Video Games are addictive by nature. They’re portals into other worlds that are filled with objectives to keep us occupied for hours. There are a few gems, however, that stick out more than others. For some inexplicable reason, I keep coming back to them again and again.
Follow the jump for my picks for the most addictive games in history.
5. The Sims – Most of us have spent countless hours starting at a computer screen watching a virtual person staring at a computer screen. There was something about micro-managing someone’s life in a video game while neglecting your own that caused the hours to tick by w13ithout you even noticing. Whether you were designing your dream home, helping your Sim build relationships, or playing God by choosing who lived or died, the Sims can be a huge time sink that keeps you returning time after time.
4. Animal Crossing – Along the same vein as The Sims, Animal Crossing had you going about doing daily chores that you should actually be doing in your real life instead of in a video game. Animal Crossing started off innocently enough, where you were asked to pay back your debt by working for the townsfolk. This was just the worm on the hook, though. Once you pay off your first debt, you’re met with a number of others. Eventually, the game has you wrapped around its finger as you’re attempting to obtain every single item for your house. I know people that play Animal Crossing to this day and have yet to collect everything.
3. Sins of a Solar Empire – I will admit that I have not yet played enough of Sins to know everything there is to it. Considering what I have seen and what the chatter is looking like about this game, it easily deserves a spot on this list. Any RTS game can actually fit here, because they can all take over a chunk of your life. I know a good game of Age of Empires III can last 3 hours, and I’ve heard that some Sins games last quite a bit longer than that. The major draw of Sins and other RTS titles is that pretty much no match plays out the same way. It requires alot of concentration, strategy, and sometimes patience. If you want a good way to kill hours of the day, find a strategy game that fits you.
2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Imagine a game that’s pretty much a single-player MMO, but allows the player to do whatever they want in whichever manner they choose to do it. When you loaded up your game of Oblivion, or even Morrowind if you prefer that one, you could do whatever you wanted and spend hours doing it. Whether you were exploring the world and the dungeons, or pushing your way through the main storyline, it was extremely easy to find yourself entrapped in the world of The Elder Scrolls.
1. World of Warcraft – You knew this was going to take the top spot. Whether you’re a casual player, a hardcore pvp’er, or a master raider, there is no better way to burn through the hours of a day. There are so many different things to do in WoW, that it’s possible to do something different 5 days out of the week. I know people that spend at least 4 hours a day just staying in town running back and forth between the Auction House and their bank. Then notice that there are 70 levels to get through, then a whole load of things when you reach the cap, and you’ve got one of the most addictive games ever.
There you have it. You may notice an absence of First Person Shooters on the list. That was deliberate. Everyone has their favorite FPS game that I couldn’t name just one. I’ll just leave you shooter fans with the comforting thought that just about every online and some offline First Person Shooter out there can be extremely addictive and you can find yourself still fragging noobs for a countless number of hours before you realize it.
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Agree with Oblivion.
Not sure about the Sims, and I wouldn’t have put WoW in there… Suppose that’s my choice…
Why are 4 out of the 5 on the list PC games?
Hmm…
I wouldn’t agree with the others… Only Oblivion.
wow is a great game but come on £10 a month i play private severs there would be another 10 million people if people knew about the FREE game severs
woah, they are all RPG’s of some kind
however, i do agree with oblivion and sims
What about N and N+. I’ve spent too much of my life on those. Also that online flash game where you have to get the motorbike over the obstacles…good times.
BTW. I was the one that gave Ani the Oblivion one
Great list tho.
I’m playing through Oblivion for the first time right now, it took me a long time to decide to buy it. Frankly, I’m 3 weeks into it and I haven’t started the main story quests yet. I got out of those sewers and have spent the last 3 weeks killing necromancers, stealing people’s hard earned belongings, taking over the Black Hand, riding my rock hard horse and collecting holy armor only to realise that I can enchant my crappy armor to 100% Chameleon and never be seen ever again.
That Oblivion Gate is starting to look slightly more tempting after 3 weeks, but there’s probably more stuff for me to do.
WoW is definitely the most addictive game i ever played. I stopped playin it after a few months because it took too much of my time.
Very good article!
Counter Strike source is pretty addictive. I’ve put 18 hours into that in the last 2 weeks.
I am surprised no votes for Diablo II. I burned out a couple of mice on that game.
100% agree with oblivion i played that game for 2 months almost daily and tbh i never beat it i just spend all my time doing side missions.
Also if you’re making a top 5 dont put 4 of the titles in the banner is like you’re spoiling the whole thing.
you’ve forgotten DIABLO !
For me, an addicting game is usually a simple game that I can’t stop playing. Lumines 2 has been embedded firmly in my PSP for months, and I play it every day during my commute.
fifa 08 doesnt seem like an addicting game but it is trust me
The most recent ones for me are N+, Puzzle Quest and Viva Pinata. Viva Pinata was by far the strangest one because I borrowed it by mistake from a friend when the game box had the wrong disc in it. I decided to give it a shot just for fun, because I normally don’t play those kind of games at all. Almost eight hours later I decided that I had to end the session to get some food and drink. I haven’t touched that game since that session because I’m afraid of how many hours I’ll sink into it.
For all the Diablo fans out there – trust me that it was a huge consideration. I played ALOT of Diablo II in my life, and I’ve sunk many hours into Titan Quest. Dungeon Crawlers are an addictive drug for me.
The reason I left it off the list was because I didn’t want it to turn into an all-RPG list because Baldur’s Gate would’ve been there too.
the list is as good as any and highly dependent on a gamer’s taste in video games. The best part about a list like this is to debate the heck out of it. Nice work Animathias!
Consider Heroes might and Magic series