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What Are Your Top Five 'Comfort' Games?
Via GameSetWatch, an article at The New Gamer talking about comfort games. These reliable, fun titles are the old favorites you consistently look to for amusement and solace after a bad gaming session, a bad day, a bad week. From the article, with the author's comfort games: "Mega Man 2 - This Capcom classic has been with me since I was a kid, and I know it like the back of my hand. I'm sure that, if blindfolded, I'd somehow intuitively be able to maneuver through the levels, but I'd much rather be able to view it in all of its 8-bit goodness and remind myself of the good times." My current top five would have to be Super Mario World, Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, God of War, and Civilization IV. What are yours?
Comfort games? Not that I would usually 'comfort' myself with video games, more often I comfort myself with indulgence :p Anyway, mine would be:
San Andreas. Sometimes I have a bad day and want to shoot stuff, beat some hookers, blow up some cars etc. Quite often I will load the game, and not do any missions. Just blow shit up for as long as possible. For fun.
C&C Generals. It's so fun to play against friends on a LAN, and it's so warming to hear a Scottish pal yell obscenities after a carefully planned assult on his base. It's also fun on skirmish mode, solo. I'll do battle against the CPU, and win. That makes me feel a little better.
Settlers. I loved this game, played it as a young teen. I played the first one to death. So did my younger sister, and occasionally I'd tell her the level password so she could try and beat it. That was fun. I remember enjoying the little swordfights.
Transport Tycoon. Sorry, I love this game. It was and is great. Tried to get Locomotion working today, but XP is crashing on it for some reason (must me some driver error, I'll work it out). Anyway, what a classic game. So much fun.
The Sims. Fine, it is basically a virtual doll house, but its mindless and easy to lose yourself in. I remember many years back, a friend and I tried 'hash cake' - my friend stared at the ceiling for hours and I played (the first) Sims. For about ten hours solid. All of the people in my house had top level jobs, not that it matters now though.
While games are engrossing and fun to play, and it is so easy to spend that many hours on them, they're not the hours you're going to remember in ten years time. The comparison with 'comfort foods' is apt though, I don't remember what food I comforted myself with two years ago either. Labelling something a 'comfort' doesn't really say anything though. We're all different, and what comforts me may completely unsettle another. For instance, I might smoke in a tense situation and in doing that I make someone uncomfortable.
Different strokes for different folks. This is just a poll rather than an article though.
My current top five would have to be Super Mario World, Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, God of War, and Civilization IV.
WoW is more like my full-time job, and I play other games to relax after my 8-hour pvp shift.
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
M.U.L.E.
My 2nd home is on IRATA.
After that:
Alternate Reality
Ultima IV
Jumpman
and tied for 5th are a number of old infocom games (Zork, H2G2, Infidel)
River City Ransom
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Tetris (Gameboy)
- Bubble Bobble
- Age of Empires
- General Chaos
I find it interesting that so many newer games are finding their way into the highly revered realm of gamer's favorites. The social aspects of the game are a double edged sword because although this increases the enjoyment, it also causes the enjoyment to be highly volatile because your friends aren't going to always be there playing with you. Had Star Wars Galaxies never underwent the combat upgrade, I would have it as a comfort game. Unfortunately, it's no longer there for me. I currently play World of Warcraft but I am wary about marking it as a comfort game. After all, the expansion is on the horizon and who knows what's going to change in the game? There is a chance that World of Warcraft suffers from the same corporate zeal that destroyed Star Wars Galaxies--all we can do is wait and see.My work here is dung.
1. Duke Nukem Forever
2. Daikatana
3. Superman 64
4. ET
5. Extreme Paintbrawl
Whenever I'm feeling down, I can say: "At least I don't develop video games for a living!"
I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
The Balder's Gate series. It is a HUGE game. And it runs great on old hardware,..
Playing Larry games is comforting, I know that no matter how bad I foul it up with the ladies, Larry manages to screw it up worse than I ever could!
Plus it is always fun to find new ways of killing Larry(which is why I didn't like 7, half the fun in the other games was finding out new ways to die!)
Monstar L
1. Alpha Centauri
2. Kohan - Ahriman's Gift
3. Super Mario World
4. Super Metroid
5. Colonization
It is the best comfort game after a really bad day.
You sit down, play and lose. You get up and you are full with that warm fuzzy feeling inside which wispers into your ears that the world is not so perversely against you, because the game has proven that things can be much, much worse.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
I didn't realize how relaxing this game was until I played Adventure again on a friend's "retro 2600 game consoles built into a joystick" machines. I knew exactly where to grab the sword, defeat even the red dragon, and find the micro-dot/easter egg without having played it (or even thinking about it) in years. I suspect other games like the Superman game, or Yar's Revengewould trigger the same response, but it's very strange (and perhaps a little scary) how comforting it is for those built in motor memories to kick in again.
:-/
Maybe I can see now why my mom is nostalgic over some mundane useless activity like shucking vegetables. Or my dad recalls how great it was to kill wasps. Weird activities from when we were young and not concerned about politics, relationships, or investment portfolios. Maybe I should have learned something else besides how to beat Adventure though.
My 'comfort' VG's are Tetris (played manically), only while on an airplane, and the Civ series. The manic games of Tetris calm me down. It's basically escapism @ 30k feet, since I'm a nervous flyer. I usually play a Civ 4 game (or before that it's predecessors) when I'm sick at home, or in a hotel for work. There is no better mind numbing escapism than Civ 4.
Turned up to the biggest board size. It takes about 200 seconds to clear the board, and it's so mindless.
1) "Rise of Nations" (Thrones and Patriots) ... by far.
2) Roller Coaster Tycoon 3
3) F.E.A.R.
4) Quake 3 Arena
5) Black & White 2
- Spryguy
There are three kinds of people in this world: those that can count and those that can't
4. Lierati
I'm assuming you played off of someone else's 'T'...
This guy's the limit!
Best. Game. Ever.
In no particular order:
Time Pilot
Mr. Do!
Q*Bert
Kung-Fu Master
As for non-MAME: GTA3, GTA:VC or GTA:SA (when I'm in the mood to just run/drive/fly around and blow off steam by commiting acts of mayhem).
~Philly
http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/
One of the most relaxing games ever.
- Colin McRae Rally (the first one)
- Gran Turismo 3
- Nethack
- Commander Keen (any one of the series)
- SSX (the first one)
Colin McRae Rally actually has a lot deeper meaning for me than just being a comfort game. I have developed a habit that every christmas I buy some crackers, different sorts of cheese and I dedicate a day just for playing this racing classic. I eat nothing but cheese and crackers and play and I'll have this Zen-like experience. This ritual gives me the peace some people seek form churches or other spiritual christmas activities.1) Sam and Max hit the road
2) Day of the Tentacle
3) Secret of Monkey Island 1
4) Secret of Monkey Island 2
5) Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
They're classics!
1. CS:S (vs. bots)
2. Alice
3. Civ III
4. Thief
5. Any of the numberous Mahjong games floating around.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Ya, Defcon is a pretty cool game. http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/
I like your list, Chosen Reject.
UT 2004 is a fantastic game. I can think of all the times I'd take a flyer up to the top of a tower where there's a nuke shooter and just blow the hell out of a little group of enemy. Sniper is tops.
It's been a long time but I remember being so enthralled by UFO, Total Annihilation and Starcraft for a good long while.
Half-Life 2. Just the best FPS ever made.
Eve-Online. I can't get enough. It's the first game that I've ever played that actually makes me feel at peace. Also the only game that doesn't make me scrunch up my neck muscles until I get a headache/backache. The only game my wife endorses for me to play. And I haven't even scratched the surface of this deep and involving universe.
Gee, I enjoyed this little vacation from congressional sex scandals, secret prisons and phone taps. In fact, I think I'll log into Eve right now and see if I can finish Angel Extravaganza mission in my Brutix, by myself, with only 5 tech II Hammerhead drones for company.
Wish me luck.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Can't believe I didn't see this one listed for anyone! Was always one of my favorites, every 6 or 8 months I end up digging up a copy of StarCraft (and some of the addons) and get stuck playing for hours.
In my opinion it must be one of the most balanced games ever made. I always found it much more playable than Warcraft or Ages of Empires... Perhaps becuase of the simple graphics or lack of 'hero' characters, which always seem to just make battles harder to orchestrate.
Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead!
Give 'em a twist, a flick o' the wrist...
Mom! More Hot Pockets!
Go here. Its even been improved (well, i think so).
"I may be full of crap about this game, and I may be wrong, and that's fine." -Jack Thompson
Couldnt help but going a little bit overboard.
Of the Classic Era:
1. Mike Tysons Punch-out
2. Super Mario Bros 1 / SMB 3
3. Skate Or Die 2
4. Contra
5. Commander Keen/Monster Bash
6. Legend of Zelda
7. Double Dragon 2
8. Leisure Suit Larry
9. Death Rally
Of The "Silver" Age
1. Starcraft
2. Warcraft
3. Street Fighter 2
4. Mortal Kombat
5. Grand Theft Auto
6. Interstate 76
7. TMNT 2: The Arcade Game
8. Out Of This World
Of The "New" Age:
1. Legend of Zelda Windwaker
2. Jedi Outcast/Jedi Academy
3. Rogue Spear
4. Xmen Legends
5. Need For Speed Underground/Hot Pursuit
6. Star Trek Armada
7. GUN
Bitch you KNOW the side.. WORLD MAFUCKIN WIDE..
- Mario Karts on my trusty 10 year old N64
- World of Warcraft on my new 24" iMac
- Wizardry - Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord on Virtual ][ on any of my macs
- Spaceward Ho! on my powerbook
- Golden Eye on the N64
I bought Doom 3 recently just to try out the graphoics card in my new iMac but it's not really a fave - yet...I used to have a better sig than this, but I got tired of it
1. Spaceward Ho!
2. Exile series
3. Maelstrom
4. Escape Velocity series
5. and the "new" one, Alpha Centauri.
I've been getting into Neverwinter Nights lately, but that required "bitching out" my ancient Mac with slightly less ancient hardware. 3D games just don't feel so snuggly to me, so this is not a comfort game.
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