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Six Most Addictive Games of All Time
highheelgamer
Member Posts: 6
Six Most Addictive Games of All Time
By Cathie Sims
Video games are made to be addictive and game developers want you hooked to their games leaving only enough time to buy their next game to further your addiction. Think of the first games you were addicted to as a kid. You might say Pac-Man, Tetris, Diablo, The Sims, World of Warcraft, or Super Mario Bros. Well, if you picked any of the above, then you are not alone; these are the six most addictive games of all time.
Pac-man
Pac-man is the only video game character that's more recognizable than Mario of Super Mario Bros. fame, and Pac-man got its national notoriety from getting gamers addicted all around the globe in what has been dubbed "Pac-man Fever" - If you don't believe me, there has actually been a song written about it. Pac-man is a very simple game but gets more complicated level by level, forcing gamers to challenge themselves – and, in doing so, forcing them to become more addicted as time goes on.
Tetris
Tetris is straight from Russia, and they definitely love it. Labeled as a Russian arcade and platform game favorite, Tetris is challenging and simple, but has a high addictive quality to it. There's just something about fitting random shapes together and destroying levels of pieces - and the added complexity of these levels makes Tetris one of the most loved, yet addictive games of all time.
Diablo
What would an addictive games list be without adding a Role-playing game (RPG), and what old-school RPG game is more addictive than Diablo? When Diablo first hit the PC gaming platform in 1997, Diablo was a top selling achievement role-playing game that scared the living crap out of anyone who played it at night. Diablo was the type of game that had endless playability and packed tons of features you'd never be able to unlock, like leveling skills, special armor, and surge after surge of endless demons to blow to bits. Diablo has been often imitated, but its addictive excellence has never been quite replicated.
The Sims
The Sims was the first game that tried, and successfully got, gamers to trade their real lives for a virtual one. Due to the funny pranks, endless objects, and totally unique situations and life appeal of the Sims, the Sims video game series has been trading gamers’ lives for Sims characters for over 10 years now.
World of Warcraft
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are the most addictive genre out of all gaming fields and with World of Warcraft (WoW) being the most popular MMORPG online, it's safe to say that WoW is one of the most addictive games ever. World of Warcraft packs everything in a single game that a game addict enjoys, including customizable characters, leveling and rank, quests, unrestricted worlds, a geeky culture and much more.
Super Mario Bros.
The most successful of all the addictive games mentioned is Super Mario Bros. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games and was more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse. Super Mario Bros is 28 years old, the biggest game series of all time. The Super Mario Bros series is in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful gaming franchise of all time. It now boasts global sales of over 240 million units. The amazing aspect is the Guiness World Records still ranks Super Mario Bros. as 11th in the top 50 video game endings of 2012.
In 2013, instead of asking developers, industry insiders and journalists to rank their favorite titles, they approached a different kind of expert: the players themselves! “Hopefully this 'top 50' more accurately reflects the tastes of the average gamer and not just the critics." Mario Bros. came in 6th! In the top 50 villians Bowser, of Super Mario Bros., ranked #1. What makes Mario sporting blue overalls, with an adopted Italian accent, and Bowser, also known as King Koopa, most powerful of the turtle-like, greedy arch nemesis, such a success?
Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and appeared in the game designer's first ever title, the 1981 arcade platformer, Donkey Kong. Miyamoto was hired as a graphic artist by Nintendo in 1977, and was given the task of designing a game after several of the company's early coin games had failed to make an impression on the lucrative arcade market. Donkey Kong was created using the hardware behind a previous arcade title named Radar Scope, which sunk without a trace in the US. Miyamoto ditched the shooting theme and added an ape and rolling barrels. Success naturally followed.
No matter what Mario title, clothes or occupation (Dr. Mario, Mario Segale, Jumpman, warrior, overalls, hat or moustache, carpenter, plumber) he was forever successful. As well as Bowser (villain, helper, ox, dragon or turtle); who was actually sketched as an ox by Miyamoto, but his drawings were misinterpreted by animator Yoichi Kotabe as a turtle. The duo worked together for their second idea and the successful villain Bowser was born. He's definitely a turtle, though, and not a dragon, as some assume.
The first Super Mario Bros game has sold 40.24 million copies, although that figure is twisted by the fact that it was bundled with the Nintendo Entertainment System console. It wasn’t until recently, however, that it was considered the best-selling game of all time. It now has been pushed into second place by Wii Sports on 41.65 million units.
Super Mario Bros was the first game to be set in Mushroom Land, Miyamoto's long-running and ever-evolving fantasy kingdom. When Mario 'eats' a super mushroom, he grows in size and capability. Miyamoto disagrees that he was influenced by Alice in Wonderland and instead claims the idea came from engrossed foods in myths and folklore.
In the 1984 Nintendo Entertainment System game Golf, Mario made his first appearance in sports. The original character merely resembled Mario, while the later NES Open Tournament Golf specifically featured Mario as a golfer. He appears on the cover in red and white striped overalls with a blue starry shirt. An outstanding outfit!
Released in 1989, the Game Boy title Super Mario Land was the first major Mario game to be developed without Miyamoto. Producer Gunpei Yokoi didn't do too poorly however: the game moved over 18 million copies. The game also introduces a new female character, Princess Daisy, replacing Mario's usual love concentration, Princess Peach.
The Wii hit Super Mario Galaxy was inspired by a tech demo known as Super Mario 128 publicized at the Nintendo Space World event in 2000. The demo exposed dozens of teeny Marios walking around on a slightly curved surface. During the Gamecube era, Galaxy designer Yoshiaki Koizumi thought that entirely circular levels would make an interesting environment for Mario, but Miyamoto was apparently skeptical at first. Finally, Koizumi showed off several test levels and the project was a go for Wii.
Video games are made to be addictive; one of the main tasks we are trying to accomplish here at Pocketcake is make games that “old school” addict able fun.
Comments
MMO wise: -
Vanilla wow
GW1
... that's it.
All games...
Yeah, tetris
Super Puzzle Fighter
Time Splitters
Micro Machines multi-player
Minecraft
http://www.gucomics.com/20130114
The most addictive franchise to me has to be the one you could identify with this one line and you know what I'm talking about.
"Just one more turn."
- Civilization
Heroes of Might and Magic.
Civilization I-V. Master of Magic. Master of Orion. X-Com. Age of Empires. Age of Empires II.
That's 10, guess I'd better stop.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Without question - for me - Civilization is #1. When that game first came out, it was just silly how hard it was to stop playing.
FFXI would be #2 because it was my first mmo.
Other than that, there are very few games that I have found truly addicting.
for me it was
- Master of Magic
- Heroes of Might and Magic
- Star Craft online matches (would take 15min - 30min)
EQ2 fan sites
Diablo 3.
My left-mouse button finger shakes while I sleep...
playing: Dragon Age
Waiting: for FF14, Mass Effect
Want to try: Fallen Earth
For me:
Vanilla WoW
CrossMe - Japanese crossword (nonogram)
Minecraft
Current: None
Played: WoW, CoX, SWG, LotRO, EVE, AoC, VG, CO, Ryzom, DF, WAR
Tried: Lineage2, Dofus, EQ2, CoS, FE, UO, Wurm, Wakfu
Future: The Repopulation, ArcheAge, Black Desert, EQN
Wasteland,Fallout 1/2
Doom 1/2
System Shock 1/2
Thief 1/2
WoW was a big addiction for me until Cata ruined it (not that I'm complaining).
GW2 keeps bringing me back.
Borderlands 1 and 2 - I have to have EVERYTHING.
And pretty much of the original Dawn of War PC series, especially Dark Crusade. These games are the best RTS games I've played so far.
Gotta agree with Tetris. If I play too long, I keep putting blocks together in my head afterwards.
Empire: Total War
Quake
Planetside 1 and 2
In no particular order
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
I've seen senior citizens, both male and female, get lost in Tetris. In terms of reach, universal appeal, and longevity, it is in a class by itself.
As far as game's I've been addicted to:
6. Golf Solitaire - At my old place of work our entire crew played this during downtime for like a year trying to beat each other's time/score.
5. Snood - Same as above, but in college.
4. SimCity 2000
3. A Link to the Past - The first "adventure" (where adventure here is a game where you're the hero overcoming a bunch of challenges to save the day) I ever immediately replayed I guess would be SMB on hard mode after beating Bowser, but ALttP is the first adventure I ever played THREE times consecutively.
2. Civilization - "Just one more turn." The first game I played through an entire weekend without sleep.
1. World of WarCrack
QFT.
you said ALL times, so here we go
Elite
Minecraft
Castles of Dr Creep
Giana Sisters (or Mario Bros if you had a NES)
Tetris
Pong
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
Lemmings
Worms
Angry Birds
Tetris
SWG
DAoC
Those would be my six and many other folks as well.
Metroid
Super Metroid
Star Wars Galaxies
Ms. PacMan
Virtua Fighter 3
Shenmue
Tony Hawk Pro Skater
Jet Set Radio Future
Phantasy Star Online
and how could I forget Street Fighter 2!
1) Shadowbane - only game I have ever played for 36 consecutive hours - only bio breaks.
2) Civilization - Especially IV with mods.
3) TES: Oblivion and Skyrim - again with mods.
4) EVE - keep going back to that game love the sense of danger.
5) some console game - never can remember the name or system but it was in the 80's - Was one where you are flying a ship through an alien world and if you get to the end with lives left you start all over with everything you had at the end - once made it all the way through the game 4 times before I finally died, or fell asleep.
Currently bored with MMO's.
Oh yeah, played almost all of them, over and over and over...loved the series.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
MMO = Dark Age of Camelot
Console game = Tecmo Super Bowl
In a world of sharp knives, you would be a spoon.