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The Interactive Encyclopedia offers more than just pretty pictures of every card in the massive database. It also lets players sort cards based on standard statistics like casting cost, color, artist, or any combination you like. You can use the Deckbuilder utility to sort the cards into decks, which then can be analyzed by the computer. There's a complete series of strategy articles and other helpful information right on the CD-ROM to help novices build an effective deck right away.
Once players have built the ultimate deck, the Interactive Encyclopedia lets them test their creations online against other players. Note that the computer doesn't enforce the rules of the game at all. As in a real match it's up to the players to tap cards, resolve the various phases of the game, and keep track of things. The Interactive Encyclopedia just serves as a virtual card table that happens to let you play with practically every Magic: The Gathering card ever created--cards that contain so many complex rules that having the computer resolve everything is far beyond the ability of current technology.
The few flaws this encyclopedia had when originally released have for the most part been amended by a series of patches, so be sure to visit the official Web site to download the latest version. It's also worth a visit because Wizards of the Coast regularly posts updated price lists for the cards along with new expansion packs, like the Nemesis card set, that can be added to the database. The only problem we had with the Interactive Encyclopedia was its overall sluggishness, which is somewhat forgivable given the size of the database. Beginners will absolutely love the ability to see all of the rare cards they've only heard about, and even experts should appreciate how easy it is to use the database so they can refine their decks. There's something for every Magic: The Gathering fan in this package. --T. Byrl Baker
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(1) It has only one graphics option, which is running full screen with a workspace that is 800 x 600. It can't be minimized, run in a window, or run at a higher resolution that wouldn't waste half of my display. In addition, my Start menu isn't accessible while the program is running. I find these kind of limitations frustrating and unacceptable.
(2) The windows are not resizeable, so even though I have plenty of screen space to work with, I can't use it. This means that I have to use the horizontal scroll bar to view only a small portion of any of the tables at a time, which makes the product particularly difficult to use.
(3) There doesn't appear to be a way to indicate multiple copies of a card in my collection without having multiple entries for that card. This might be useful for rare or special cards, but having hundreds of entries for lands, or dozens for commons, makes the feature much less useful.
(4) The text in general is a light font on a dark background, which is not terribly functional. The help text is particularly difficult to read.
(5) The online game interface is a separate application that I am unable to close without closing the product entirely, even though I can have both the online game and the encyclopedia running simultaneously.
The product *looks* very nice. I just wish WotC had put half as much effort into making a product that works as good as it looks.