Guilty Pleasure Gaming?

[Justin]

What are some of your GUILTIEST PLEASURES when it comes to video games? -- The games that you’re almost ashamed to admit you play and love? Here are a few of mine:

 

 

Pokémon Go (iOS)

Somehow I find 5 mins every day to play this. Most every day I travel in a one-hour radius of my house, and Pokémon Go is one of the only games that both comes with me, and is an adventure that interacts with the environment around me. Where am I at, what Pokéstops are nearby, and what can I find today?

 

Magical Chase (TurboGrafx-16)

Overpriced video game for little girls? Or the best TurboGrafx shoot-‘em-up on the system with incredible parallax 16-bit graphics?

 

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)

“The Worst Video Game Of All Time®️” yeah right.

 

Hang-On (Sega Master System)

An early Sega pack-in title, Hang-On is a motorcycle racing game with a look and feel not too far removed from another one of my favorite’s, OutRun. Though Hang-On is one of the earliest and most simple-looking games on the Sega Master System, it’s a heck of a lot of fun to play. It includes gameplay dynamics of angles, speed, and momentum that you don’t immediately realize, and that aren’t present on competing 8-bit motorcycle racing games. I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed Hang-On, have great memories of it, and we may revisit this game in High Score Squad one day in the future. @Gianna and I did a chilled out livestream of Hang-On on the Sega Master System where I shared my thoughts in detail, you can watch it here.

 

Donkey Konga (Nintendo GameCube)

I love banging on the Donkey Konga bongos all afternoon. It’s a simple kids game that was developed as a sort of competitor to Guitar Hero, and it’s loud and obnoxious, but it’s a creative use of Donkey Kong and lots of fun to play with friends.

 

iMessage Games (iOS)

Somehow I find myself playing Cup Pong, Tanks, Mini Golf, Battleship, Mancala, Othello and Word Games with @Gianna almost every night of the week. They're quick, simple, easy to play off-and on throughout the day, and socially engaging ice breakers. A nice way to end your evening.

 

Jinx (Atari 7800)

I don’t think Jinx is that horrible of a game. It’s frustrating and weird, but it’s also very interesting. It’s like Atari tried to bring a Paddle game into the 7800 era but made it a side scrolling platformer like Super Mario Bros on NES where you could move the paddle in all directions, traversing a psychedelic world. With the bizarre graphics, exploratory "open world" paddle mechanics, warps and impressive speech synthesis, I think Jinx is worth a shot on a rainy day when you find yourself "Galaga'd out" and looking to try something different.

 

Neo Mr. Do (Neo•Geo Gold)

Neo•Geo is supposedly all about legendary fighting games and beat-‘em-ups. I like Neo Geo for their puzzle games. Puzzle Bobble / Bust-A-Move, Neo Bomberman, and Neo Mr. Do are some of my favorite games on the Neo•Geo home and arcade systems. Neo Mr. Do is simply what they would've done on the ColecoVision if they would've had 24-bit 300 meg cartridges to work with.

 

Utopia (Mattel Intellivision)

Utopia is slow moving at times, certainly not the action game that Astrosmash is, but it’s a High I.Q. game that forces you to think and anticipate. I’ve always seen Utopia as a kind of “proto-Sim City” and it’s possibly my favorite Intellivision game.

 

Wrecking Crew (Nintendo Entertainment System)

Another early 8-bit game with simple, single-screen gameplay and graphics, I could never understand Wrecking Crew until we played it last year in High Score Squad. Is that Mario? Is it just a construction worker? What's with all the lockers? What the heck is going on with this game? Wrecking Crew is an early "Black Box" release for the Nintendo Entertainment System and has a ton of that "early NES" charm.  It turns out after playing it in High Score Squad, you come to realize that it’s not so much a “Super Mario Bros.” style game as much as it’s a puzzle game, and a really really good one at that.

 

Chip’s Challenge (Atari Lynx)

Speaking of fun puzzle games, Chip’s Challenge is hands down one of my top favorite video games ever. In my opinion it’s one of the top reasons to own an Atari Lynx. Others disagree with me. Chip’s Challenge is charming, incorporates many elements into a unique world all its own, and tells a story. It doesn’t have the intensity of S.T.U.N. Runner or RoadBlasters, but it’s a fantastic puzzle game that I enjoy year after year.

[Sabertooth]

For me, its probably Supercross 3D on the Atari Jaguar.  Its objectively a bad game but I regularly return to it, year after year.  Like so many Jaguar titles, it's a game that fails to execute on its ambitions.  The textured tracks, jumbotron and 3D modeled riders all look great - almost next gen - in still captures but in motion the game is a mess.  The Jaguar can't do all that its being asked to do in Supercross 3D and the single digit framerate and unforgiving collision detection make it one of the system's most notorious failures.  That said, there is something that I personally enjoy about it.  Maybe its learning to fight against the game?  I don't know exactly, but I do know that I like it.  A lot.

[Sabertooth]

@Justin - I'm surprised to see a gem like Chip's Challenge on your list.  That's a game to play loud and proud! 🙂

[Justin]

1 minute ago, Sabertooth said:

@Justin - I'm surprised to see a gem like Chip's Challenge on your list.  That's a game to play loud and proud! 🙂

@Sabertooth I LOVE Chip's Challenge, hands down one of the best 16-bit puzzle games! You'd be surprised how much pushback I've received for that opinion over the years 

[RickR]

This is absolutely ridiculous and I'm a little ashamed....but I play "Spider Solitaire" once per day.  Usually right after lunch.  It takes about 5 minutes and it gets my mind moving a bit.  Please don't ban me.  

[Marco1019]

I guess for me it's Ms. Pac-Man for the C64 as I just started playing again. It's actually a very good port but the diificulty level is fairly high compared to other versions. I even created a bounty about a year ago to prove its difficulty and to prove Blinky does steroids. (I also just beat my PB/WR for starting from the Pretzel level.)

 

I didn't know Utopia existed until about five years when the TG record was broken. It has since been broken again by Intellivision Master, but Rickster8 is within 30 points of the highest score.

 

I don't play E.T. but it does get a bad rap relative to truly awful 2600 releases. (Pac-Man)

 

If there is a true predecessor to Sim City, then it would be Raid on Bungeling Bay as that was developed by Will Wright who later developed Sim City. Wright told WIRED magazine several years ago that he didn't like the war elements of Raid on Bungeling Bay but took the supply chain elements and used that to help create Sim City.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Marco1019

[Gianna]

Pokemon Go (iOS)

I love this game! It's fun always being on the hunt for new Pokemon I haven't caught yet, finding raids to battle in and completing challenges. I typically play it every day. This game also opened up the world of Pokemon to me. 

Nancy Drew (Windows and Mac)

In these computer games you play as Nancy Drew herself, talking to characters to find out clues to whatever mystery you are trying to solve. There are a bunch of mini games and puzzles to solve to help get down to the bottom of the mystery. The first game was introduced in 1998, with the most recent being 2019. There are a ton of them and I love almost all of them! They take place anywhere from being in a university in New York to a hotel in Italy. I love that these games are great for any ages. When I got my iMac over a year ago I saved my (now older) laptop to be able to play these games. Unfortunately buying the versions for Mac don't work half the time, especially with iOS updates and I am not so great at tech stuff, so I just stick with playing the games on my old Windows laptop.

Club Penguin (Online Flash Game from Disney)

This was a very popular website around 2007 or so. It was shut down a couple years ago and brought back as "Club Penguin Rewritten." You play as a penguin living in an icy village. There are a bunch of interactive mini games, and you can chat with other players. It's kind of a silly game. The new Rewritten website drew a crowd of those who played the original Club Penguin when they were younger and go on for nostalgia (including me..). I play this every now and then.

Sea World Tycoon (Windows)

Every now and then I'll pull out my laptop and play this game! It is an older computer game and I remember getting it at Sea World in Orlando many years ago! This game is from Activision. I enjoy playing it because it can be relaxing, has good music, and it's fun designing your own Sea World theme park.

iMessage Games (iOS)

I second what @Justin said. These are fun little games to help break up your day.