Magicka: Wizard Wars

Paradox Interactive’s Magicka: Wizards War is the direct sequel to the critically acclaimed PvP arena, Magicka, and is one of the hottest indie games out there. MWW inherits some of its predecessor's controls and gameplay, but it’s not a carbon copy. For those who played Magicka, MWW will feel, at first sight, like a reduced version of the game (although it possesses an enhanced graphic system), but once you start playing, you will notice the reduction was for the best.

The game is quite simple; you, a wizard, along with the members of your team, will battle another team of wizards in order to capture the three spawn points scattered across the map and, ultimately, destroy your opponents. Along with your fellow wizards, a group of casted minions will aid you in the enemy teams decimation. To do so, you will rely on a wide span of magic powers based on natural elements. These magic powers can be combined in a variety of ways, and up to three different powers can be combined at the same time. Confused? Let me explain with an example: I, a wizard, have three open magic slots so I decide to combine fire, water and thunder. The result is a powerful attack against the other wizards that has the power of the three elements. Now, let’s say I want to use the same magical power, let’s say fire, in the three available slots; the outcome of that would be a great power of that single magic; in this case, a flamethrower. But wait, there’s more! Not only can your wizard cast spells in this traditional way, but he will be able to cast special powers in a single area with devastating force. Finally, different spells will have different results depending on the enemy’s own spell-casting. For example, if a wizard is attacking you with a fire spell you will be able to put out the fire with a water spell and protect yourself from the blazes.

For veteran MOBA players, MWW’s gameplay would be easy to understand, but if you are entering this realm for the very first time then you’ll find some confusion at first. Nevertheless, once you have played a couple matches you’ll discover the multiple magical combinations available and which one suits you better. It’s quite a journey to discover how all of the magical powers fit together. As I mentioned before, several powers included in the first installment of the Magicka franchise were removed and only eight made it to the final cut, but the ones that didn’t make it were mostly useless, buggy or obsolete.

Customization is another part of the MWW repertoire. Each wizard can use different kinds of weapons, robes, staves and special rings; each of which will significantly change the stats of the character. One of the most noteworthy things in the customization options is the fact that robes not only change the stats of the wizard, but change the wizard's appearance and lore surrounding it. For example, you can equip your wizard with the almost-cliché Merlin-like robe (with stars and a pointy hat), or with the Shaman Robe (with an animal skull for a hat).  

Another key aspect of the game is the witty humor it has, which can be deemed as ironic, satirical and even black, taking into consideration recent events and cultural references that will, at least, produce a few chuckles.

Don’t be misguided by the basic layout of the game. MWW is an incredibly intense and fun experience. You’ll find yourself clicking the play button over and over again regardless of your losses. Each game you’ll try to create new combinations and see how that affects other wizards. It’s experimentation in the whole sense of the word; trial and error (and magic). Despite the heat of the battle, the game doesn’t look like a Christopher Nolan movie, with everything going on at the same time and millions of explosions blurring your sight. Instead, the game lets you know every step of the way what your character is doing and which powers are being used. That’s something to be thankful for especially with MWW’s gameplay.

To sum things up, the game offers a very decent variety of combinations to make each wizard and gameplay unique. It is very unlikely to find two players with the exact same character configuration and with the same strategy or magic usage. Without a doubt, that’s what makes Magicka: Wizard Wars unique and excel from the huge amount of MOBAs out there. If you played the first Magicka game then you cannot miss out on MWW, and if this is your first approach to the series, you’re in for a real treat. So grab your pointy hat, wield your weapon of choice, sharpen your blade and do some wizard killing.

Jonathan Coutiño, NoobFeed
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