What’s The One Game That Has Owned Your Life This Generation?

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Why is there is a picture of Final Fantasy XIII in this article?" Give me a moment, I'll get to that.

Over the years, I've come to realize that the games with which we often spend the most time aren't necessarily the games we deem to be the "best." That's why I've always made the distinction between the "best" games and our "favorite" games because in truth, due to personal preferences and the fact that there is objective quality in this industry untainted by opinion, there is a difference.

Very often, you will get two different answers to the questions, "What do you think is the best game of the generation?" and "What game have you played the most this generation?" This is especially the case for me; if I had to pick a top 5 for this era, I'd have to go with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , Heavy Rain , Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception , and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood , probably in that order (with God of War III , LittleBigPlanet 2 , Red Dead Redemption , Grand Theft Auto IV , and Gran Turismo 5 following).

Of that list, GT5 probably leads with a good 70-75 hours (which isn't even a lot by hardcore racing fan standards). Then maybe RDR, GTAIV, and Brotherhood , coming in at 40-60 hours. Heavy Rain might come in at 40, too, just because I went through it four times. But I never got the chance to replay the Uncharted 's and I didn't really have time to lose myself in LBP2. GoWIII and MGS4 weren't long. So strangely enough, FFXIII actually tops my list…yeah, I can't believe it, either. Because I got bit by the completionist bug, I spent a good 120 hours with that game, and another 85 with FFXIII-2. I'm not really sure how that happened, really…

But please bear in mind that I don't like playing online, and that will obviously come into play for many people. I should also add that smaller, more casual games, maybe even a few guilty pleasures, the ones we keep returning to in order to alleviate stress; those can pile up the hours over the years. Like Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds for me, or Amplitude (last generation; Rock Band Blitz this generation). So how's about you?

Ben-Dutka (19)