Games that are time consuming/eat away lives.

[cutliquidsnake]

I'm looking for games that will eat away your life.

I have:

A crappy PC (9500GT graphics, 2GB RAM, etc.), PS3, PS2, gamecube, Wii, Dreamcast, DS, PSP, N64

World of Warcraft isn't an option since I have an account and it's dead early in the game, the game sucks for new players.

I have Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl for PSP. That's already one game I have that is pretty addicting.

I own Civilization III. Just got it today, can't figure out how to play it, but I've heard it takes over lives as well.

[Betenoire]

If you are a completest and obsess over levels of characters and item levels NIS makes a whole lot of games that can fit in there. Try to get level 9999 with characters and up all the items to level 99 (or 100?) in the Disgaea series for example. :devil:

[cutliquidsnake]

I see. I own Disgaea 1 and 2 for PS2, but haven't tried them yet. I'm glad to hear it's very addicting.

[Betenoire]

I see. I own Disgaea 1 and 2 for PS2, but haven't tried them yet. I'm glad to hear it's very addicting.

As long as you don't give up early anyway. The early stage of the first Disgaea has disillusioned a number of people. :sd: Though I so love the first game.

[guyverfanboy]

Fallout 3 is fun to explore the entire game world which has a lot of cool stuff. :)

[Mateo_home]

Pokemon is very addicting once you master the mechanics. Catching all 493 Pokemon including 9 you can't find in any version aside from special events to building up a powerful team that you can battle against a friend.

[Draneor]

Try any Chinese/Japanese/Korean MMORPG. Most of them aren't very resource intense and all are major time sinks.

Any of the three Disageas is good.

Fate/Stay Night.

Civilization III/IV is a good choice. Same with SimCity4.

Neverwinter Nights I and II.

Elderscrolls: Morrowind/Oblivion.

[frijoles]

Fallout 1 & 2 can be had for $5.99 a piece at Good Old Games (http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/). They have a fairly extensive catalog now and I'm sure you can find decent time wasters there. I would also like to point out that the games are DRM free and will play on XP and Vista. They are working on Windows 7 support, too.

[Zeether]

RollerCoaster Tycoon. 2 is even more time consuming because of the scenario editor and the roller coaster builder.

[Gatts]

I see. I own Disgaea 1 and 2 for PS2, but haven't tried them yet. I'm glad to hear it's very addicting.

As long as you don't give up early anyway. The early stage of the first Disgaea has disillusioned a number of people. :sd: Though I so love the first game.

I have a friend who is still playing the original Disgaea. He is obsessed with maxing out every possible thing in the game before he beats it. He's been doing this for about five years now. But it's not really a game that will eat away a life unless you have an OCD like he does.

[Ryos]

I kind of doubt Oblivion will run on your computer, but Morrowind certainly can, and between it and a couple mods, you're looking at a good couple hundred/thousand hours there. I'd give you a better estimate but there is no in game clock...which is probably for the best. :P

[Isuzu Inugami]

Your computer shouldn't have any trouble running Thief or Thief 2, both of which are near-perfect medieval steath games. And then you can wander over to here (http://www.thief-thecircle.com/) and discover how to install fan-made missions, and the concept of ghosting missions instead of knocking out every guard you can sneak up on, and then watch your life get eaten away. :catgirl:

[Skywise]

Oblivion will run - just have to tweak the settings a bit.

Now personally I recommend Nethack (http://www.nethack.org/) since it pretty much runs on everything and each time you play it is different. I also recommend games that have a lot of user mods. The Baldur's gate series for instance have gotten some seriously big extensions (http://www.shsforums.net/index.php?showtopic=43052) to it, while you can still enjoy the main games themselves. Also anything else that runs the Infinity Engine (Icewind Dale 1 & 2, Planescape:Torment - gods I love that game).

WoW might still be an option since the latest patch made it much easier to get groups for dungeons. The real problem though is that if you don't know anyone on the server to begin with, it might be hard to get into it. MMOs are social games after all. The levelling speed if you have a recruit-a-friend account too is insane.

[jigoku panda]

I would have to say original ninja gaiden on xbox will eat away at your life especially playing through all of the difficulties,or if you want ninja gaiden black which has playable missions/survival modes for certain weapons at a time when it throughs a thousand enemies for you to go through.

[Zeether]

Dwarf Fortress is another good time consuming game.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Pangya (http://www.pangya.com/english/) for PSP.

It took me more than a month to clear Story Mode, and I've barely scratched the surface in Tournament Mode.

And then there's the immense task of trying to fill out everyone's wardrobes.

Hana + seifuku = win.
Kooh (twintail goddess) + zettai ryouiki = win.
And so on. ;)

[Skywise]

Pangya is actually free for PC, so that's another possibility. Some of the special outfits and items do cost money, but are very much optional.

[Ryos]

The Baldur's gate series for instance have gotten some seriously big extensions (http://www.shsforums.net/index.php?showtopic=43052) to it, while you can still enjoy the main games themselves.

Oh wow, didn't even know there were that many BG mods. I may have to getting around to reinstalling BG and BG 2 on my PC because that'd be awesome with said mods. Vanilla BG 2/TOB already take up like 100 hours easily.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Pangya is actually free for PC, so that's another possibility. Some of the special outfits and items do cost money, but are very much optional.

I've tossed around the idea of downloading the PC MMO version, too. I run WinXP through VirtualBox on my Mac though; 3D OpenGL support isn't quite 100%, and D3D emulation - one of the newest features - is getting better. It does work for about half of the games that I've tried on it from my PC game collection, namely Total War: Shogun (another time consumer itself), and Virtual Pool 2.

Pangya is ridiculously fun and addicting, and it's a good golf game in its own right too. The anime-styled characters are a nice touch. :catgirl:

[Skywise]

The Baldur's gate series for instance have gotten some seriously big extensions (http://www.shsforums.net/index.php?showtopic=43052) to it, while you can still enjoy the main games themselves.

Oh wow, didn't even know there were that many BG mods. I may have to getting around to reinstalling BG and BG 2 on my PC because that'd be awesome with said mods. Vanilla BG 2/TOB already take up like 100 hours easily.

Set aside at least half a day to do the setup - it really can take that long to not only download, but also to compress the files to BIFs. Best to set that to run overnight. You'll also want to test the widescreen mod first on a clean install to figure out the optimal settings, if you use that. "Recommended" doesn't really have all the big expansions by the way, while "Standard" does. If you want to run the big mods with a recommended install you'll have to add them in the setup.

[Ty]

Pangya (http://www.pangya.com/english/) for PSP.

It took me more than a month to clear Story Mode, and I've barely scratched the surface in Tournament Mode.

And then there's the immense task of trying to fill out everyone's wardrobes.

Hana + seifuku = win.
Kooh (twintail goddess) + zettai ryouiki = win.
And so on. ;)

I really wish they'd do a new season for the Wii. Actually, I wish they'd do a PS3 version that had nice graphics considering half the game's appeal are the outfits.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Pangya (http://www.pangya.com/english/) for PSP.

I really wish they'd do a new season for the Wii. Actually, I wish they'd do a PS3 version that had nice graphics considering half the game's appeal are the outfits.

I'd never leave my PS3.

I'm actually downloading Pangya for Windows in VirtualBox right now after all. Half a gig! I may as well give it a try and see if it works. Then I can say goodbye to all of my free time if it does. :sd:


Oh yeah, another time consuming game would have to be The Sims 2. It's been a while since I've played it myself, but when I get into a Sims groove, it's hard to stop.

[cutliquidsnake]

Thanks for all your responses so far. I'm checking in to all these games you guys are mentioning.

Hey Serial Experiments Nobue, I have the sims 2, I love it, but unfortunately, as some of you may know, my PC doesn't play CD's anymore, only DVD's. I can play The Sims 2, it's just I can't install most of the expansion packs that I bought. :( I can play apartment life but I think that's about it.

This golf game you guys are talking about actually looks pretty good too. I'm not a sports game fan but I could still like it right?

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

This golf game you guys are talking about actually looks pretty good too. I'm not a sports game fan but I could still like it right?

Oh, definitely. The PSP version is very easy to learn how to play, but is quite challenging, and I'm sure that the PC version is the same. Pangya isn't a hardcore golf sim, but a fun arcade-style golf game with an anime aesthetic.

[KomoriKiri]

I own Civilization III. Just got it today, can't figure out how to play it, but I've heard it takes over lives as well.

This one. Once you figure it out, it will suck as much time as you care to give it. Any of the games in the franchise will do it. These are the games the "just one more turn" syndrome was named for. Alpha Centauri is my favorite, but it needs Windows 95/98 and doesn't really work with Wine or in 2K/XP.

Wraith
"Some would ask, how could a perfect God create a universe filled with so much that is evil. They have missed a greater conundrum: why would a perfect God create a universe at all?"
-- Sister Miriam Godwinson ("Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri")

[cutliquidsnake]

I own Civilization III. Just got it today, can't figure out how to play it, but I've heard it takes over lives as well.

This one. Once you figure it out, it will suck as much time as you care to give it. Any of the games in the franchise will do it. These are the games the "just one more turn" syndrome was named for. Alpha Centauri is my favorite, but it needs Windows 95/98 and doesn't really work with Wine or in 2K/XP.

Wraith
"Some would ask, how could a perfect God create a universe filled with so much that is evil. They have missed a greater conundrum: why would a perfect God create a universe at all?"
-- Sister Miriam Godwinson ("Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri")

Can you help me out a bit? I just installed Civilization IV Gold (My CD drive started working for some reason), I played the tutorial. Everything is still so confusing even after playing the tutorial twice, plus the tutorial didn't teach you everything.

[pathos]

Some of the non mmo games that have eaten a majority of my life

PC

Baldur's Gate/Baldur's Gate 2/BG expansions
Icewind Dale/Icewind Dale 2/ID expansions
Plancescape Torment

All of those are Bioware games, using the dnd system. Planescape could be said to have the best plot, although BG2 is no slouch. BG2 is probably the best overall game though. Icewind Dale is a pure dungeon dungeon crawler. Alot of fun, no real plot though.

Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2.

First is another Bioware game, this time using Star Wars as a backdrop. Second is a continuation, but by another company. Good, but rushed ending.

Out of the Elder Scrolls games, I'll recommend...

Morrowind

Oblivion is a good game, but imo, Morrowind is a better one. I actually like Daggerfall and Arena the best, but good luck getting those to run (or even finding them?)

Hrm, there was a turn based strategy game that ate up a good portion of my time. What was it, perhaps Age of Wonders? If I could actually be certain that was the name, I'd recommend it.

Hrm, there was the Heroes of Might and Magic series (hrm, Hero's, Heroes? something). More turn based strategy. I only played 1, 2 and 3 though. I own 4, plus a couple expansions. Haven't gotten around to playing it yet.

PS2

The Shadowhearts trilogy

The first 2 games have the best plot by far. The battle system is the best in the 3rd one though. The first 2 feature the same main character, but the 3rd one is just set in the same world, with different characters. The plot (and main characters) isn't nearly as good, but it is decent, and good for someone who enjoyed the first 2 games. I easily broke 100 hours playing the second game doing all the side quests. On my new game plus for the second playthrough, I think I was up to about 140 hours.

Star Ocean Till the End of Time

I heard complaints about a certain plot twist that happened during the game, but it didn't bother me. The game certainly sucked up enough of my time though. And I plan to play it at least 1 more time to try and get a different ending (got the carnival kids ending the first time, and then redid the final battle to get the childhood friends ending. I want Maria's ending though :P)

Persona 3/4

Both games are good. I think I liked the characters from the first game better, although the ones from 4 are good too. I also liked the social links from the first game. But, combat was very much refined in the second game, especially the dungeons themselves.

If you are interested in Persona 3, they are bringing it to the psp soon. Wait, was that one actually announced it was getting ported to America or not?

edit - I should add, a couple of those games aren't super long (like kotor), but when I started playing them, they really seemed to suck my life away till I finished playing them.

[KomoriKiri]

Can you help me out a bit? I just installed Civilization IV Gold (My CD drive started working for some reason), I played the tutorial. Everything is still so confusing even after playing the tutorial twice, plus the tutorial didn't teach you everything.

I can try, although IV in specific I haven't played (it came out after I switched to Linux), so it has some complications I'm not familiar with.. I take it you've never played one of the 4X games before? Let me know what you're confused about, and I'll try to clarify.

The basics are pretty simple. You're trying to build and expand an empire, and there are others around doing the same thing. You have to start by building your city, which you can then use to build units or city improvements. You have to use units to explore to find out what else is around, and have to balance the exploration and building with defense, since leaving your city undefended means it gets taken over whenever someone else finds it.

When you run into other civilizations you can trade with them (either technology, not that I ever found this to work too well, maps, or by way of things like caravan units), fight them, and the like.
Not sure about Civ IV, but there are generally four ways to win. Wipe out all the other civs (military); get voted planetary leader (or head of UN, whatever it was called; diplomatic), get your colony ship to Alpha Centauri (scientific) or just dominate everyone via culture (cultural; this one wasn't always in the game).

Basics of the game are really resource management. But it's like Go or Chess. The basic rules are pretty simple, but using them gets complicated. There are tons of sites with strategy guides (like Apolyton (http://apolyton.net/) and Civ Fanatics (http://www.civfanatics.com/) that go into huge detail.

Wraith
"A brave little theory, and actually quite coherent for a system of five or seven dimensions -- if only we lived in one."
-- Prokhor Zakharov ("Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri")