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If You Could Only Play One Video Game For the Rest of Your Life...
What Would it Be?
by Sarah
Imagine this: you’re stranded on a desert island, having survived a shipwreck with one console and a sole game, and you’ve somehow found a source of electricity. Or perhaps you’re living in a dystopian future where video games have been largely outlawed, though each civilian is allowed to keep a single artifact from the video game era. Pretend that you could only play one game for the rest of your life. There’s no multiplayer, but it can be on any system, be it console, handheld, or a computer. What would you pick? What is the game that, above all others, you simply could not live without?
This is a hard question, and one that I had to think long and hard about. Without multiplayer, some of my favorite games, like Left 4 Dead 2, are immediately crossed off the list. My first instinct was to name one of the many lengthy role-playing games in my collection, simply because most of them demand 60 to 100 hours for a single playthrough. Persona 3 took 105 hours just for the regular game, and the FES version adds at least another 30 hours. Final Fantasy XII was completed in around 90 hours, while Final Fantasy VII-X each took between 40 and 60. Persona 4 was upwards of 70 or 80, while SaGa Frontier had several 15-20 hour long campaigns. A good RPG seems like the obvious choice, but after a couple of back-to-back playthroughs, would it become too redundant? The Final Fantasy games have plenty of side quests, and the social links in Persona 3 and 4 would make each experience fairly unique, but ultimately, the stories are always going to be the same. Maybe something like Fallout 3, Fable II, or Dragon Age: Origins, which offer more variety upon repeated campaigns, would be better choices. Then again, maybe role-playing games aren’t the way to go at all.
Some games are older, simpler, and shorter, but have never failed to be fun and put a smile on my face. One of the best examples of this is Super Mario World, my personal favorite Mario game. I’ve beaten it a handful of times at least, but getting that 100% completion is significantly more difficult, thanks in part to the ridiculously named Star Road secret levels (Tubular!). Super Mario Bros. 3 has also offered me years of fun, but with no ability to save the game, I’d probably get frustrated at going back to World 1 over and over. Perhaps instead of going old school, I should stick with New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which takes some of the best elements of SMB3 and SMW and is super fun with or without friends. Then again, it also might make me feel exceptionally lonely to play it solo for the rest of my life.
It was only while writing this article that I realized what the winner could very well be: LittleBigPlanet. I’ve beaten the game, but haven’t come close to 100% completion. Even if I did, the level creator would keep me occupied for a long, long time. Under the conditions of this article, I guess other user-created levels wouldn’t be available, which is a shame, but acceptable. Without other games to distract me, I would finally have the time and dedication to create the masterpiece level I’ve always wanted to make. Hell, maybe I’ll even finish one of my unfinished levels. Could LittleBigPlanet satiate every craving I’ll have as a gamer? Probably not, but no single game could do that. Sure, my answer might change in five minutes, but as of right now, I’m going with LittleBigPlanet.
Wait, hold on a second…
Comments
only one game?
easy. madden.
replay value out the wazoo... the only other game that even competes is mlb the show. as much as i love all other types of games, i can think of nothing i'd rather play for the rest of my life.
Final Fantasy VI and I'm good.
What hard question. This is most likely a time for many people to flex their nostalgia muscles and name some obscure game for people to go "oooo" over. I'm simply going to say Trials HD. I could probably live my entire life and never complete many of the extreme tracks and get a gold medal. Then of course there is also the map editor which has already entertained me for hours on end.
Toejam and Earl. Variable length, easily the least-grating soundtrack to hear on loop for eternity, and I feel like the cargo cult that'll spring up around it after I'm inevitably eaten by island cannibals will be pretty funkariffic.
Ocarina of Time. Easy. I already end up playing it at least once a year.
It's gotta be something that pretty much never ends. I'm thinking SimCity 3000 or Civilization 4. They aren't my favorite games, but they would keep me entertained for a loooong time.
...
Scratch that, Skate 2.
I'm going to go with Fallout 3. It might not be perfect, but I bet I could pull a few thousand hours if I needed to. I mean, I could just do things to do them. Beat the game without any weapons. Done.
Or Demon's Souls. I mean, if I had a few years to kill...
Stick to casual games Coop. You Dirty casual gamer you.
Fallout 3, I'm sure I still have about 1,000 hours left of things to discover.
One game for the rest of my life? pssh thats easy. It would be that one game from Adult swim and ATHF where you walk with meatwad...But I can't for the life of me remember it's name!
Handheld: Bookworm. Easy choice...
Console: Yoshi's Island, because if you're picking a game to be trapped on an island with, it should have the word "island" in its title. Don't you think?
Hmm, this is a damned tough question. I'd have to go with something open-ended and sandbox-ey. Fallout 1, 2, or 3 comes to mind. Three most likely because at this point it probably has the easiest developer tools so you could create custom content. Let's all be honest that if we were stuck on an island in some "Groundhog Day" state where we would essentially becomes gods of these games, eventually we'd try to create our own universes/rules.
@TheKindOwner:
I think you are referring to "Go Right".
Does Super Mario All Stars count?
It's on one cartridge.
If not, Tetris Attack.
I will never ever get tired of Tetris Attack.
Excellent article. It's probably the best thing about LittleBigPlanet. I could play it forever.
But I'm glad I live in a world where I can play loads of games!
Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 .
@Raccoonacorn
Ah! Thats the one!
Best game ever, right fellas?
wii fit. to stay in shape for cougar hunting. Cardio is important dealing with cougars.
(cats or middle age women, which ever is first)
easy!!!!!!!!! oblivion that world is huge and it like living another life so u wont go insane lol u stay sane by talking to the people in the game.... sorta lol
I would just like to say that since writing this article, I have second-guessed myself about two dozen times.