your account has space to put four names. Each name gets his/her own starter deck. This deck contains 42 cards to play with. After that, it is up to each user to win or lose matches to acquire new cards. At the end of each match regardless of win or loss, you get to open a new card pack. You only get one card and it may or may not be a double of something you already have. This feature of the game is very nice. With a database of 1150 cards, it will take some time to collect them all. I have to admit this part of the software had me hooked. They will also release new cards with updates to the game.  The overall game layout is pretty well done. For those not familiar with the flow of the game will find it very easy to learn. I do however recommend starting with the Power of Chaos titles first if you are a total novice. As you first login you will find a choice between several different zones from all over the world. Since chat is usually limited in this game it really doesn't matter where you play. There always seem to be a fair number of players at any point of the day. You can choose between single and the best of three matches. There is an auto duel button to launch you right into a game, usually without a wait. You start with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who goes first. Each player gets 8000 life points and 5 cards to start. As the game proceeds each player gets to set traps, spells, & monsters down to attack their opponent. The person who looses his/her life points first is defeated. There is not very much as far as animation goes. You have a sword that appears above your monster cards and as you attack it powers forward but that is about it. The sound too is very limited. I think this helps with keeping it close to the tabletop version. At the end you get to rate your opponent on a scale of poor to excellent. As you duel more and more your stats are compiled and you can look back on all your wins and losses. This is another very cool feature. It also keeps track of everything from monsters summoned to come from behind wins. You have a ranking within the system and you move up as you do better. I can see in the future, contests and tournaments being held. Konami is big on that and this is the perfect platform to do it with. During the game there is a little chat box that will blink if your opponent has something to say. I found that most people ignore this feature. It has a very sensitive chat filter and even the most common words are edited out. Words like "how" and "good" show up as *** & ****. To me it ruined any real function of the chat box. I agree with it in the long run but they were better off leaving it out. It doesn't stop there, there is also a buddy list feature, a mail client called "dmail", & the all-important ignore feature. The competition level seems to be very good. I know this game well and I felt as if I were out of my league. I went 3 for 19 while doing this review. 
Yu-Gi-Oh translated really means, "King of Games". I have always considered Yu-Gi-Oh to be great for kids as it encourages reading and forethought. It is very much a game of skill, much like chess is. It also helps a child experience winning and loosing and what can come from it.
Yu-Gi-Oh Online just might be the answer to you or your child's desire. You may be able to now avoid buying the actual cards from now on. I find that the price of the duel pass is more than reasonable for the amount you get. I couldn't see dueling more than 3 times a day anyway. That being said, this is a game for older children. I would say ages 12 and up. That goes for anything Yu-Gi-Oh. Adults will also find this game interesting and may just end up competing with their children. I say give the game a shot. It is a great concept and very well packaged. If I had one complaint it would be with the customer support. They could be a little quicker on their response time. Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Yu-Gi-Oh Online |
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