Warhammer: Battle for Atluma

Warhammer: Battle for Atluma is not the kind of game you'd expect from a franchise that has dabbled in action/RPG and real-time strategy. The subtitle notes a different cause: you're battling for the Atluma Crystal. The fate of the world could rest on these few battles, and all you're armed with is a deck of cards.

Based on the collectible card game from Sabertooth Games, Battle for Atluma takes place in the Warhammer world. It's not the most immersive world. Card battles are, in a way, like Chess – the act of conquering one's territory and winning, or being conquered and losing, is mostly psychological. Therefore you shouldn't be startled by the plain backgrounds and flat environments, since your focus is supposed to be on the cards.

But that's not to say the game is without its video-game advantages. This PSP adaptation has allowed the developers to add music, sound effects, and computer-generated movies. Atluma's sound is pretty good – the music is enjoyable (though in short supply), and the light clicks from the sound effects, while completely unnecessary, are better than the dead silence of playing a real card game. In a real game you might hear the occasional head scratch, maybe a tap on the table. But it's not like the game would be driven by a big, bombastic soundtrack (unless you put the stereo on...then maybe).

Animation clips occur long before battle (load the game and let it sit to see the intro), avoiding distraction while adding a little enjoyment before the thinking game begins. The artwork isn't the best the PSP has seen, looking more like the CG of a PSone game. Now if I were referring to the graphics themselves that'd make sense – PSP is a more powerful version of Sony's first console.

But CG graphics are not limited to anything but the current technology. PSP can display whatever the artists can create since it runs the video off disc like a movie. Those of you who have been playing the real card game should enjoy seeing these characters come to life, but keep your expectations low.

Cards are plentiful and may be enlarged to full-screen for easy reading. But if that's not to your liking (attempting to enlarge every card is very time-consuming), the text listed on each card – which contains the card's description and other important details – is displayed on the right side of the screen in bigger, bolder text.

Card variety is an advantage Battle for Atluma has over playing the game with an actual deck of cards. There aren't any additional packs to buy because everything is baked right into this UMD. What you're getting is a digital version of the collectible game. Each card is presented with the exact same artwork and information as you'd find on the paper cards.

Enlarging them brings up an image that is roughly the same size as the cards, which appear to have been scanned with a high-res machine for this PSP adaptation. The cards are not quite as sharp as I would have liked, but the images are of a higher quality than most card games. They look more like real cards, as opposed to other card games for PSP and other handhelds, which typically go for that cartoony, dated video-game look.

One thing the game could've done without is load times. They're atrociously long, and occur after every menu selection you make. You'll have 6 - 10 seconds of loading every time you edit your deck, start a new game, quit the current game, access or exit the tutorial mode, etc. This is not a problem once a battle begins. From then on the game moves pretty quickly, which is certainly better than if it moved fast through menus but chugged during battles. Still, to get to a battle you're going to have to sit through several seconds of loading.

Wireless battles let you and a friend go head-to-head using the PSP's wireless (local, no Wi-Fi) multiplayer capabilities. Full, mega, and mini battles can be initiated. Connecting to another player is quick and painless – a couple clicks and you're done.

Trades may also be conducted wirelessly, improving one player's deck while taking away from another. Or will trades be equal – always fair as you think they should? Don't count on it. Be on your guard or you'll end up with a bunch of weak duds.

Gameplay: 5.5
Point-and-click actions are common for a card game. The real challenge, and real gameplay, comes from how well you know the cards, your opponents, and how much of a thinking man (or woman) you really are.

Graphics: 4
The cards look good, not perfect, and that’s the most positive thing I can say about Battle for Atluma’s visuals. Realistic battle animations would’ve been cool, but I suppose that might’ve pushed the game away from its card status and made it more like a console RPG.

Sound: 6.9
Good music, but there isn’t enough of it. I turned the sound up and down pretty frequently. The music sounded good and I’d want to hear it. Then I’d get tired of the same repeated song and have to turn it off.

Difficulty: Medium
Battle for Atluma isn’t that difficult once you know all the rules. This isn’t the kind of game you can pick up and play without any prior knowledge of the Warhammer card game. There’s a lot to learn and memorize – I had to view the tutorial twice before it began to make sense.

Concept: 5.0
Warhammer’s collectible card game, now playable on PSP. That’s good if that’s what you’re looking for, but it’s not in any way an innovative development.

Multiplayer: 5.0
Nearly equal to the single-player gameplay. For the best multiplayer experience, use a real deck.

Overall: 5.0
Card battle lovers – step right up. Everyone else – stick with the other Warhammer games. Battle for Atluma is a good package for any lover of the card game, but it doesn’t offer anything special to draw outsiders into the experience.