To my mind, the absolute best videogame is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (for the Nintendo 64). It’s just, well, perfect: the design is exceptional, the world sprawling and beautiful (though one understandable complaint is that, until a certain point in the game, it takes for freakin’ ever to run across the fields), the controls clever and the learning curve just right. But mostly what keeps it fresh no matter how many times I play it is that it’s layered in just the right way – there’s a main quest and a main story (save the world, save the princess, etc.) but there are side quests, things you don’t have to do but that make the game more interesting – and there are these tiny characters here and there that give the game’s imaginary, magical world an oddly human side, like the woman in the village who needs help gathering her chickens (she can’t pick them up because she’s allergic).
It’s scary and lovely and demanding and entertaining and I play it over and over again.
thinkofaname
April 18, 2006 at 3:52 am
http://www.kingdomofloathing.com- it’s surprisingly addicting, and if you’re willing to go on every day (heh) it gets really fun, once you get up in levels. I love the graphics, it’s really really simple, nothing moves, you just go around adventuring. hehe.
capn_jil
April 18, 2006 at 3:59 am
Seconding habiliments: Zelda 64 is one of the most perfect games ever.
I also really like Duh-Durrr.
ms_anthropy
April 18, 2006 at 4:01 am
Games are my secret vice. I like god/construction games like The Sims and Civilization, and I’ll also occasionally go in for the quest/adventure “Ultima” type stuff (although they’re horribly time-consuming. A good one can take months to finish, and I just don’t have that kind of time to waste anymore.) My favorites are the horror-adventure type, like the old 7th Guest. I want a story with my game. My favorite game ever is “Shivers.” I got it right after we moved to the middle of nowhere, and I have fond memories of being alone in the house at 3AM while Russell was on 3rd shift, knowing the nearest neighbor was half a mile away, turning off all the lights and scaring the hell out of myself with that stupid game.
I was trying to do some casual research into online games for a story and got sucked into Runescape for a while. There is an addictive quality to the online ones that is rather disturbing.
librarian
April 18, 2006 at 4:17 am
I usually just play little dorky games over at Shockwave.com because I’m trying to kill time in the short term, not in the long term. To that end, I like the Zuma-like games where you do little pattern matching things. Seem to set my head right.
anonymous
April 18, 2006 at 7:24 am
definatly street fighters and mrs. pacman because that’s what I grew up playing and even with the simple graphics they’re still addicting and fun to play
cynicalcalvin
April 18, 2006 at 7:41 am
that was me by the way, sorry to have left it anonymous.
anonymous
April 18, 2006 at 10:21 am
Super Collapse found on Yahoo games…though I have no idea why I’m addicted to it. But alas, I am and so I’m always behind on other things.
~Lauren @ SIUC
wildiris
April 18, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Right now, it’s a tie between Sims and DDR. I like building in the Sims – I always wanted a dollhouse, but it was such an expensive hobby when I finally got one. I like architecture and design. And DDR is a fun way to burn calories. I am slowly getting sucked into Second Life. And for online games, now that my World of Warcraft subscription lasped, I only play setgame for mental calisthenics – http://www.setgame.com
janeandsimple
April 18, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Ditto on the Sims and DDR, for exactly the same reasons (I probably run a world record for keeping my Sims on “pause” mode forever as I give them a pretty place to live).
I also like the Myst series, because I like puzzles, and the absense of fighting, health meters or timed games.
Also little online word games like TextTwist, because I’m a nerd.
anonymous
April 19, 2006 at 7:01 am
My current favorite gaming website is brettspielwelt.com
It has online versions of boardgames such as Settlers of Catan, Carcasonne, and many, many more. The best website if you like playing the board games you can find at your local gaming shop. Most of the players are good, so it’s a challenge.
-Jeff “too lazy to set up alive journal account so will continue to post as Anonymous” C.
kiramekihoshi
April 20, 2006 at 7:00 am
Woohoo, that’s a third on the Sims and DDR ^_^ I guess they count because I get skins for The Sims online, and I downloaded Stepmania.. o.-
I also play Neopets a bit, ’cause I’m a little girl like that ^-^
~hoshi
anonymous
April 20, 2006 at 10:48 am
I don’t play videogames, but http://www.neopets.com is the most addicting virtual pet site ever. If you want to do it, you have to set up an account, but it’s free. Check me out as marylittlelamb!
Sophie
anonymous
April 22, 2006 at 7:25 am
I don’t know if this counts as a “video game” but I love to play on my X-Box that my dad just got me! We have so many games that it’s hard to keep up with all the different challenges. I love it because it’s something that all my friends know about and that we can chat about. I love my X-Box!
ester_may
April 25, 2006 at 11:37 am
mm…
DDR
mostly because i don’t feel lazy when playing it
i also enjoy runescape
you can talk to the other kids who are also playing online
and you can make pies
anonymous
April 25, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Ah, Tetris, hands-down. It’s a welcome distraction, no matter what the situation.
Out of the genre of “falling colored blocks”, I tend to gravitate towards adventure games, particularly the “Escape from Monkey Island” series. The jokes are funny, the plots are clever, the puzzles are mind-boggling, and there are variations in gameplay(the insult-duels, in particular) that keep it fresh.
ms_anthropy
January 1, 2001 at 12:00 amhabiliments
April 18, 2006 at 3:26 amTo my mind, the absolute best videogame is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (for the Nintendo 64). It’s just, well, perfect: the design is exceptional, the world sprawling and beautiful (though one understandable complaint is that, until a certain point in the game, it takes for freakin’ ever to run across the fields), the controls clever and the learning curve just right. But mostly what keeps it fresh no matter how many times I play it is that it’s layered in just the right way – there’s a main quest and a main story (save the world, save the princess, etc.) but there are side quests, things you don’t have to do but that make the game more interesting – and there are these tiny characters here and there that give the game’s imaginary, magical world an oddly human side, like the woman in the village who needs help gathering her chickens (she can’t pick them up because she’s allergic).
It’s scary and lovely and demanding and entertaining and I play it over and over again.
thinkofaname
April 18, 2006 at 3:52 amhttp://www.kingdomofloathing.com- it’s surprisingly addicting, and if you’re willing to go on every day (heh) it gets really fun, once you get up in levels. I love the graphics, it’s really really simple, nothing moves, you just go around adventuring. hehe.
capn_jil
April 18, 2006 at 3:59 amSeconding habiliments: Zelda 64 is one of the most perfect games ever.
I also really like Duh-Durrr.
ms_anthropy
April 18, 2006 at 4:01 amGames are my secret vice. I like god/construction games like The Sims and Civilization, and I’ll also occasionally go in for the quest/adventure “Ultima” type stuff (although they’re horribly time-consuming. A good one can take months to finish, and I just don’t have that kind of time to waste anymore.) My favorites are the horror-adventure type, like the old 7th Guest. I want a story with my game. My favorite game ever is “Shivers.” I got it right after we moved to the middle of nowhere, and I have fond memories of being alone in the house at 3AM while Russell was on 3rd shift, knowing the nearest neighbor was half a mile away, turning off all the lights and scaring the hell out of myself with that stupid game.
I was trying to do some casual research into online games for a story and got sucked into Runescape for a while. There is an addictive quality to the online ones that is rather disturbing.
librarian
April 18, 2006 at 4:17 amI usually just play little dorky games over at Shockwave.com because I’m trying to kill time in the short term, not in the long term. To that end, I like the Zuma-like games where you do little pattern matching things. Seem to set my head right.
anonymous
April 18, 2006 at 7:24 amdefinatly street fighters and mrs. pacman because that’s what I grew up playing and even with the simple graphics they’re still addicting and fun to play
cynicalcalvin
April 18, 2006 at 7:41 amthat was me by the way, sorry to have left it anonymous.
anonymous
April 18, 2006 at 10:21 amSuper Collapse found on Yahoo games…though I have no idea why I’m addicted to it. But alas, I am and so I’m always behind on other things.
~Lauren @ SIUC
wildiris
April 18, 2006 at 1:24 pmRight now, it’s a tie between Sims and DDR. I like building in the Sims – I always wanted a dollhouse, but it was such an expensive hobby when I finally got one. I like architecture and design. And DDR is a fun way to burn calories. I am slowly getting sucked into Second Life. And for online games, now that my World of Warcraft subscription lasped, I only play setgame for mental calisthenics – http://www.setgame.com
janeandsimple
April 18, 2006 at 1:43 pmDitto on the Sims and DDR, for exactly the same reasons (I probably run a world record for keeping my Sims on “pause” mode forever as I give them a pretty place to live).
I also like the Myst series, because I like puzzles, and the absense of fighting, health meters or timed games.
Also little online word games like TextTwist, because I’m a nerd.
anonymous
April 19, 2006 at 7:01 amMy current favorite gaming website is brettspielwelt.com
It has online versions of boardgames such as Settlers of Catan, Carcasonne, and many, many more. The best website if you like playing the board games you can find at your local gaming shop. Most of the players are good, so it’s a challenge.
-Jeff “too lazy to set up alive journal account so will continue to post as Anonymous” C.
kiramekihoshi
April 20, 2006 at 7:00 amWoohoo, that’s a third on the Sims and DDR ^_^ I guess they count because I get skins for The Sims online, and I downloaded Stepmania.. o.-
I also play Neopets a bit, ’cause I’m a little girl like that ^-^
~hoshi
anonymous
April 20, 2006 at 10:48 amI don’t play videogames, but http://www.neopets.com is the most addicting virtual pet site ever. If you want to do it, you have to set up an account, but it’s free. Check me out as marylittlelamb!
Sophie
anonymous
April 22, 2006 at 7:25 amI don’t know if this counts as a “video game” but I love to play on my X-Box that my dad just got me! We have so many games that it’s hard to keep up with all the different challenges. I love it because it’s something that all my friends know about and that we can chat about. I love my X-Box!
ester_may
April 25, 2006 at 11:37 ammm…
DDR
mostly because i don’t feel lazy when playing it
i also enjoy runescape
you can talk to the other kids who are also playing online
and you can make pies
anonymous
April 25, 2006 at 12:48 pmAh, Tetris, hands-down. It’s a welcome distraction, no matter what the situation.
Out of the genre of “falling colored blocks”, I tend to gravitate towards adventure games, particularly the “Escape from Monkey Island” series. The jokes are funny, the plots are clever, the puzzles are mind-boggling, and there are variations in gameplay(the insult-duels, in particular) that keep it fresh.