Ahh … comic books and trading cards. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. So, where better for Sony to show off its upcoming trading card and PS3 game Eye of Judgment? At this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, I had the chance to sit down and play a few hands with the folks at Sony, and I have to say that it's definitely a unique and entertaining experience.

Eye of Judgment, originally developed in Japan, has been localized with the help Wizards of the Coast. No stranger to collectible card games, Wizards of the Coast is probably best known for the creation of the hit card game Magic the Gathering. WotC has helped to guide Sony along during the development to ensure that the card game portion of Eye of Judgment is fair and balanced, and not some cheap throwaway video game property.

The game is played on a 3x3 "field board". The PlayStation Eye camera is set up on the edge of the board and configured through in game options. Players then pull out their custom built thirty card decks and get ready for play. The objective of the game is to end your turn with control at least five of the nine areas on the field board. Players take turn summoning creatures, using magic, and taking other actions, all by laying cards in front of the camera. Digital codes on the cards are picked up by the camera and converted into 3D images by the PS3. The system helps to walk the player through each turn, manages all of the stats, and even keeps a running tally of how many cards each player has in his hand and deck. Some great 3D animated scenes show the results of each battle, a la Battle Chess of days past.

Finding opponents in Eye of Judgment is a snap. The game can be played against a computer opponent, a friend visiting at the house, or against people across the world, courtesy of online play. To combat online cheating, players "register" their decks in the game and then choose which 30 card deck they'll be taking into battle. Then, the game handles things like shuffling and dealing instead of the player, much like the Yu-Gi-Oh! or other similar card games brought over to consoles. Eye of Judgment will be shipping this fall, bundled with the game, the camera and stand, a cloth battle map, a 30 card starter deck, and a booster pack. And for those that want to get a feel for the mechanics before picking up the full game, the cards can be used without all of the extra hardware for a tradition "unplugged" card game. New decks and boosters will be made available at most retail and specialty outlets.

I'll admit that I originally thought Eye of Judgment was little more than a gimmick. Something akin to a tech demo trying to be more than it really was. However, after sitting down and playing a couple of games, I found myself pulled into the experience a lot more than I expected. It's just a hard game to put down. Sony and Wizards of the Coast have put together a fun card game, and then taken it to the next level.