Press Page: Master Chin's Review

Changing Gaming’s Game Face:
How Ophidian Games came to kick butt and chew gum, and they’re all out of gum
by Jesse Johnson from www.masterchinscards.com

Dude, I’ll tell you what, this game rocks. It blew away GenCon, it’s blowing away gamers everywhere, and after you’ve experienced Ophidian, nothing else will matter. With a unique, real-time based play system, fantastic collectability, and almost unlimited strategical possibilities, Ophidian is just plain cool.

So what’s a Flow system anyway? I’ll spare you the intricacies, since all you have to do is pick up a starter and learn it yourself lazy. Let’s just say the creators grew tired of repetitive CCG play systems, and wanted to go for a “real-time” play system. Sound crazy? After a couple years of brain racking, they did it, and they did a smashing job of it. Say goodbye to turn based card gaming, this system does exactly what it says: flow. I’ve seen bald tires slide on ice with more friction than this system produces. In most games you just wait for your turn, but in Ophidian, you fight for it. Players battle for control, in and out of the arena, leaving nothing to chance. The winner comes out on top with control, and the loser has to sit back and watch the carnage. This continues until it has to. Trust me, the ability to decide when you go, and when the other guy goes is great, if you can pull it off.

Since most of the cards you draw are modifiers, without any character or energy cards to get in the way, it’s all about doing’ the damage. See, you lay down your gladiators, and have a separate draw pile for all your modifiers, while your “class points,” which are what you use to play modifiers, have a set, determined number each round. Innovative, no? It serves to both simplify effort, while expanding options. But don’t forget minions. Ah, now these little guys are great. They can both take, and deal damage, and though they don’t level up and typically aren’t as strong as Gladiators, they don’t give your enemy any points when destroyed. Throw in a variety of cool races, and the strategy possibilities are endless. Now, the basic info I’ve just presented above already gives you multiple paths to take. Anything from self-sacrifice to self-promotion, whatever it takes to achieve whatever end you desire.

So what about the end? The methods of conquer, again, produce in one, a vigilant pursuit of self-serving justice. Should I kill my opponent? See every time you kill a gladiator you get “Victory Points,” and the first to ten wins. Or convince the crowd that they should? Yeah, that’s right, you can rally the crowd to kill the enemy Gladiators for you. The addition of “Cheer Points,” which keep track of who has the audience’s favor, is like a new pair of underwear: at first it’s constricting, but after a while…it becomes a part of you (thank you Garth).

There is perhaps only one thing I see in Ophidian that I don’t like: what I see. The art is a tad underdeveloped at this point. However, though I’m not able to applaud the art present in Ophidian, I will say it doesn’t worry me in any way. I mean look at games like Magic: The Gathering, whose art was worse in the beginning, and is now a legend. You think Michelangelo woke up and just painted the Sistine chapel? Nu-uh, he probably did like one or two paintings before that…anyway. It’s the characters and cards that matter, and Ophidian has definitely got that down pat. With character specific back-story already flooding the home site, the future’s so bright, I gotta wear protective face shielding. This makes for fan-frickin-tastic collectability. You get to read about the cards you use, being used in fictional situations. Any game that takes the time so early on to immerse the players in the world is really putting their heart into the game. It’s vital that a game’s world exist outside of the card's, whether it be comics, a television series or inspirational, graphic depictions of violence and victory in fictional stories.

Maybe you think it sounds a little complicated, but it’s fairly easy to learn and worth any extra effort you think you’ve expended, even though the whole point of Ophidian 2350 is to take gamers to a whole new level. If you want ultra simple, strategy free gaming, with little to no time commitment, I can think of one game…let’s just say it starts with a yu know what.

So why Ophidian? It sounds innovative, fun, and worthwhile, but that’s not enough for me. Then you’re a boob, and you shouldn’t be playing cards in the first place. Get some Ophidian, get someone to play with, and satisfy your insatiable desire to maim, destroy and control minions, that would otherwise be used to some unproductive end in the real world…like lead a revolution in a third world country. Trust me, Ophidian’s a lot more fun and involves less political backlash.