See also: guilty pleasure.

I think everyone has a good idea as to what kinds of games they like to play. I am mostly an action/platformer type of gamer, and I enjoy games that have a good amount of action but also incorporate humor and platforming or puzzles into the games (Ratchet and Clank series, BG&E, Viewtiful Joe). I also like well-built survival horror games (Silent Hill series, Eternal Darkness) and the occasional "unique" title (ICO, Katamari).

Every once in a while I get absolutely hooked into a game that is nowhere near the style of what I usually play. Back in 2004, I used to love GTA Vice City. I dropped about 60 hours into it, got 100%, and then didn't think about it for a long, long time. I picked it up again yesterday, and I have already sunk four hours into the game and I haven't even started the game proper yet. I woke up early today so I could play before work. All I have been doing is cruising around, doing side missions and finding hidden packages. When I play, I either obey traffic rules (yes, I stop at red lights) or I drive right down the middle of the street and try to squeeze between the two lanes of cars. I am having an enormous amount of fun right now.

I really don't care for the GTA series as a whole, and it has been known more to stereotype a certain kind of gamer, but Vice City, man. Hot damn. That's typically anti-gaming to me, but I am loving this game all over again.

I've played all of them.  I was getting into Liberty City Stories for a while, and that was probably the furthest I got into a GTA title.  The acting / story lines were pretty good for what they were.  The game play was a bit frustrating, but improved the more you played it.

I had planned on getting all the GTA's at one point, and was looking forward to the PS2 conversion of 'Vice City Stories', (even though it got horrible reviews due to the graphics - I would think they are near close to Vice City)...For Vice City Stories - I was always into the commercial on Tv which featured the Phil Collins / Philip Bailey tune ' Easy Lover ', I almost bought it for the PSP...now I haven't gotten around to picking up the PS2 version...They will be eventual additions to the collection, some day.

Vice City did have the best soundtrack though.  Some of my favorites:

Africa - Toto
Call Me - Go West

I love the GTAs. I just think they're easy to hate on because they aren't Japanese and they're popular. Of course, they aren't exactly refined but, man, they're good fun.

I defied my typical gaming habits by actually playing quite a bit of online Halo 3. I have never really got into online gaming. Just never bothered. But I enjoyed Halo 3 online for a while. But a sort of pointlessness set in - like, why was I doing it? A single player game rewards you with a fancy ending and a sense of closure. With match-type games, you just keep on playing until eventually you stop. There's no closure.

Same reason I gave up playing the new Pokemon games. No real closure in those. So I'm making it a point to stay away from games with no clear endings.

Good to know. I was thinking about getting GTA LCS for the PSP to have something to play on the road. I'm going to stay away from VCS because of how I feel about the original VC. Don't wanna taint it.

Agreed. I saw the tracklisting for San Andreas, and aside from a few good 90's rock tunes (Plush!), there isn't much to write home about. I think the team did an amazing job tracking down excellent and varied songs from the early-to-late 80's and assembling them together for the soundtrack. There is just something absolutely magical about crusing around on a motorcycle in Vice City, flipping between "Raining Blood", "Africa" and "I Wear My Sunglasses at Night".

Argh, I saw Pokemon FireRed for $20 and was like, "Sure, why not?"  Now I'm like 5 or 6 hours in.  I would guess the sense of closure comes from finishing all the trainers and filling up the 'dex, right?  That and moving to another tier (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald - or - Diamond/Pearl)?

Considering my on-again/off-again love-hate with RPGs and other lengthy games requiring you to level up just to progress, this one definitely is defying my 'typical gaming habits' if it ends up being the grindfest I'm fairly certain it will become.

When it comes to former gaming habits I remember following 2D and 3D fighters for a good chunk of time. The hype surrounding the release of Mortal Kombat 3 when I was in the 6th grade was simply HUGE... that's all we could talk about and you weren't anybody unless you had an MKII or MK3 cart at your birthday party. With the PS1 stuff like the original Battle Arena Toshinden looked awesome (still love the original batch of characters to this day) until Tekken and Soul Edge/Blade came along, the latter being my vice. Fighters eventually faded away...

...to games/genres like Final Fantasy VII and Tomb Raider. After FF7 I played every RPG I could get my hands on (more correctly all the games my spolied friends could squeeze out of their folks) but much like fighters JPRG's have died a slow death for me and Tomb Raider shortly after the third instalment (they weren't making better games as they were making more difficult games.) I had a lot of RPG's but opted to only keep Wild Arms and Wild Arms 2 because those games are near and dear to me and I'm fine only having the first TR on hand.

Online endeavors include Diablo II which I was addicted to for a year and a half, I lost interest when I went to trade school and actually had a life unlike high school.

As I've stated in other topics (and your probably sick of reading it) I don't feel much like a gamer anymore - probably cause I'm not. I still like to talk about games in general but I'm really not interested in what the future brings... my fondness for games lies in the past and past titles if anything. Of course, with what some of these companies are releasing now (remake, remake) I'm really not surprised this is so.

Yeah there's probably an easier sense of closure in FireRed. But, even then, they throw other Pokemon in right at the end, leaving me feeling like there is loads to do and yet it's mostly an unachievable goal. Not so bad in Red though. But in Diamond/Pearl, there are about a thousand (okay maybe 400-500) Pokemon, but the game only lets you access most of those when you've actually fought all the trainers. So you sort of feel like you've finished the game and yet you feel you're missing out on a huge chunk of the game. Well, I did anyway.

I'm not normally a huge fan of shooters, but Bioshock is just an amazing experience. Brutal, thoughtful, tragic, sublime, and intelligent. All qualities I'd never have associated with the FPS genre before this game.

So that's my stepping out of the box.

I'm pretty much a "retro" gamer or just games I can pick up and play really easily, if not finish in a sitting. 8/16 bit games, puzzle games, shmups, arcade racers...I just don't have the attention span or desire to sit for 3 hours at a time to do very little in a modern game, since I may very well never pick it up again. So Guitar Hero ended up fitting right into my playing schedule. Which is interesting, since I don't consider myself into rhythm games at all and I think 2-3 years ago or even half a year ago, I wouldn't have given Guitar Hero II or Rock Band a serious look. But I did a little reading on the making of it (hey, Game Informer came in handy for a change!) and I happened to see the game in action at Otakon this year and I just happened to like a number of songs in the main set and that settled that. I got the arcadey pick-up-and-play fresh cocaine I was looking for. I'm still not a rhythm gamer, but I'm really looking forward to where this series goes, especially as far as downloadable songs. As for Rock Band...The mike and the drum kit can only enhance the experience (two things I wouldn't normally use), but I'm definitely waiting for more downloadable content info...Only so much I can do with just "Highway Star". More likely than not, that will determine a 360 purchase or not.

Two other recent exceptions: Phantasy Star IV, which is the only Japanese RPG I've played consistantly since Suikoden V more than a year and a half ago (I wouldn't say I've given up on the genre yet, but 10 hours of PSIV covers 30 hours of crap from a "modern" RPG, which is definitely refreshing and macros/5-character parties/good balance shows Sega knew what they were doing back then) and Sly Cooper 1, since 3D platformers aren't an area I particularly care for...but everything about Sly is well-made and easy to control and it keeps the collecting BS to a minimum (so far, anyway). I'm stuck on a room now and I *gasp* actually care about figuring out how to across the pit, so I'm making a pitstop to GameFAQ's to find out how to get across. That hasn't happened in...years (normally, I just shut the game off and forget about it with total indifference). Best $6.99 I ever spent.

Nice! Yeah, Sly is awesome. It's one of my all-time faves. I've beaten it 100% four or five times. It's really short, which is a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at it. There are only five main areas, so you can gauge your progress that way. I'm glad you dig it; I've been trying to spread the Sly love for years.

"defying" my gaming habits!? How do I do that!? By playing games I DON'T like!?

Anyhoo, I'm an RPG man all the way. JRPG mostly, but Oblivion kept me busy for months as well. I'll play practically any JRPG, although I won't necessarily actually finish them unless they're good enough to bother.
Next up are Adventures, in pretty much every sense of the genre, Survival Horror, play-novels, point'n'click, everything.
Third up are platformers, used to play these a lot, but they're not at the top of my list anymore. I still love Megaman to death, as most other long-running 2D platform series, but the 3D ones are very hit and miss. I'm probably the only one on the planet who didn't like Mario 64 all that much. Dying to play Galaxy though.

And extremely occasionally I play racing games. Wouldn't say I'm a fan of the genre, but I enjoy Mario Kart and got totally immersed in GT4 for several months. It has to be either completely surrealistic, or as realistic as possible, nothing in between, I don't like Arcade Racers very much.

I used to be very much into 2D beat-em-ups as well, but not anymore now. Still looking forward to SFIV though, but I don't expect to put too much effort into it.

All sports games can go to hell, simulation, be it RTS or Sim City, bores me to death, anything from EA makes me vomit, and FPSs are EXTREMELY hit or miss with me. Hate the Haloz, but definitely getting me the Orange Box soon.

*raises hand*

I'll take Sly Cooper or even Crash Bandicoot anyday. I find Mario very boring in 3D and the recycled levels are annoying. Although I admit...Back in 1996, I wanted to play Mario 64 pretty badly. Years later, I did and...well, I can say I played it.

I enjoyed Super Mario 64 when it first came out, but it hasn't aged well, imo.  I enjoyed Sunshine more, but I haven't tried going back for more of it yet.

Defiance of my gaming habits would be to play a dancing game, where people jump on pads. I just can't picture myself jumping around like a baboon while sober. Perhaps I would have to drink before engaging in such an activity. So it would be a double defiance, since I don't drink.

Lately, I've been preferring shorter games, especially ones on the DS. The RPG genre isn't quite dead for me yet but I'll admit I haven't played a truly satisfying one since Suikoden V.

I thought it was more entertaining than Sunshine but ultimately, the game hasn't aged well for me. Back when it was first released, I thought it was a revelation. However, I'm looking forward to Galaxies, even if I don't own a Wii to actually play it on.

I like to think that I'm some sort of renaissance man who enjoys a bunch of different genres, but when I really get down to it, they're mostly JRPG's and Action/Platformers.  However, a good game is a good game, and it has to be appealing musically, graphically (well done graphics, not necessarily HD) and mentally (gameplay-wise).  Alot of the NES and SNES games were alot of fun because they weren't too complicated, and they kept things upbeat.  I still enjoy Smartball (Jerry Boy in japanese) to this day because it's a fun play.

Sly 1 was fun, but they added too much to Sly 2 for me to finish the game.  The Ratchet and Clank series hasn't let me down yet, which is one of the big draws for me to get a PS3.  Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Tales of..., and pretty much anything Atlus publishes are big draws for me.  Of course, Nintendo is still close to my heart.

Here's a question for you, man: did you get ridiculously frustrated toward the end of Going Commando? I just beat it Sunday morning, and the last few levels (espcially the ice level where you get the Moonstones) were driving me absolutely crazy. It seemed very cheap to me, especially considering the great balance the first game had. By the end of the game I was just unloading my Heavy Bouncer on everything and barely getting through that way.

Also, how did you feel about Up Your Arsenal and Size Matters? I have UYA but I haven't tried it yet, and I'm considering getting SM.

EDIT: I should say that I did enjoy GC immensely up until the last hour or two. Didn't mean to sound so cranky.

*Whew*  It's been awhile since I've played that game, but from what I can remember, the last couple of levels were indeed tough.  In the second R&C, I thoroughly enjoyed collecting all 100 stones or whatever it was, but the last one was a bit too tough for me.  It's a shame, because I love getting 100% on those games.

Size Matters was a fun little romp on the handheld, but it lacked alot of what made the series great to begin with.  I'll explain.  The character models were well done and everything, but they took up too much of the screen.  (The same thing pissed me off about the GBA Sonics, but that's another topic)  There wasn't as much to do as the console versions, which is understandable.  Lastly, it wasn't all that challenging.  The whole thing felt like a "Hey, let's see what we can do on the psp!!  Sony needs our help!"  To sum it up:  a good game, but nowhere near the level of competence that the console versions show.

Yeah man, I beat the original R&C about five times and I have a 100% save for it (40/40 Bolts, RYNO, 30/30 Skill Points, 10/10 Gold Weapons), but I feel like getting 100% in GC is going to be more hassle than it's worth. I like when games are challenging, but when they are "challenging" by throwing a ton of enemies into a small space and forcing you to run out of ammo, well, that just plain ol' sucks.

EA is the publisher of The Orange Box (unless you're downloading it from Steam).

Preach on, brother! I love the series to death! Would kill for some toys made of it.

Yes, but I meant the games they MAKE not the games they publish.

This is a really interesting topic!  Cheers Zane!

I'm fairly varied in what I play, though there has always been an 'emphasis' on a certain style as I grew.  When I first started gaining my own income and buying my own games (five or so years after I got my first system?), I focused more on RPGs, thanks to the incredible Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III.  But, after those two great games, as well as Chrono Cross, I had a slew of mediocre to flat-out awful experience with RPGs (Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy II especially), so I left that scene for a while.  A little after, as my skills became better, I started playing more and more arcade styled games (thanks to my first shmup - Axelay... or was it Gradius III?), or playing other games with an arcade styled mentality (time trialing and speedrunning.)  Recent years I've had better experience with RPG/Adventure ("narrative based" games), but my emphasis is still on action games ("skill based"), if only slightly.

As for actual habits, well.  I now only play pretty much one game exclusively at a time, only putting in another game for a quick time kill.  This is probably from when I was young and pretty much only got games once every several months, so I got used to concentrating on one.  For a while after I started playing games I would say "I'm playing three-five games," but that number started decreasing as I started playing action-styled games which really do require you focus.  And, I like playing in the dark :-P  I make sure when playing an 'epic' game to play with all the lights off and secluded, whereas I go for the opposite during a 'skill' game.  And I have a discomfort with buying budget re-releases.  I don't know if I can defy those "habits" comfortably!

As for GTA, since thats a popular topic, I loved GTA III.  Its anything but my 'style' of game, but I absolutly liked it.  I never beat more then half the missions (and can I add more for fear of spoilers?), but I must've spent HOURS in vigilante mode and just exploring!

EDIT:  Hmm, now that I think of it, I guess I should add that I'm a real 'style' whore.  I really dislike games which lack style.  One example is Uncharted Waters New Horizons, which, if anyone knows, looks TERRIBLE graphically.  I had a really hard time getting past that hurdle and enjoying the game (which I eventually did, fortunately enough.)

In the past few months I've replayed both Sunshine and 64, in that order. Sunshine held up very well, but collecting blue coins and trying to find episodes of levels where you could get 100+ coins for Shines was kind of a pain. I had an absolute blast and would rate it a 9/10 right now. I still fire it up and reload my save to go swim around Delfino Plaza or to get some shines again.

I wrapped up a 120 Star game of Mario 64 (on my actual N64 - none of this emulation/DS crap) and I have to say it was nothing short of magical. Yeah, some of the stars at the end of the game are a pain and the camera kind of sucks, but taking into effect that this game was made about 12 years ago you have to cut it some slack. I was totally enraptured with the game again as I was when I played it the first dozen times or so and have to say it's still one of my all-time favorite platformers. 10/10, straight up.

For some extra fun and/or frustration with Super Mario Sunshine, try playing without using the hover nozzle. It's surprisingly doable, considering how much I relied on it my first time through. I think there were only two places where I had to use it--one was that jump around the vines on the white tower in Bianca Hills (where FLUDD tells you to use the hover nozzle), and the other was to get on top of the mushroom where the shine appears in Pianta Village. I didn't try for all the shines (e.g., I didn't go back for the red coins in the secret areas), but I was able to beat the game.

Interestingly, some of the areas seem to have been constructed with this in mind. For example, in Ricco Harbor there's an area where you need to get to a platform in the water (I think; it's been a while). The easy solution, and probably what just about everyone does, is to swim across, jump out of the water, and use the hover nozzle to get enough extra height to grab the platform. But there are also fish that turn into platforms if you spray them, presumably placed there specifically for that purpose.

I think the FPS genre is my step away from the norm as well.  Never really paid them much mind until Call of Duty 4 came about, and since then, I've been giving them a second look. Honestly though, I've found that there have been very few games that's managed to be as excellent as COD4.  I just picked up EA/Criterion Games' Black on the cheap, and so far, it's pretty damned good too.

I'm hoping BioShock will do the same for me once I get to play it this month.

Most fun I had with a game outside my comfort zone was with the original FF Tactics. Outside of the Front Mission games though, I haven't really enjoyed strategy games besides. Sports games might count too, since I can't stand the stuff EA puts out but always enjoy a round of Ten Pin Alley or Mario Tennis.