Games are hard to favoritize

I wanted to talk about games that could be favorites, but for a number of reasons, I cannot label a favorite game. I'm curious if other people have the same opinion.

I do not play a game and leave it alone. If I like it, I fantasize about it, dream about it, plot plans if its competitive, research about it if it has item hunting; it becomes the center of me if I really do get into it. Its sad to say, but when I got skyrim as a gift, I then proceeded to, not play, LIVE inside of skyrim for an entire summer. A whole 1500 hours done in one go with a follow up of another 1200 or so afterwards and even now I count a vacation as a week playing it. But is it a favorite?

No.

Yes I can get immersed in it. Yes its beautiful, has lots of amazing things about it, but no its not my favorite game.

At the same time I can say, solid, I have 2000 hours in TF2, 800 hours in Runescape, 500 hours in CSGO only recently having moved off of CSS in august last year which I have 1200 or so. I have years of my life into many games that I have fallen in love with but I cannot put a definite ringer as to what a favorite of my games played are, and these listed are only just a small few!

My game most played is Privateer Gemini Gold, a game that only has about 130 hours of content in it but that I have played since I was 12 clocking in 1000 - 1800 hours per machine I have tested with it because I get sucked back in (thats around 8 ish machines that I have rebuilt between laptops and desktops, do the math. Yeah).

But, then, does that just mean I like games I play for a stupid long time? Hell no. For a year or two my PS2 was the only thing that I had and it was one of the release models that was known for the CD laser burning out. It could only read Treasure Planet for PS1 and even that took fiddling to get it running. But when I did it would run reliably and it was the only thing that could run at all. I hate that game. I know all the bugs, where you can fall out of the map, its a 4 hour game that I can speed run in 1 hour 14 minutes. I'm probably the only person to set a record in it, but I did.

At the same time on the opposite end theres games I haven't put much time into that I either see the appeal or love the game. LOTRO (lord of the rings online) is one MMO I love but probably only have 14 hours in. Its large, expansive, I adore the combat system and the gameplay, quests are everywhere and are loreful, and the over all experience is lovely. Wizard 101 is one I like because I accidentally became a bug tester for it. How to get out of the map, areas only admins could get in.... Right now I'm locked inside of the final area of the game and I can't even get out. Thats the last time I played and they changed the game since then so that I can't even leave. Another example of games I haven't played long are Banished (70 hours) and Cities: Skylines (23 hours). I like town builders, thats about it.

Now it may seem that I have had a lot of games to play, and seemingly it would be that way, but then one would question how I got 1000+ hours in multiple games all at the same time. Well, I'd get a game from the library, or on steam when I first got it, or for a console, and I'd play a game seasonally until recently where I can play whatever the hell I want whenever. I may have a billion hours in Privateer Gemini Gold, but thats also over 10 years, 8 machines, and many many summers and winters. One game that is a great example of a game I could only play in winter is Fable 1. I only had my NW8000 when I got that and it would overheat when I would try to play it at any time that wasn't cold. I would have my laptop half out my window and my door blocked up so I could play it just to keep my laptop from exploding. Even now I can't play Fabel without there being snow outside.... Just kinda burned into me at this point LOL.

So, I dunno, I can't really pin a game that is my definitive game. I always try to make the most of my games available to me wherever I go. All the games I can emulate go on my PSP, Y40 will handle PC games, etc. But I still can't say that there is a definitive game.... Maybe a classification of games.

FPS: Quake Like. Must be fast, know the map, teamwork on some level, weapon skill of some level, strategy.
or
Stealth FPS: Has to be hard, but not impossible, example Thief Gold, Splinter Cell 1, Deus Ex 1.
RPG: Earthbound or relateable. OR Lots of content.
And so on.

Maybe thats how I should categorize games then. Not by this is better than this, but this game goes in this bucket.

I heard one person claim that he hated being asked "What is your favorite X?" and chose to interpret such questions as "What X are into at this moment?" Personally, I have chosen favorite to define the one that I can enjoy at any time, with any company, and can lift me out of a bad mood no matter what. For movies, that's probably We're no Angels, for games, probably Kingdom Hearts 2. Are there better movies and games? Probably, but those are the ones most likely to give me a good day.

For me it is too hard to pick one as there have been so many great games brought out in my 44 years on the planet. When answering this question I often say WOW is the greatest game I have played but I haven't played that in ages because it has the negatives to it such as it is pay to play and it is extremely addictive. Anyway .... HaPpY GaMiNg every1!

Games, books, tv shows, etc. I feel are easy to "favortize" as along as you know what you like about it. Those who can not name a favorite of something are not able to classify what makes something truly great.

For me, the best game ever made is Half Life. I won't go through the rigor of detailing why but I could. Remember: it's all about classifying what you like in a game and how you received those aspects of the game. At the end of the day it will just be an opinion but a clear, well stated one!

WoW would be mine. I have probably 250 days of playtime in that game across 10 years and just can't label it one of my favorites.

As far as what I can clarify are my favorites: Zelda, Halo, Mass Effect

I tend to not use favorite as a marker in anything, maybe in life I am not one who sees things as totally black or white but shades of grey. I do have games that I am happy to play but they depend on my mood, but that could be said of songs, movies etc.