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This game can be rated as one of two things: A facebook game, or a normal game.

If it is a game meant for pages such as newgrounds and such; Why can't I play as much as I want right now? This sucks rating 2/2

But if this is supposed to be a Facebook game... then this is the best game I'll play on FB: The time/energy is fair enough, the tokens (cannot be earned?) aren't necessary, there is a storyline, and if It lasts at least two months of normal gameplay I can even see some people paying a little to make it a bit easier.

So... as I don't know if this will be the next big FB thing, I'll rate it in between: I give this 4/3.

good game but i cant buy tokens

card wars

Minor bug, light crystals don't function.

First, I'd like to address the pay-to-win complaints I've seen: this simply is not the case. You can win gold in a variety of ways, whether by challenging opponents to duels or by successfully clearing areas. In fact, there's a place in the second area where you can earn 2,000 gold simply by winning a few matches. Add to this the monetary reward involved in winning any given match, and you find yourself where I am: I've paid not a single penny, and I have a fairly decent deck.

If you are patient enough to do so, you can get booster packs simply by saving up the gold you get and buying them from the store, which -does not require actual money-! You can also win booster packs from areas without even spending any gold, so I'm not entirely sure where that complaint comes from. Pay to win? No, pay to win -quickly-. That's the trade-off that any well-created freemium game will give you: time vs. money. You can pay more money to get better cards more quickly, or you can spend your time saving up gold. I've opened more than one pack containing a rare card (including an epic!), and again, not one single penny spent.

Next, I'd like to address the game's mechanics. I find the play to be engaging and challenging; I find it very difficult to imagine a deck that will win all the time, and the mechanic of discarding cards for potential boosts brings up an interesting speed vs. resources debate that keeps me wondering about what would be the best strategy for me to follow. The flow of the game is never too slow or too fast, suggesting that it's a mathematically sound formula that has been followed throughout the sets.

Allowing players to win the various items in the game - color-changing crystals, light crystals, certain cards - is an excellent idea. It keeps the player coming back for more as they discover new and interesting things to add to their decks, improving their gameplay experience and keeping it fresh and innovative as time moves on. I find myself debating whether I should go through older areas for more gold and items or move on to new and exciting things, and that sort of decision-making process is one that any well-fashioned game will give you: the potential for personal style to factor into how you play this game is a very welcome one.

All is not, however, roses and sunshine. I have a few complaints about the game that I've carefully considered over time.

First, the experience point system is flawed. I'm not saying that it's too slow; quite the opposite, actually. Rather, I've found that many of my monsters have been sitting at maxed XP for some time now. Why? Because their evolutions are awful! Many of the monsters wind up costing more crystals for a relatively tiny benefit, and in a game like this, the difference between two crystals and three can mean the difference between winning and losing. Furthermore, why does XP cap? I have no idea how much experience I've missed out on by failing to evolve my monsters, but it must be an absolutely monstrous amount.

Secondly, I think the game would benefit greatly from a 'Help' button (which I have thus far been unable to locate). Even something as simple as a glossary of abilities, an explanation of how monster placement works in an advanced manner, and an explanation of how to determine a monster's rarity and level would be very welcome. I had to spend quite a lot of time figuring this out on my own, and a lot of players will simply walk away rather than spend time figuring it out.

Finally, make it easier to buy tokens. I had to hunt for a while to figure out where I could spend my money (if I were thus inclined), and a tiny, unlabeled blue button beneath my total gold is not the best presentation you can give to players who are finally willing to take the plunge and become paying customers. If people want to give you money, do the best you can to make it easy for them, or they might change their minds.

Overall, I'm giving this game four stars. It suffers from interface problems, and the leveling system needs a revamp, but it's among the better freemium games I've seen.