First impressions are everything, and Duel Masters does a decent enough job of making one. As soon as you start, you're presented with anime cutscenes that try to tell the basic story. For the most part, it's pretty ineffectual, but the fact they went to the trouble of tossing some animation at this project is something that really helps the presentation.

A short while later, you're presented with five characters that—in Power Rangers fashion—dress like their elements. Choose one, and you're already on your way to taking your character to the top. On your way, you'll be presented with both anime and cel-shaded animation that both serve to further integrate the license into every bit of the game. It's a very nice touch that's appreciated.

The gameplay is pretty fundamental, and not too hard to grasp onto. Five basic elements make up most of your strategy: Fire, Darkness, Nature, Light, and Water. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, which are evident from the look of the main character most related to it.

To summon an element's card in battle, you have to have both enough mana to summon it and some mana in the pool that corresponds to that element. Doing so is as easy as tossing a card that has that mana with it into the pool to let both the color and an extra bit of mana be of use.

Now that your character has mana that they can use, you can start summoning monsters. For the most part, you're looking at a handful of basic types with some nuances that make them a bit different from the others. Special types of cards called "slayers" and "blockers" do exactly that. Slayers kill anything they go after, even if they're at a disadvantage (in which case they forfeit their own life to do it), and blockers block attacks that would have hit other targets.

It's after all of this settles in that the game becomes a bit more strategic. Not only do you have to summon attacking creatures, but also blocking ones. As you only have but a few shield cards up that can be destroyed in one hit, you have to keep up a blocker or two to keep your opponent from going straight at your character's health. Keeping up both an offense and defense is sometimes a daunting task, but it can be done.

Slow and repetitive battles hamper the game a bit. Watching your opponent slowly pick through his deck and summon a beast or fire off a spell isn't the most interesting thing to do. The mediocre music and small amount of repeating battle CGI scenes only help to underscore the slow and repetitive gameplay. Thankfully, they can both be turned off in the menu.

Past that, Duel Masters should prove to be great for the fans. If you like the show, own the cards (of which there's a booster pack inside), and know character names by heart, you'll love it. If you're anyone else, it's a toss-up. The integration of the license is well done, the fundamental gameplay is there, but you might wind up just not understanding what all the fuss was about.