Question of the Week: What does your video game diet consist of?

by: Randy - posted: 3/13/2009 2:13:00 PM

This morning, like most tawdry and guilt-ridden mornings, I munched on a Jimmy Dean D-Lights low-calorie breakfast croissant sandwich, promptly followed by a Safeway maple bar doughnut.  I then came to the obvious and sad realization that I'm sending my body some horribly mixed messages.  Then I looked at my video game playlist and realized that I'm probably doing the exact same thing.  Are you the type of person that seeks a balanced diet of games ranging a variety of genres?  Or is there a particular set of food groups you limit yourself to?

What does your video game diet consist of?

Elliot Bonnie:  When it comes to my gaming diet, I try to keep things pretty balanced. I probably play more shooters than anything else, but I really love all kinds of games as long as they are fun, well made and creative. It is always exciting to see what developers can do with today's powerful hardware.  (Now playing: ample amounts of Killzone 2 and hopefully digging into Resident Evil 5 this weekend)

Sean Colleli:  I try to have a decent mix of new games to review and old favorites--every year I play through Deus Ex, Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 again. Unfortunately this has the side effect of me rarely finishing any new games because I get side-tracked, but I'm working on that.  Most of the new stuff is usually minigame shovelware for the Wii, but occasionally I'm surprised; for instance, THQ has done a great job pushing original content with De Blob and Deadly Creatures, two games any Wii owner should buy.  (Now playing: Deadly Creatures, and hopefully Madworld by the end of the weekend)

Charles Husemann:  While my diet consists mostly of meaty FPS games and the occasional third person shooter I've found myself drawn to a lot of sugary casual games recently.  We just got a puppy so my gaming time has been further reduced so games that I can get in and out of quickly have become hot on my list.  Plus the games are something that the girlfriend can get into as well which is always nice.  (Now playing: Peggle, Halo Wars, Team Fortress 2)

Randy Kalista:  I've been snacking tons more between meals, thanks entirely to my iPhone--the first mobile gaming platform I've ever entertained in any honest capacity.  The ratio is now well over 80:20 in how much I use it for gaming versus, you know, using it as a phone.  Otherwise, for the past couple years I've typically saved my biggest meal of the day for anything with an open world; all the better if there's some level of parkour/platforming to be had with it.  And until this New Year's resolutions manifested, I'd spent a frightening and promiscuously-spread amount of time in different MMOs' open worlds.  (As you can see, I'm playing somewhat fast and loose with any definition of "open world.")  At least once a year I treat myself to some unfathomably time-sunk RPG, I'll find myself behind the wheel of a racer more often than I even understand why, and, additionally, I have an early '90s tolerance for point-and-click adventures.  (Now playing:  Oregon Trail (iPhone), GTA IV: The Lost and Damned)

Dan Keener:  My diet for gaming is a complete mixed bag.  I always will gravitate to a solid RPG set in sorcery and medieval times, as well as dungeon crawlers.  However, I have found my true calling to be any game that features either an open world or sandbox style play.  I am one of those people that like to look in ever nook and cranny trying to find a hidden drop (thank you D&D).  I also have been playing a lot of casual games on the iPod Touch, which has really been hogging my attention lately.  (Now playing:  WordFu (iPod Touch), Dungeon Siege (broke open a classic for one more run-through) and a bunch of stuff to review the Mitsubishi Projector that is in-house)

Nathan Murray:  Only when I review games does my mind receive mixed messages. I am a picky gamer and I will wait until after I've read enough reviews, watched enough trailers, played the demo several times, before I purchase a title. I play games for entertainment and I find (or have found) every game in my collection enjoyable and entertaining. Then I started doing reviews. You cannot guess the cries of agony that would ring out from my brain having to sit through hours of "garbage" before I can get back to playing the good stuff. I'm not saying that all the games I review are bad or boring but when I do review a game I sit down and nit pick every little thing that goes wrong, I analyze why the designers did this or that, and then I struggle for a day or two trying to decide what letter grade I'm going to give the gosh darn thing. I do it out of love though. (Now playing: Army of Two, Far Cry 2, Rock Band 2, Fable 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2--I wish)

Sean Nack:  I like the food analogy, so here we go: if my videogame habit was an ice cream sundae, the ice cream scoop (just one, i'm not tubs) would be the entirety of the FPS genre, up to and including open-world FPS's (Far Cry 3), horror-FPS's, (F.E.A.R. 2, Condemned series), and tactical FPS's (Rainbow 6/Ghost Recon series), the whole bit. Drizzled, if not lathered, like hot-fudgey-goodness would be RPGs like Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fallout 3 to a degree (didn't completely drink the Kool-Aid on that one), and the like. Lightly sparsed among the sugar-pile, the peanuts and sprinkles represent the odds and ends, the fighting games and the racers and the one strategy title in my gaming-oeuvre, Civilization Revolut'n. The cherry on top? Ace Combat series, as it is the only arcade-style flight sim that I not only don't hate, but really really enjoyed despite the typically over-the-top Japanese dialogue and plotlines. Calorie-heavy, sure, but endlessly enjoyable. (Now playing: MLB 2K9, Far Cry 2, Resident Evil 5)

Tyler Sager:  I focus on strategy titles, RPGs, and whatever oddity I seem to get my hands on. If I happen to find an odd strategy RPG, I won't come up for air for weeks. I'll also dabble in adventure games when they're available, but those are few and far between nowadays.  (Now playing: Drakensang: The Dark Eye, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, and I'm still trying to finish up King's Bounty: The Legend)

John Yan:  FPS games are my lifeblood but I do enjoy the occasional RTS and RPG here or there. About the only thing I don't really play are slower strategy games such as Civilization or Heroes of Might and Magic. Anything where I can jump in for a few quick sessions like Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2 is what I usually gravitate to. Fallout 3 though has me coming back for more since it's a combo RPG and quasi FPS.  (Now playing: Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2)