What Guilty Gaming Pleasures Do You Enjoy?

Thanks to GamerDad for its editorial discussing some of the guilty pleasures involved in playing video games. The author, in trying to define why he enjoys games so much, rhapsodizes: "When 3D games run at a high framerate and wow me with effects, I'm drooling like any other graphics loving moron. I don't need them, but I do respect and admire them." He continues along this train of thought: "Another guilty pleasure is the need to blow things up. Why is it that's so damn liberating? I just love to see things go boom. Zombies, space ships, tanks, cars, buildings, robots, aliens, demons - but not often people, since I'm kinda squeamish with that." What's your guiltiest videogaming-related pleasure?

Comments

easy:

[torpor]

the few gigs of MAME rom's I've got floating around my universe.

i haven't put a quarter (or 50 cents) into a videogame machine in years. MAME was like the 'nirvana'-point of arcade gaming for me ... all that investment, and finally, i get something out of it: free access to all the arcade games i could possibly ever want to play.

the new stuff doesn't interest me.

Re:easy:

[ten000hzlegend]

I agree, sitting in college using the obviously FAST connection to download the likes of Galaxian and Marble Madness was the literal sheer gorging of 80's pop culture, I never did feel guilty though... funny that

I'm Danie And I'm A GTA-holic

[ten000hzlegend]

I admit, my friends organised a night in watching movies, drinking, usual banter

He had a Playstation 2 set-up with Vice City which had just been released, now, being a complete beginner to the gaming world *OS X geek you see* I was pretty well drawn into the sheer brutality of pulling some young broad out a moving car, then proceeding to smash up line after line of innocent civilians

Months later, I still play just to get my police record "topped up", sod the missions!

And yes, I thought it was rather cruel to smack an old lady in the chops with a steel bar, but... but... oh nevermind

Re:I'm Danie And I'm A GTA-holic

[MrHanky]

I just have to say that I agree with you. The joy of GTA is the childish pleasure of doing something naughty (running over a cop, steal his gun and use it to shoot an old lady before taking off in his car with a bunch of police cars tailing me) and getting away with it. It's the "getting away with"-part that makes the game fun.

And doing things that might be illegal in your state (like going on a killing spree) just happens to be the best actions to get away with.

Running people over

[singleantler]

Finding every single person on a level of Carmageddon and running them down. It was nothing to do with getting enough time to finish the level, just about pure-grade destruction.

Carmageddon was great for that. Didn't look very good, but was enormous evil fun.

Freedom Force

[TravelSizedMonkey]

Freedom Force, the squad-based superhero tactical RPG, got me in the tutorial when the narrator says, "Why don't you try picking up this light post and using it as a club?" It's fun using everything (except buildings, unfortunately) as a weapon. Cars, light posts, benches, phone booths, hot dog carts... it's a fun game.

Dead or Alive

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Dead or Alive. The whole series is based and the concept of 'guilty pleasure'. I mean, has anyone played this game just for the fighting?
I first saw this game (DOA1) in an arcade in France and just coudn't take my eyes off it... well, I coudnt take my eyes off the bouncing.
Physics based videogames just became a reality to me.

In the same vein, the only reason to play the Jurassic Park based Trespasser game was to look down.

Got to love em'.

Level 30 of Doom II

[TubeSteak]

God mode + the plasma rifle
There was something oddly captivating about letting the room fill with monsters (they infinitely respawned untill you ended the level) and then just blasting away on fully automatic. It was also oddly enjoyable to run around shooting at them just enough to cause massive brawls. I kinda liked watching a flock of Demons systematically assert their authority through sheer numbers.

Depending on how much mayhem you could handle, you'd get completion rates in the thousands of percentages. Mmmm... dead pixilated monsters.

Team killing without penalty

[focitrixilous P]

So, I confess, I enjoy the occasional game of Gunbound There is the one item that switches your current position with that of a teammate. Jump off a cliff, on the way down Team Teleport, and enjoy the confused cries of the masses wondering how I am still alive. No penalty for it either, yet. Most of the time team killing costs you a few rank points, but they hadnt thought of this yet.