Play games? I sure do!
Growing up I never understood why adults didn't play with toy cars or jump off the stairs on their bike. It always puzzled me that somehow, at some point, they stopped playing.
I must have been no more than 5 or 6 when I decided to never stop playing games and having fun.
Now, as an adult, I realize that adults also entertain themselves with different games. They're just not readily identifiable as games to the children around us.
Thinking back to my father going out fishing, it didn't seem like much fun to me at the time, but now I fully understand that it was not at all about bringing home food. It was about winding down and feeling the sea-breeze wash over you in endless calm.
Well, that sounds wonderful, doesn't it? The problem is that I think it's utterly boring after more than a couple of hours, and being bored makes me want to hurt someone.
So I do. Sort of.
All through my childhood, and at least up until now in my adulthood (such as it is) I've enjoyed playing games. When I discovered computers, and the excellent games they exposed to me, I was instantly hooked.
My favorite game genres are, in order of time committed to them:
Shooter
First or third person doesn't matter to me. Preferably with a good story to accompany the murder, but only if there are no cheesy voice-overs or other distractions from the task at hand.
Originally I got hooked on this genre by id Software's Doom, and ever since then I've been fascinated with what they can do.
All-time favorite: Max Payne
Current candidate for the spot: All Points Bulletin
Role playing
RPGs, or cRPGs as they're supposedly called on computers, is a major source of enjoyment for me. I never got on the World of Warcraft train, but after seeing what that thing has done to some of my friends, I'm glad for it.
While I do enjoy some Massively Multiplayer Online variants, such as EverQuest 2 and Anarchy Online, the majority of the MMORPG genre is not my cup of tea. What is the difference between single player and massive multiplayer, then?
Quite simply: Standing in line.
Offline, single-player, you can be The Real Hero, the guy that rises to awesomeness above all odds and vanquishes the Evil Overlord, but in a vast majority of MMOs you just end up standing in line to pick wood off the ground, or some other tedious or mundane task, and I can do that just as well in my own back yard.
All-time favorite: Deus Ex
Current candidate for the spot: Risen
Strategy
War games, usually, but also city-builders.
What I enjoy the most about strategy gaming is to organize complex things into simple concepts and formulate long-term plans.
Some games facilitate this better than others, and I tend to love the ones that give me more freedom and more choice, such as Supreme Commander, above those that are "arcade action strategy", such as the recent Command and Conquer 4 monstrosity.
All-time favorite: Transport Tycoon Deluxe
Current candidate for the spot: Supreme Commander
Puzzle
A good puzzle game, to me, does not have time constraints. It will let you figure things out in your own time, and not interfere with your thought process too much. It doesn't hurt if it looks good, but only if that does not interfere with the puzzle it self.
I think being stuck is half the fun. Hence my love for the Myst series.
All-time favorite: Myst 3D
Current candidate for the spot: None.
Adventure
Point-and-click adventures have always fascinated me, but there are so few really good ones these days.
The more humor the better, I think. That makes titles like "Beneath a Steel Sky" and "Sam and Max hit the road" stand out in this genre, and make the current line-up of so-called "Adventure games" just leave me frustrated.
All-time favorite: Day of the Tentacle
Current candidate for the spot: [this space for rent]
Driving
Driving games, usually racing games, is not something I do too much of. Yes, I do have "driving binges" where I play nothing but racing games, but it tends to loose it's luster after a while.
All-time favorite: Test Drive Unlimited
Current candidate for the spot: None.
Sports
Non-driving sports games bores me to tears. Championship Manager is the closest I've ever been to enjoying a sports game, and that's really an economic strategy game.
Some sports games are fun, however, but not because of the sports. Wii Sports Resort, for example, is fun because my reflection in the TV looks so retarded when I flail the wiimote around that I can't help but laugh.
All-time favorite: Wii Sports Resort
Current candidate for the spot: Fredrik's Full Contact Golf Extreme (Currently in the pre-planning phase)