Vs. System CCG Review by zombiemonkey
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I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m an incredibly geeky person. Along with my love of board and card games, I consider myself a hardcore video-gamer and I’m also quite passionate about possibly the geekiest of geeky pursuits – the comic book. Given the popularity of movies adapted from comic books, you would think that the medium would be enjoying a massive renaissance – but this simply isn’t happening. This is possibly due to people still seeing comics as being essentially for kids, but could equally be something to do with the snobbery that exists both when looking outside into the comic book world. Every time a comic book movie is made, you’re guaranteed to get either the director or at least one of the actors saying that they aren’t really making a film based on a comic book – you see, to make it sound more adult the film is being based on graphic novels. Which is pretty pretentious, slightly odd and in most cases simply not true (not to mention slightly awkward – why should these people be embarrassed that they’re adapting a comic book?). Graphic novels are an entirely different kettle of Spider-men to the average comic book, as they are original, longer works that have not been published in single issue form. What people also fail to realise is that the words comic book does not denote subject matter, but rather the medium – in which writers and artists are free to tell any type of story that they wish.
The principal subject matter – or at least the most popular subject matter for mainstream comic books – does seem to be super heroes though, which is probably why most people think super hero when they hear the words comic book. Spandex-clad vigilantes with secret identities and crazy, mixed up personal lives are also the subject of the Vs. System CCG – being a die-hard fan of the Marvel brand of super hero (they’re usually the ones that you can more easily identify with, as they often have genuine, human flaws and problems – not that this is always the case but the secret identities of most DC characters don’t have many inbuilt character flaws like the Marvel characters do), the Marvel Vs System deck Spider-Man vs. Doctor Octopus is the one that I was immediately drawn to.
Neatly packaged as two decks so that all that is needed for two players is the starter set, the Vs. System decks do appear to be excellent value for money. Along with the decks and rulebooks, a mat explaining and illustrating the basics of the game is included (although it’s not really suitable to play the game on, bizarrely) – which is very helpful indeed in learning to play. The drawback with the decks that you get in a starter set is that incredibly obscure characters are included (there were a few in this particular set that I had never heard of, even with my encyclopedic knowledge of all things Marvel), some of which aren’t even related in any way to the characters that the set is supposedly based around.
The mechanics of the game are reasonably simple, with players placing any face down card as a resource in their resource row, and using these resources to bring characters, plot twists, locations and equipment into play. To win the game, players must knock the opponent’s endurance down to zero from the starting total of fifty points.
The combat phase is where the game is mostly focused, with characters on each side being able to attack one another and drain the endurance of the opposing player. There are some interesting mechanics here, with formation of characters in play being important – a character without range cannot attack from the support row, and characters in the front row can protect those characters behind them, for example. As with most CCGs, however, timing issues can be a problem – it is sometimes tough to work out exactly when cards can be played – but to be fair this is a problem that does seem to plague most CCGs.
As the decks contained within a starter pack are nicely balanced against each other and the game simply isn’t that engaging, the odds of players wanting to buy more packs and construct decks are very low indeed. This lack of incentive to buy extra cards could be construed as a big positive, but without new cards the game can get pretty repetitive – and the gameplay, being mainly focused on the combat, doesn’t help in this regard.
I would suggest, even for the most die-hard of comic fans, staying away from the Vs. CCG. The Vs. System CCG is incredibly dull - even for a self-confessed Marvel geek as me. There are far more satisfying standalone card games out there, and lots of CCGs that are far more interesting to play. While the game does have some nice mechanics such as the formation rules and using any card as a resource, it simply doesn’t have enough oomph or excitement to be a properly satisfying representation of super-powered individuals engaging in bone-crunching, sound-effect filled combat.
Summary
Presentation: The starter set is nicely presented with two decks of cards, rules summary mat as well as basic and advanced rules. The illustrations are a little hit and miss, however, and aren’t all by recognisably Marvel artists. 7.3/10
Clarity of Rules: The mat is very helpful but the full rulebook is not very clearly laid out or easy to understand, leading to some confusion during play. 5.3/10
Game Length: Reducing a player to zero endurance from the starting level of 50 does seem to drag on somewhat, which means that the game definitely outstays its welcome. 4.2/10
Value: The starter sets are seemingly good value for money, but the game itself won’t be played very much as it is quite simply uninteresting and uninvolving. 5.1/10
Overall: Given the subject matter, this should have been a fast, fun and colourful experience. However, the game is none of these things. Possibly the most uninteresting CCG I have ever played (and I’ve played quite a few). 4.9/10 (not an average)
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m an incredibly geeky person. Along with my love of board and card games, I consider myself a hardcore video-gamer and I’m also quite passionate about possibly the geekiest of geeky pursuits – the comic book. Given the popularity of movies adapted from comic books, you would think that the medium would be enjoying a massive renaissance – but this simply isn’t happening. This is possibly due to people still seeing comics as being essentially for kids, but could equally be something to do with the snobbery that exists both when looking outside into the comic book world. Every time a comic book movie is made, you’re guaranteed to get either the director or at least one of the actors saying that they aren’t really making a film based on a comic book – you see, to make it sound more adult the film is being based on graphic novels. Which is pretty pretentious, slightly odd and in most cases simply not true (not to mention slightly awkward – why should these people be embarrassed that they’re adapting a comic book?). Graphic novels are an entirely different kettle of Spider-men to the average comic book, as they are original, longer works that have not been published in single issue form. What people also fail to realise is that the words comic book does not denote subject matter, but rather the medium – in which writers and artists are free to tell any type of story that they wish.The principal subject matter – or at least the most popular subject matter for mainstream comic books – does seem to be super heroes though, which is probably why most people think super hero when they hear the words comic book. Spandex-clad vigilantes with secret identities and crazy, mixed up personal lives are also the subject of the Vs. System CCG – being a die-hard fan of the Marvel brand of super hero (they’re usually the ones that you can more easily identify with, as they often have genuine, human flaws and problems – not that this is always the case but the secret identities of most DC characters don’t have many inbuilt character flaws like the Marvel characters do), the Marvel Vs System deck Spider-Man vs. Doctor Octopus is the one that I was immediately drawn to.
Neatly packaged as two decks so that all that is needed for two players is the starter set, the Vs. System decks do appear to be excellent value for money. Along with the decks and rulebooks, a mat explaining and illustrating the basics of the game is included (although it’s not really suitable to play the game on, bizarrely) – which is very helpful indeed in learning to play. The drawback with the decks that you get in a starter set is that incredibly obscure characters are included (there were a few in this particular set that I had never heard of, even with my encyclopedic knowledge of all things Marvel), some of which aren’t even related in any way to the characters that the set is supposedly based around.
The mechanics of the game are reasonably simple, with players placing any face down card as a resource in their resource row, and using these resources to bring characters, plot twists, locations and equipment into play. To win the game, players must knock the opponent’s endurance down to zero from the starting total of fifty points.
The combat phase is where the game is mostly focused, with characters on each side being able to attack one another and drain the endurance of the opposing player. There are some interesting mechanics here, with formation of characters in play being important – a character without range cannot attack from the support row, and characters in the front row can protect those characters behind them, for example. As with most CCGs, however, timing issues can be a problem – it is sometimes tough to work out exactly when cards can be played – but to be fair this is a problem that does seem to plague most CCGs.
As the decks contained within a starter pack are nicely balanced against each other and the game simply isn’t that engaging, the odds of players wanting to buy more packs and construct decks are very low indeed. This lack of incentive to buy extra cards could be construed as a big positive, but without new cards the game can get pretty repetitive – and the gameplay, being mainly focused on the combat, doesn’t help in this regard.
I would suggest, even for the most die-hard of comic fans, staying away from the Vs. CCG. The Vs. System CCG is incredibly dull - even for a self-confessed Marvel geek as me. There are far more satisfying standalone card games out there, and lots of CCGs that are far more interesting to play. While the game does have some nice mechanics such as the formation rules and using any card as a resource, it simply doesn’t have enough oomph or excitement to be a properly satisfying representation of super-powered individuals engaging in bone-crunching, sound-effect filled combat.
Summary
Presentation: The starter set is nicely presented with two decks of cards, rules summary mat as well as basic and advanced rules. The illustrations are a little hit and miss, however, and aren’t all by recognisably Marvel artists. 7.3/10
Clarity of Rules: The mat is very helpful but the full rulebook is not very clearly laid out or easy to understand, leading to some confusion during play. 5.3/10
Game Length: Reducing a player to zero endurance from the starting level of 50 does seem to drag on somewhat, which means that the game definitely outstays its welcome. 4.2/10
Value: The starter sets are seemingly good value for money, but the game itself won’t be played very much as it is quite simply uninteresting and uninvolving. 5.1/10
Overall: Given the subject matter, this should have been a fast, fun and colourful experience. However, the game is none of these things. Possibly the most uninteresting CCG I have ever played (and I’ve played quite a few). 4.9/10 (not an average)
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