What's The Last Game That Hooked You?
Such a sh**** night. Rainy, foggy, windy, cold. It's nights like these that gamers will often curl up with the one game that is, currently, their go-to title.
I'm not necessarily referring to the game you think is the "best;" i.e., the best game currently in your rotation, or what you believe should've gotten more awards in 2011.
I'm talking about that one game, regardless of critic or peer influence, that just somehow grabs you and keeps you playing. In some ways, you're not even sure why it happened. Maybe it's a genre you don't normally enjoy, maybe it's a game that didn't start out promising but somewhere along the way, something clicked in your head...or maybe it's just so much fun, there's no reason to analyze it.
Come on, what ya got? I'm almost embarrassed to say that right now, it's Final Fantasy XIII-2. I almost can't dignify such a ridiculous statement with further elaboration. It's not a bad game - it really isn't; the 8.6 I gave it holds true - and they really did do a great deal to improve the gameplay and combat system this time around. But the story is sorta "meh" and in truth, I keep thinking I'm playing it for all the wrong reasons. "Wrong" in that this shouldn't be why I play a Final Fantasy title.
But nevertheless, there it is. Can't stop playing it. Just got Twilight Odin; gonna start maxing stuff. However, that being said, I should add that I really love the Vita and I've got a ton of games sitting here; I've done 7 reviews but just that many remain, and that doesn't include the downloadable vouchers I have. Oh, and I still need to deliver the Syndicate review and Capcom just told me Asura's Wrath is on the way. That, and I've got a chance to check out Journey this weekend.
So there's plenty to do. But right now, on a night like this, it just ends up being the go-to game... What's yours right now?
Tags: gaming, video games, gaming culture, favorite games
2/24/2012 8:59:31 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (149 posts)
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:03:44 PM
Jawknee
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 2:48:04 AM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 5:17:50 AM
Jawknee
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:50:23 AM
AcHiLLiA
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:41:05 PM
556pineapple
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:28:24 PM
Reply
As for a game that completely engrosses me, that would be Mass Effect 2. Sadly I haven't had time to play a lot of games over the past year, but out of all of the games that I played, this was easily the one that wouldn't let me go until I explored every planet to find every mission. I've played and enjoyed games since then (Twisted Metal is awesome!), but none of them captured me quite like ME2 did.
Last edited by 556pineapple on 2/24/2012 9:29:39 PM
fatelementality
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:33:04 PM
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SoulController
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:38:02 PM
Reply
bigrailer19
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:40:28 PM
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DeadReaper
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:47:40 PM
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aaronisbla
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:07:13 PM
Nas Is Like
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:47:42 PM
Reply
maxpontiac
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:16:13 AM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 5:23:00 AM
Last edited by fatelementality on 2/25/2012 5:23:21 AM
Nas Is Like
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 8:06:46 PM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 5:25:06 AM
maxpontiac
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:52:36 PM
Reply
Nas Is Like
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:13:38 PM
maxpontiac
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:14:19 AM
CanadianGuy420
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 2:16:05 PM
mike rlz
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:29:57 PM
CanadianGuy420
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:49:23 PM
Pandacastro
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:23:27 PM
Reply
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:05:24 PM
aaronisbla
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:08:35 PM
Beamboom
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 4:46:56 AM
- "Let's see, I got the option to either play with an awesome space-age femme fatalutium maximusimo, or a big hairy grunt. Let's go for the grunt."
And yeah Jennifer Hale is *excellent* as Femshep. She alone is worth my preorder.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/25/2012 4:47:35 AM
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:19:08 PM
sunspider13
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:30:18 PM
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Quincho
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:51:00 AM
sunspider13
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:13:22 AM
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:30:45 AM
sunspider13
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:14:53 AM
Fane1024
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 2:40:42 AM
Twistedfloyd
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:44:52 PM
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While the SP was disappointing, the reason the game was made is a complete success. Once those connection issues are ironed out, this is a multiplayer masterpiece.
shadowscorpio
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:46:31 PM
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LBP is really a great game. Aiming for all the trophies really gets me playing this game A LOT but its practically endless when it comes to thing s to do in it.
VampDeLeon
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:52:28 PM
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dembiscuits
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:55:09 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:02:53 PM
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The horror really isn't that fantastic, the graphics aren't bad but they aren't the best, and in many ways the series feels kind of old BUT there's the rub. I realized that I miss the old school gameplay that FPS games used to have.
Currently we engage in one or another form of modern or futuristic combat that guides us on in a straight line through various firefights until the dramatic conclusion. I find this boring. In the days of old we had to think our way around obstacles, each weapon was very different from the others, we could interact with the environments, there were puzzles to be solved, and we felt like we were in control of a human body instead of skating on ice.
FEAR has all of that and I'm going to play all 3. Old school FPS ftw bitches.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 2/24/2012 11:03:11 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:34:11 AM
Beamboom
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 4:52:40 AM
All that's lacking to make them *stellar* is a long, good round in the polish machine. But the mechanics, the maps, the core game is really good. And you are right, it's got much of that classic fps vibe from back when you had to actually stop now and then to think and go, "so, what have we got here?" instead of just follow a rail holding the trigger down *cough*kz3*cough*.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/25/2012 4:53:06 AM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:40:21 AM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:51:43 AM
Fane1024
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 2:46:08 AM
aaronisbla
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:09:55 PM
Reply
Cloud X Blue
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:13:23 PM
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As for my go to game I don't know why but its Earthbound one of my favorite games of all time, and final fantasy mystic quest, no matter how many times I beat it i can always play it.
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:04:27 AM
dmiitrie
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:42:15 AM
BikerSaint
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:46:57 AM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 5:33:19 AM
sunspider13
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:19:04 AM
wolfsinner
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:27:42 PM
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And I have no shame whatsoever in saying it.
For what it does as a game (and a JRPG), it does it damn well (for me, at least). Getting that platinum this week me thinks.
It's not a rainy friday here though. It's 5 AM and I just got home, and it wasn't from "partying". Ugh.
sha4dowknight05
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:33:36 PM
Reply
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:44:08 PM
maxpontiac
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:20:42 AM
Temjin001
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:52:46 PM
Reply
To jump in the air and eat a fruit with Yoshi's tonque and think to dismount him mid-air to leap and twirl sweep my cape at the bad guy above and glide myself down to carefully re-mount Yoshi to still have time to grab that 1up he deposited to the ground from having eaten a sequence of fruit in succesion.
Games that aren't story driven. Games that aren't surreal experience driven or content driven.
I have some gaming "shoulds" that must be in order to make my gaming hall of fame, otherwise they're not games, instead, they're something else. Something less important to me.
Some games that I've played that have immortalized themselves as being a game first and everything else second are the game I can come back to time and time again and revel in something that doesn't dull itself to the new... because, well, it's not a onetime consumable item that makes it's thrills known the first time or two at play and then ends as quickly in excitement as it did to draw your attention in the first place:
Infamous
Elder Scrolls/Fallout
Ninja Gaiden
Splinter Cell
Halo
Warcraft 3
MGS
Tekken/VF/DOA
Castlevania: SotN
Super Mario Bros (particularly Mario World)
ive probably forgotten a few here. But these are they to which I speak. I don't need them to be production masterpeices, even if some of them are. I don't need them to be something for everyone. I don't need them to be technically sound in visuals. They just need to be amazing where it matters most: in their play. They're games.
CanadianGuy420
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:14:23 AM
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:18:42 AM
CanadianGuy420
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:28:44 AM
dmiitrie
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 12:48:01 AM
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Historically though, there are 3 games that I can play over and over and over again. It doesn't matter how many times I've played them, if I ever can't find something to do, they're always there for me. These games are X-COM, Morrowind, and Civilization 4.
Temjin001
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:18:07 AM
Another one already mentioned above by someone was Homeworld.
I'm more of an RTS fan, personally. Real time pressuring has its advatnages in competitive play. It's one thing to play a game to have all the time in the world to make your move and another to psychologically divert or slight through careful pressuring tactics which may/can cause the careful tactician to buckle and colapse under the pressure for having done so, yielding himself to losing control and making poor judgement.
Sigh, WC3 days were grand moments in gaming back in the day. Today, it's impossible for me to set aside uninterrupted time to play online like that.
johnld
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:11:02 AM
Temjin001
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:22:06 AM
Jawknee
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:37:15 AM
John, really it's not a waggle game like Twilight Princess. You have to learn the enemies movements and strike them with precision rather than just wiggling your arms. I still like using a regular controller for certain games but as far as Zelda is concerned, Nintendo nailed the controls and I hope they never return to buttons unless it's a handheld Zelda. I prefer motion controls for my console Zelda games here on out.
Last edited by Jawknee on 2/25/2012 1:45:23 AM
___________
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:58:39 AM
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:34:51 AM
Jawknee
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:54:31 AM
Temjin001
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:43:12 AM
___________
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 7:22:27 AM
johnld
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:08:45 AM
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battlefield 3- its just fun especially with a full squad of friends. even when i crash my jet into light posts, apparently i'm pretty good at that. i just wish dice would let these light post be destructible since they really dont serve a purpose. i can outfly jet, helos, stingers but those light posts are accurate as hell.
white knight chronicles 2- play with highlander and his guild. i'm the weakest member compared to everyone in there but that just makes me want to play more.
Hyperdimension Neptunia- i just love this game, combat and actual feel. i just love playing it. wish that you can heal manually but its no big deal.
now this might change though. i still got atelier rorona, atelier totori, resonance of fate, and peacewalker/mgs2 still sitting on my shelf. not to mention neptunia 2 and tales of graces coming up. its the year of the JRPGS for me this year.
ohh and then sony decided to give us plus members about 6 games for valentines day. i dont know when the hell ill get to those.
Last edited by johnld on 2/25/2012 1:11:56 AM
Highlander
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 11:55:16 AM
Posted from my PS Vita....
Last edited by Highlander on 2/25/2012 11:56:36 AM
Kratoskillall09
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:32:51 AM
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___________
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:56:48 AM
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only game ive played this generation which i really could not live without!
ive enjoyed allot of games, infamous and AC2 would be my 2 picks from this gen.
but id give those away in a heartbeat if i could wipe my memory and experience skyward sword for the first time again!
Jawknee
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 2:08:42 AM
BikerSaint
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 2:30:29 AM
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But off the top of my head, right now I'm heavily addicted to infamous 2. I'm trying to all the shards (only 4 more to go), pigeon drops(4 to go) & all of the side mission, plus I'm also trying to do every user generated mission too.
The hours in I2 just fly right by(8to12 hours fly by every time I blink) & it pisses me off that I even have to stop to take bathroom, eating, and/or sleep breaks, LOL.
BTW, I have no doubt that when I finally get into my huge backlog of games, that I'll find the Fallout & ME series just as highly addictive too.
The very simple social game "Bejeweled 3" also takes up a mass portion of my time, got over 400 hours in & am past level 62 right now in just in B3's "classic mode" so far.
I also have a simple little PS Mini I put on my PSP that I can't put down, called "Urbanix".
The object is drive your tractor from one side to the next without any bad guy's cars crossing over your line before you've reached another side line.
Each time you succeed, a street or section of town & dwelling spring up. You also use your tractor to make traps & once you've got them all trapped into the smallest space possible before the time limit's up, you win that mission.
There's also a series of pick ups & traps that help & hinder your progress. Plus there's flying sharks that try to mess with your timing & wrecking ball cranes that try to knock down your freshly made sections of housing. You can chase them off, but it does make your time limit all that more important.
Here's two other games I just have to include in my list too....
FarCry 2(58 hours in)
GTA4 (130+ hours so far)
My honorable mention award has to go to "MGS4"
And my 2 retro "Blast from the Past" games would have to go to my Panasonic 3DO game called "Icebreaker", and my Intellivision game, "Burgertime"
Last edited by BikerSaint on 2/25/2012 2:34:06 AM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:42:43 AM
smileys_007
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 2:32:26 AM
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Beamboom
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 2:53:26 AM
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That was something I kept doing long after I had more resources than I'd ever need. It was fun in such a weird way (I mean, c'mon.... Scanning a ball, listening for blips on the radar... How fun can that possibly be), it was just *so* awesome to find a hotspot to place a mine on - it never grew tired!
But in all honesty I guess I would also have to add Wordfeud to the list. Such a silly simple game, and one part of me don't really understand why I keep playing it, but another just wants to do "just ONE more word... Just ONE more victory and I'll stop!".
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/25/2012 3:02:16 AM
Beamboom
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 4:59:15 AM
Then there is Saints Row 3 - new dlc came out last week and it's hilarious! - but that's a coop game so that sorta doesn't count. To hook up with a buddy is always fun in *any* game unless it's major suckage. And SR3 most definitely isn't.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/25/2012 5:01:42 AM
Douchebaguette
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 3:19:25 AM
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My clan were beyond mighty terrifying, we were planning to take Kyoto for the second time after the estimated 8000 casualties battle (which we failed) took place a decade or two ago. Suddenly I could feel one of my unfriendly also terrifying allies, the Hojo clan, attempting to sabotage my plans, eventually declaring war on our great clan. Our Daiymo may not have been honourable, but he was taking over Japan for the good of the nation and it's people, damnit! *stomps fisted backhand on table*
For months, no...years we fought petty disputes; they disabled my trade routes, so I raided their trade anchor points. They attempted to overtake our headquarters...but they failed to take the city beforehand; I could trust our Daiymo's son as inexperienced general to retaliate and plunder. They managed to break my record of zero general deaths. It was a brave and watery death.
I managed to convince 4 clans to go into war with them. Too bad, another black day struck us as the older brother (who was suffering illusions of grandeur) of my two legendary brother generals died in a comical accident in the overtaking of Hojo's remaining fort; they were soon eradicated by the Takeda clan...perhaps too fast for my liking.
The Takeda clan are now a huge threat to my overtaxed people and overrecruited soldiers. I face my most difficult struggle yet, however I have managed to occupy Kyoto. It was easy, especially when conquering the weakened state of what appeared to be Takeda's men after their phyrric victory over Japan's centre.
I AM NOW SHOOOGGUN! Our Daiymo died in that almost suicidal battle to regain his honour. He thought he could live a fierce life so his future generations could live a peaceful one, but it seems the Date's feudal days are not over yet...
TBC
ValentinoGB
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 4:04:44 AM
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Rogueagent01
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 4:45:30 AM
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Before MAG it was Battlefield 2: Modern Combat which I put around 3,000 hours into. If they would have released this on the PS3 like they did the 360 I would still be playing it, Dice you messed up there.
These are my go to games.
SolidFantasy
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 6:40:32 AM
Rogueagent01
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:02:39 PM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 5:46:50 AM
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Honorable mentions: Defender of the Crown, Shadowgate, Star Fox, any Star Wars game ever, and Turtles in Time (the original, dammit.)
SolidFantasy
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 6:38:24 AM
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Right now it's FFIX on the PSP. There are so many parts that I missed or just don't remember from the last time I played it. I'm currently resisting the urge to play minecraft. What an ingenious builder that game is. I'll have to start over when I get the new computer so why bother at the moment.
When I get home I'm going to set aside a day just for gaming. It's going to be exactly the kind of day Ben described and I can't wait.
BikerSaint
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:45:13 PM
Fane1024
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 2:57:23 AM
Dancemachine55
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 7:03:02 AM
Reply
BikerSaint
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:48:04 PM
Fane1024
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 3:00:45 AM
mick
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 7:25:29 AM
Fane1024
Monday, February 27, 2012 @ 5:45:05 AM
JackC8
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 7:24:31 AM
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jimmyhandsome
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 8:15:16 AM
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Before that it was generally either some type of open world game (GTA4 or inFamous) or Halo Reach.
CrusaderForever
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 8:20:50 AM
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Jawknee
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:56:22 AM
bigrailer19
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 11:01:50 AM
But my point is there's always some game that just keeps you coming back for more. There's been very few for me. But I can play Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, over an over purely because the story is so fun, and RDR was another game that just kept me coming back both for mp, and sp. But nothing like the elder scrolls games.
JLB1
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:18:02 AM
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DrRockso87
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:00:15 AM
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Kokushi
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:54:35 AM
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Just Cause 2 - 90 hours (it got repetitive after 60 hours but the platinum took me 85hrs and then took a month break from playing the game)
Morrowind GOTY - Been playing the game for the first time since november and started tribunal and it feels like a new game.
Uncharted 2 Multiplayer - 10days played and is still great.
CanadianGuy420
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 1:53:46 PM
fatelementality
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:55:34 AM
Reply
JLB1
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 7:23:55 PM
AcHiLLiA
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 12:08:52 AM
Lord carlos
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:27:20 PM
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Undertaker575
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 6:20:31 PM
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CanadianGuy420
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 6:42:13 PM
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Rogueagent01
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:15:33 PM
Card games like that have always been slightly addictive to me. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists Of The Roses" had me hooked for quite some time, I think I put about 400 hours into it(and yet I couldn't get into the show, lol). I only stopped playing it because I picked up a PS3 and had found other games to play.
Coffeya
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 6:33:31 AM
Since it is a 99cent game that is not all that bad, but I'm scared they might shut it down soon. Trying to get battles online is a pain in the butt. I haven't even used up all my free 10 tickets yet.
Btw, you should try Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. It is another download only, but you can get it on xbox and pc.
Rogueagent01
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 6:20:11 PM
I have the one Magic game that we got with PS+ and it was ok, but it didn't really grab me like Elemental or Yu-Gi_Oh! did. Granted it is the 2011 version so I might still give the 2012 version a go someday.
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 8:50:24 PM
Reply
Beamboom
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 11:01:25 AM
InBlackestNight
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 1:33:40 PM
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ZenChichiri
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 5:49:31 PM
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Games like Professor Layton, or Phoenix Wright. Those are the games that are tending to hook me these days. Games with stories and puzzle elements as well. I still do enjoy myself a good twitch game (I'm playing Wipeout 2048 right now on my Vita) but the ones that are most memorable these days are the one that hook me on a more personal meaningful level.
Last edited by ZenChichiri on 2/26/2012 5:50:18 PM

Final Fantasy XIII-2









bluedarrk
Reply
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9:23:32 PM