Ain't Studying a Bitch?

[DaveW]

I don't know about you guys, but when i'm studying, i like to 'reward' myself for good run of work. I normally do this by taking out 15 minutes for every hour of studying to play a video game.

So, after 4 hours of studying, i allow myself an hour of gaming. Knowing i usually get addicted, i instead have lunch, do 4 more hours of studying, and then play till i go to sleep. (We can assume that i do other things in my day, like delete spam from these hallowed halls of knowledge.)

Anyway, what game is suitably non-addictive, short, and offers me the greatest amount of escapism? It would have to be a relaxing game, or absorbing, but at the same time, i need to be able to put it down. This means that RPG's and any MMO games are out of the picture, because they're to addictive. FPS games are also good; usually relaxing, unless it's a 'spooky' game. RTS, now that's different. A good skirmish game will last what, 3 hours tops for me? I usually only play them on easy anyway, because i'm not much of a RTS gamer although i do enjoy them.

So here's the point: i have Half Life 2 Episode 1 on my shelf, in the wrapper. And i'm looking at Supreme Commander and Command and Conquer 3 as well. All this to help me get through the most strenuous of times; finals.

I'd love to hear the recommendations of my brethren before i splash out on a game though. At the moment, I'm thinking that my best bet for a game i can pick up and put down is Supreme Commander, and i think it will look sweet on my dual monitor display. My PC will crunch the graphics no problem, so what do you guys think?

-Dave

[Bucko]

I suggest The Godfather. It's fun, not too hard and fairly easy to put down when needed and come back to it later.

It was AU$50 when I got it (which with the exchange rate is probably 73p). I can play it on high settings on my 7600GS video card too.

[nil8]

The Matrix - Path of Neo is an older game. Still a lot of fun, not something that requires mental prowess and a fairly fun game.

If you want pure gun-n-run where you can save at any time: Quake 4.

[blue73]

Come on guys...Tetris. Its on my phone, my Media Portal MC on my PC hell it's even on my XBMC MC360. Mind you hours if not days can be lost playing it, it's still after all these years so addictive.

[Bucko]

Dave doesn't want something too addictive.

Besides, Tetris is so unrealistic...

[blue73]

Hmmm okay, point taken hows about Test drive Unlimited. I don't know how You feel about driving games Dave, or any of You for that matter. But it looks and feels amazing. I dunno. What do You think?

[azminisk8r]

PLASMA PONG! lol actually if you have someone to compete with you for a high score then its the most addicting game i know, i think i hold top right now

[Cagedconnerman]

lol, i LOVE plasma pong, but i'd say dont go for supcom or CnC, they're both way addictive, BF2142 would be a good choice i think :)

[azminisk8r]

hmm bf2142 is only semi addictive

[Zephik]

I like CnC. After an hour it gets kind of tiring, but the next day you want to play it again.

[sirkillalot617]

I know its pretty old but doom 3 always quite fun and its surprising however many times i play it something always seems to make me jump.

[DaveW]

I like CnC. After an hour it gets kind of tiring, but the next day you want to play it again.

That's the sort of thing i'm thinking about.

Battlefield 2#### whatever it was again, i've heard good things about that; i'll look it up. :)

-Dave

[jdbnsn]

I am the same way Dave, burnout sessions of studying definately need to be by divided something else. Although I do turn to gaming at times it's not the best way to wind down. That being said, about the only game I play anymore is Battlefield 2 (haven't sprung for 2140 yet). It is hella fun and the great part is it uses rounds. So you start a battle (or in the middle of one) and once one team has squashed the other the round is over and you have to join the next round. This gives you a great stopping point. However, you do need a good, fast internet connection and I can't remember if you settled that.

[DaveW]

However, you do need a good, fast internet connection and I can't remember if you settled that.

Don't get me started...NTL were bought by Virgin, so for a while, things went normal. Now it's better sometimes and annoyingly slow others. It's too expensive to get a phone line re-installed so we're staying with it at the moment...

-Dave

[Airbozo]

I know I'll get flamed for an older game, but I picked up a copy of Delta Force Extreme, for just this type of escape. I only play the coop games (bunch of _real_ players take on the computer), and they provide that 15-20 minute blast of fun I need. I get in a couple of games before feeling guilty that I should be doing something else. I also play BF2 and those rounds can last an hour or longer, depending on the map. BF2142 is also fun and in the titan rounds the game moves a little quicker. Depending on the map a round can go from 15 minutes to half an hour (again depending on the maps).

[DaveW]

I played the Supreme Commander Demo. I liked it, but the game lasted way too long at 2 hours...short sharp bursts of fun is what i'm after. I also played Command and Conquer 3, and that wasn't too bad; much more 'drop in and play a little, don't worry you won't get addicted' style of gaming.

Limiting myself to demos ensures i won't get too addicted. I have Link to a Past on the Wii virtual console...trying so hard to avoid that game at the moment, cos i know it's going to suck in my soul and chew it up for a month.

I'm not a big fan of online games, or FPS's to be honest, although i do enjoy single player FPS. I played a few games of team fortress a while back, and although i enjoyed it, my noobness shines like the sun from an Egyptian baldie's head.

-Dave

[Redundant]

Dave, here's a demo of Battlefield 2142 (http://battlefield.ea.com/battlefield/bf/BF2142_Demo_News.aspx) Warning: 1.1GB!

I doubt the Wii games will get you addicted to them. hehe

Playing flash games off the internet can sometimes be fun, esp. the racing ones. Try www.Shockwave.com

[Cool1Net6]

Geometry Wars, anyone?

-Cool-

[DaveW]

Downloaded the battlefield demo; if i can get time, i'll run that later tonight.

-Dave

[simon275]

I started playing WoW again goodbye university study........

[DaveW]

I started playing WoW again goodbye university study........

Think maybe you can get like a shot that will allow you to stop playing WoW after say... an hour?

Then i'd probably still play it. I was getting pretty addicted to the game. Never even got past level 20 with my character, Salizar the grumpy gnome...man that was fun, running around Ironforge shoutin' at folk. Yes, that's right folks...i'm a role player. :eek:

-Dave

[onelegout]

Well, if you want something which you can put down easily, but also gives you an incentive to go back later and play again, perhaps the Max Payne games would be a good choice?

They have storyline and each scene is followed by a cartoon-style cutscene, which serves to provide a point where you can stop playing, without giving it enough closure. This makes you want to come back to it.
It's also a ****ing great game.

Other than that, I'd suggest BF2142; The games are reasonably long (~20 mins) and once they're over you can easily put the game down again. You also have a great unlock/ranking system to keep you enthusiastic, and it's good to be able to jump on TeamSpeak and chat to the rest of your clan, meaning you'll always have someone you know playing the game also that you can chat to - it keeps your mind off studies and lets you relax well, unlike a singleplayer game which can leave you thinking 'I should realy be doing my work...'

If you're not in a clan, get 2142 and a mic and join mine!

Peace,
H

P.S. other than that, check out 'msn games' they have some great arcade/simple games to try!

[nil8]

I agree about the Max Payne games. They're not long if you're an endurance gamer, but they are worth the few bucks if you play them 1 section at a time.
Plus, you can do sweet gun fu.

[simon275]

Think maybe you can get like a shot that will allow you to stop playing WoW after say... an hour?

Then i'd probably still play it. I was getting pretty addicted to the game. Never even got past level 20 with my character, Salizar the grumpy gnome...man that was fun, running around Ironforge shoutin' at folk. Yes, that's right folks...i'm a role player. :eek:

-Dave

Instead of nicotine patches have WoW patches to beat the cravings.

[DaveW]

I've already completed all the Max Payne games. Incredible game engine.

I still haven't played the BF2142 Demo! Installed it but I still need to fire it up later on and see how it plays.

-Dave

[Eclecticos]

Inless of course it studying the the curves of a fine looking woman's legs running up her skirt. Heheh. . :D

[demon_hunter2k4]

What happened to the good old Counter-Strike? Source has pretty good gfx and u can pretty much put it down whenever you want without getting addicted...unless u start playing those rpg servers..which are another story altogether :p

[DaveW]

Counter Strike has RPG Servers?

I honestly feel like i'm missing out...

...I've actually just completed Episode 1. Damn good start for Episodic Content if you ask me, but it's a shame they canned Sin Episodes. I considered buying them the other day, but what's the point if the rest have been canned?

Oh, and what's the deal with Sam and Max? I can't seem to find it on steam, but i'm sure that was how it was distributed...

-Dave