Q & A with the Director of exciting Aussie CCG, Infinity Wars

Interview by Matt S. 

A month or so ago at the EB Games Expo in Sydney, one game really caught out attention, and it wasn't from one of the triple-A developer or publishers; it was home-grown digital card game, Infinity Wars. Here was a PC game with real ambition, and as you can read in our impressions, we are very excited to see how this game goes as it works towards a full release.

It's still plugging along, and we log in from time to time for a quick game. We recently sat down with a very busy Elphie Coyle, the Director of Lightmare Studios, to have a quick chat about what's next for Infinity Wars, the challenges of being an Australian developer, and some of the opportunities he sees for the market moving forward.

Read More

Infinity Wars could well be the best digital card game to date

Preview by Matt S. 

There's no shortage of digital collectible card games (CCGs). From Magic: The Gathering and Might & Magic: Duel of Champions right through to little indie efforts like Orbs CCG, this is a genre that is remarkably good for game developers for two reasons; it keeps people playing for long periods of time and the free-to-play model works brilliantly for it.

I know I must have spent $40 on digital cards in Duel of Champions. And I'm not even close what the majority of reasonable fans will spend on their favourite digital CCG, in terms of both time and money. These games are genuine hobbies in themselves.

Read More

Review: Magic 2014 - Duels of the Planeswalkers Expansion (PC)

Review by Nick H.

Reviewing an expansion is always a difficult thing to do. Generally speaking, they do not stack up quite as well in value when comparing the expansion to a base game. That is the same with the new expansion for Magic 2014. I reviewed the original game to a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars back when it first released for $9.99.

Read More

Review: Card Hunter (PC)

When Card Hunter was pointed out to me, the idea of a web browser collectible card game with strategy elements held immediate appeal for me. I really did not know what to expect - some sort of a Magic: The Gathering Tactics game? That was what I was hoping for, but found myself surprised when it turned out that Card Hunter was not only quite different from that, but better as well.

Read More

Review: Star Wars: Force Collection (iPad)

Having grown up a huge fan of all things Star Wars, I have played most of the related video games over the years. I am also one of the biggest collectible card game (CCG) players here at Digitally Downloaded, with everything from PC games such as Magic: The Gathering to mobile ones like Shadow Era under my belt. The combination of Star Wars with CCG elements immediately appealed to me.

Read More

Review: Rivals at War 2084 (iPad)

Looking at the screenshots, Rivals at War 2084 (or RAW 2084), could have been a superb game. It looks like it has everything going for it to make for an addictive free-to-play game. It's got collectable cards, it's got a neat setting and the promise of team-based arena warfare is exciting, considering it looks quite good in those shots.

Read More

Ubisoft's Stephane Jankowski on Might & Magic: Duel of Champions, world championships and F2P and addiction

Stephane Jankowski

It's not usually a point of pride to lose at something 23 times in a row, especially in the world of competitive gaming. But for Ubisoft Quebec's Stephane Jankowski, it's not only a point of pride, it's proof that Might & Magic: Duel of Champions - for which he is the producer - is working.

"We do some developer vs. player tournaments here and there, and we often lose. It's heartbreaking because the worst thing is that we cheat; we give ourselves all the cards so we can come up with the most outrageous strategies, and we're still losing," he joked.

"And honestly it's wonderful."

Read More