Videogames that give you that urge to just keep going on...

[Isometric_Bacon]

I'll admit. Being a child of the "later" generation of gaming, (mid 90's to modern games) means I have a notoriously short attention span. I will love and play a game to death for a week, before I complete it/become frustrated or bored, then moving onto whatever else I can get my grubbly little mitts interested in. I will often play these games till a point, then move on, ad nauseum.

Every now and then however, I'll pull out these old games again and play them for short bursts, continuing where I left off, or starting again before going on. Generally this is why I don't complete many games.

However, there are a few games that are able to "break" this cycle of short attention. There are some games that you simply cannot almost not put down, no matter what the circumstances, and you will keep coming back regardless, no matter how hard, how tricky, or how frustrating the game is making you.

This came to mind the other day whilst playing "Ghouls N' Ghosts" on my MAME arcade cabinet. This game, has the uncanny ability to pull me in every time without fail.

Ever since I was a kid, and throwing whatever I could into my dads Commodore 64, the Ghost's N Goblins series has always fascinated me. No matter how many times I tried to get past the first rock formation as a six year old, I never could do it. I tried and tried, and the best I could ever get was just up to the second formation before dying. But I kept trying, and trying...

Nowaday's it still takes me ages, (and many credits) just to get past the second level, but i'm getting better.... but I still persist. I can't imagine how the arcade purists could get anywhere without breaking the bank back in the 80's.

There is some unexplained, unanimous aura about this game... no matter how hard it is, how frustrating it gets, I always feel like going on, and continuing to play. I can't explain it myself, there's a bazillion other platformers which are more modern and seemingly much better made, (not so damn cheap!) but I grow tired of them quickly, and they never seem to hold the appeal or fun of a game of Ghost's N' Ghouls.

So, now that I've got that aside, lets hear from you guys. What game/games have affected you in similar ways?

[AB Positive]

This is going to sound dumb, but both final fantasy VII and III pull me in occasionally. If you read penny arcade, picture the old strips where there was that one clock that would ring, and Gabe would run in, frothing at the mouth, screaming "HIT POINTS, MANA!"

Sorta like that, only with those two games. And when I start I can't play anything else until I finish them.

Every replay I always promise myself I'm going to get a 100% on it (get Knights of the round, or have every character learn every spell in III) but never do it.

I'm odd.

-AG

[chadtower]

Berzerk.

[grayejectbutton]

Tetris on the GB always had that effect on me because it's one of those games where I just HAVE to have one more go.

Zelda 3 on the SNES...this is my favorite game of all time anyway, but it always kept me playing for hours and hours.

Halo is another one that I have often played until the wee hours of the morning.

Doom on the PC also had an annoying way of making me play over and over again until I was well and truly sucked in.

[davidbrit2]

This is why I mostly prefer arcade style games, where there's not much pressure to reach "the end." You just play to get better, and because it's a well made game. Here's a short list of games that get a lot of use, and it's pretty obvious as to why

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dance Dance Revolution
Rez
Crazy Taxi
Amplitude
Super Monkey Ball

These games don't have any real point at which you can say "Okay, I'm done." I like that. Incidentally, I much prefer short stories to novels.

[Daltone]

Streetfighter 3 had me playing untill my thumbs blistered (literally.) Then I got an arcade stick and developed a cunning finger positioning system and played some more. More or less the same happended with MKII on the Mega Drive when I was younger. Fortunately, the alure of that particular version of the game seems to have worn off.
Flashback I could (and still can) play for hours - despite being rubbish at it. I'm sure it's got something to do with that lovely animation.
Any FMV Tex Murphy adventure, mainly because of the atmosphere and fantastic sense humor present. Oh, the handy hints system helps matters along too.
Road Avenger on the Mega Cd. Don't ask. I just have a soft spot for this game.

[kainemaxwell]

Most rpgs have tha tkind of pull on me- you get engrossed into the story and you just wanna know what happens next or find a place to save and take it all in.

[Bratwurst]

Ditto, on Tetris.

Half Life co-op mode online is strangely engrossing as well, though I haven't touched it in months.

[Kroogah]

All the games in my signature.

The old Nintendo arcade game, Sheriff. I started playing "Wario's Sheriff" (full version of the game you can unlock in Wario Ware) to set a high score and didn't stop until I died. Final score: over 300,000.....

Mario's Picross and the SFC sequel....I can never find a stopping point.

Dance Dance Revolution...good thing I have a finite amount of stamina, otherwise I'd never stop playing.

[devilman]

This is going to sound dumb, but both final fantasy VII and III pull me in occasionally.

VII hooked me in good and proper. I finsihed it the first time in about 35 hours. Soon after, I started again to get *Everything* (which I think I got, including KOTR) and clocked up another 65 hours.

Now, it's FFX. I'm 80 hours in and I've still some way to go before I get *everything* on that too.

My other main love is the Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer series. I dread to think how many matches of the whole series have been played in this hours... tens of thousands!

[Nature Boy]

Lately it's been Frogger and FF VII for me.

I've got MAME CE running on a Pocket PC and I sneak a game of Frogger in every once in awhile. It's fun watching that high score list get more and more difficult to crack each time out. And I love continually trying to get better.

FFVII is more a result of my portable PSone. This is my 3rd time playing the game though and I'm *way* further along than I've ever been. The story has me hooked - both this time and the other two times I've started games up.

[Jorpho]

Planescape Torment (for PC) is so dangerous I have not played it in a long time. I simply cannot afford to stay up until 3:00 AM advancing the storyline.
________
Nevada Dispensary (http://nevada.dispensaries.org/)

[swlovinist]

First of all I would like to say I appreciate games of all types. It doesnt have to be a new game to be a game that keeps me glued to the screen. Robotron 2084 is an example of that. On the way to CGE 2K3, I must of played that dang thing 8 hours!!! That addictive gameplay, that inquenchable thirst to get to the next level.........or was it that my friend Zach was kicking my ass at the game :D Anyways then there are those new totally cinematic RPGS that make me think that gaming is not dead and there are things that still come out and surprise me. Knights of the Old Republic comes out on the Xbox and to be quite honest, it is amazing. I have talked to many people and they too, have been sucked into playing the game for hours on end. So many side quests and things to do. This is how an RPG should be! Another funny thing is that I really do not like my Xbox.......but if they make games like this, thats going to change real fast!