Games-are-good-I-like-games…

Magic The Gathering: Battlegrounds, I obtained this game and it kicks ass. So much so that I bought a gamepad controller, one of those 8 button monstrosity things just so I could play it.
I loved MTG when the game first came out, but I HATE the “collectible” aspect of these games, it can make the game unbalanced rather easily, so when the first computer version of it was developed, I was on it like white on rice. You could build a deck from a fixed set of cards, and there were restrictions on how many of a certain type of card (you even had access to “rare” ones) your deck could consist of for certain types of duels. And it had a questing story as part of it too.
Battlegrounds takes it to the next level. It started out as a console game and I’m sure that they knew the hardcore gamers were going to want an xbox just to sit and lay down cards back and forth. So now it’s cast fast or be toast. And I didn’t think I’d like it, but I LOVE it. The gamepad makes the movement and spell selection very simple, but I still feel like a bit of a fuddy d
uddy for now. Still, after trying to use the keyboard, I’ll gladly take an 8-way directional pad.
It’s basically a fighting game setup, but you summon spells and creatures to do your dirty work just like the card game. But to acquire the juice to cast the spells you have to run around and pick up balls of mana. So, get mana, cast spells, bring creatures… all while your opponent (AI or Internet Multiplayer) is trying to do the same to take you out. It also has characters and fighting locations that you can unlock over time using an Arcade mode.
It’s fun, fun, fun. Though now I’m wondering what other games I already have that my controller will work with. 😀