Wednesday 18 November 2015

My top 10 most played games

So I thought I'd make a quick and simple post about the games I've spent the most amount of hours in (+ two extra at the bottom because I have no idea how many hours I've spent in them - but they definitely qualify for the list!)

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (currently 710 hours on Steam) 
I have actually more than 710 hours since I played it outside of Steam before I bought it on Steam. I started playing in early 2012 and I haven't stopped, though I did take a break of about a year before I started my latest playthrough a couple of weeks back. I am currently on my fifth character. 

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition (currently 443 hours on Origin)
I started playing this after Christmas last year. When it was released in November last year I still had my old PC and it was nowhere near powerful enough to run it. I have started about seven different characters, but I've only completed my two first ones. 

3. Dragon Age: Origins (currently 146 hours on Origin)
I tried playing this for the first time back in 2012, I think, but I just couldn't get into it with my mage character Neria. Then I tried again in 2013 and I still had troubles with my warrior character Kallian. But then I tried a third time later in 2013 and instead of starting a new one I continued with Kallian. I just didn't want to go through Ostagar all over again xD And this time I actually got into it and completely fell in love with it. I have started about six different characters, but I've only completed three - city elf origin, Dalish elf origin, and human noble origin. 

4. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (currently 122 hours on Steam)
I had a really hard time with this when I first started playing it, but I'm stubborn and I fought on through tears of frustration. Once I had levelled up a bit, gotten a little more familiar with the mechanics and my surroundings, I completely fell in love with it. I loved the skill system a lot more than Skyrim's and I loved that the quests were more of a choice & consequence kind. Almost every quest could end in at least two different ways (including the main quest line) and I loved it. Screw the graphics - Morrowind is the best ES game to date!

5. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (currently 116 hours on Steam)
Toni had played The Witcher series before and really liked it. I had been curious about the games ofc, but it wasn't until I saw him play The Wild Hunt that I decided to play the series myself. And I completely loved the series. Once again, graphics in all honour, but contrary to popular opinion I actually liked the first game more than the third. That said - I did adore this game. People tend to think I didn't play through it properly because I completed the main game in exactly 100 hours. What I did, though, was that I had subtitles on and instead of listening to the characters talking I just read the subs and skipped the dialogue. Immersion-breaking to some maybe, but a lot of the dialogue soon became repetitive (like the ones before and after contracts). I watched all the cutscenes, though, and I completed all the friggin question marks, and I did every single quest. 

6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (currently 106 hours on Steam)
Thus far my least favourite ES game and the only one out of the latest four (that's including ESO) that I don't get homesick for. But all the same, I did have an amazing time during this game. I explored every inch of the map and did every single quest.

7. Dragon Age II (currently 61 hours on Origin)
The least popular game of the DA series and my least favourite. Admitting that, I do sometimes get homesick for Kirkwall. Last time - just a few hours ago. I've played through this game twice and enjoyed both times. I do agree with all the criticism about the dungeons being copypaste etc. I do agree that it's the worst DA game - but I still don't think it's a bad game. I do like it, despite its flaws, 

8. The Sims 4 (currently 47 hours on Origin)
The Sims is one of those franchises that I've been with since almost the beginning. I started playing the original around the time the Superstar expansion was brand new. The Sims 2 is my favourite game in the series and hearing that TS4 was going to be more like 2 than 3 I was immediately intrigued and decided to get it. This far I've really enjoyed 4. Figuring out all the quirks has been a lot of fun, but the game is still a little too new. There's a distinct lack of cheat codes. After playing 2 for so many years I feel almost naked without my beloved "boolprop testingcheatsenabled true". But 4 is awesome. But then there is the way of playing The Sims. You binge it for a week and then you put it down and don't pick it up again for months. 

9. Mass Effect 3 (currently 44 hours on Origin)
I loved everything about this game - except the ending. There isn't much more to say about it. This game is great. The best in the friggin series.

10. Mass Effect 2 (currently 40 hours on Origin)
The game I liked the least out of the whole series, which I think is also contrary to popular opinion. When I started playing the original game and I complained about some of the outdated mechanics (and OMG the Mako -.-') they all told me "just wait until you get to the second game and it will be all better", and I believed them. Because all my gaming friends are my senpai. But in the end I didn't enjoy 2 as much as 1. 1 was like DA:O - it slowly grew on me. The best moment of this game was in the end when I could finally tell the Illusive Man to fuck off. 

Bonus content:

1. The Sims 2 (been playing since release in 2004)
This is my favourite game. So many cheat codes. So many possibilities. So much to do. I have created orphanages. I have created the neighbourhood slut that had a baby with every guy she slept with. I have created huge families. I have had vampires and werewolves, witches, warlocks, zombies, robots and aliens. I have killed off sims I got bored with and I've cried when sims I've grown attached to have died. I have both accidentally and unaccidentally burned down entire households. I've killed off entire households and watched as the grim reaper casually stretched and then went to watch TV for a couple of hours. I've watched in horror as flirty sims have completely ruined their marriages by kissing a crush in front of their spouses (without any initiation from me). This game can be so crazy, and there's always something new to do. The Sims is what you make of it. If you want to make it into a boring virutal dollhouse, then be my guest. But you can also create a hilarious mayhem. 

2. The Elder Scrolls Online (been playing since original beta in January 2014)
I was so excited for this game. All of Tamriel in one single game! Despite the overabundance of bugs in the early days of beta and early access and first few months after release I loved every single bit of this game. My original toon was a wood elf in the Aldmeri Dominion. I picked AD because 1) I love elves, and 2) we haven't been to Summerset Isles, Valenwood or Elsweyr in any game since Arena in '94. My second toon was an argonian in the Ebonheart Pact. I picked EP purely for the nostalgia of running around Morrowind and Skyrim. And then I also made an orc in Daggerfall Covenant. That orc never got past lvl 8. While I love EP and AD equally, I just get so bored with DC. I wanted to have one max lvl toon in each alliance, but that's never gonna happen with DC. 

My most played games as well as my most loved franchises. Seems like I'm mostly an RPG type, wouldn't you say?! xD