Annnnd...here I am, back with another list (after, like, a year) that basically serves as an outlet of my frustration. When video games were first introduced, it's unlikely that developers even imagined that the industry could be taken this far. After all, how could anyone expect that twenty years later it would become the focal point of many people's lives? While there are certainly more than ten games that can consume (and even waste) your time, these are some of the ones that affected either me or my friends:

This, at the very least, is one of the most talked about happenings in any game series. And why not? Most people became dreadfully attached to this flower girl from Midgar – so much, in fact, that some even refused to believe that she was permanently dead when she, you know…kicked the bucket. Some drew this conclusion on more solid foundation than others (the most notable being the “Aeris Ghost” that appears in the church in Midgar when you come back), but regardless of how they reached it, those who braved the waters of resurrection found that the several hours of work and research were in vain. I’m sure most of them want their time back, too.

This isn’t the only online feature that I’ll have on this list, but it certainly is amazing how much time could be spent on this game. The single player mode isn’t that long, but multi-player can be used and abused for several hours at a time. With goals such as total kills or headshots with a weapon to falling from a great height and surviving, my friends and I have found ourselves addicted at several points. Luckily, I broke my mic, effectively breaking the spell that Call of Duty 4 had on me. For now.

"YES! I GOT ANOTHER STAR! TAKE THAT, STUPID LAVA LEVEL!" Yeah...if you've ever found yourself at least thinking something along those lines, then you were just as entertained with Super Mario 64 as I was. The graphics were amazing for that time. The gameplay was awesome. The plot was...well, pretty much the same as the other Mario games, but it was so goal-oriented that you couldn't help but pour as much time into helping the Italian plumber as possible. To add to all of that, there were some who believed that Luigi was in the game (L is real 2401, anyone?).

This one hits home with me mostly because I suck at the sneaking aspect of the game. Luckily, the last installment of the series was more action-oriented, but the long, long, LONG cut scenes kind of off-set that. Seriously, it's like watching a movie. Technically, one of the cut scenes is 90 minutes long. For those of you who are new to time, that's an hour and a half. So, to summarize, I get caught constantly and sit through cutscenes. I spent SO much time on this game.

I included this one because of the Quest mode. Basically, you're a player pimping out the Arcade circuits, plowing through whatever competition comes your way. There's so much to do here: play all the competitors at any given arcade, collect money to buy customizable parts for your fighter, win tournaments, and so on. I've spent entire days playing this game.

I wouldn't be surprised if most of whoever's reading this hasn't heard of this game -- which is a shame and a downright crime towards humanity. This game is -so- underrated it makes me sad. The dungeons take a while to explore, but the plot is just enough to keep you motivated. As if the main story wasn't enough, there are a bunch of side quests to do and a massive 100 floor dungeon at the very end of the game. Even though I've had this game for close to eight years, I still haven't completed the latter.

Really, I'm talking about the Madden series in general, but 09 is by far the best in my opinion. If you're a die-hard football fan and a gamer like me, it's easy to understand why I've spent so much time with this franchise. Nothing pleases me more than breaking a tackle to score a rushing touchdown, or to torch the defense with a long pass, or, better yet, when I absolutely humiliate my friends when they dare challenge me. Some people prefer other football games (though I don't know why), but for me, Madden is the only football game that I'll devote my time to.

God, what can I say about this game? ... Actually, I can say a lot. There's a -massive- amount of things you can do in this game, no wonder I've lost so much of my time to this game. Let's forget the main story for a while. Forget the different groups you can join. Forget the weeks worth of side quests you can do. Just the sheer size of the land you can explore has the potential to use up a lot of your day. Then, when you've done all of that, you can choose a different class with a different race and do the whole thing over again in an entirely different way.

Oh, Pokemon. This was the most popular video game when I was a kid. This wasn't difficult to discover -- after all, little kids across the world were talking pokenerd every day on their way to and from school. Whether they were trying to conquer all of the gyms, collect all 150 pokemon (remember when there were just 150? Good times), or laughing at the poor, unfortunate kid that was trying to catch a Pikablu, there was something here for everyone. And that something consumed the very soul of tens of thousands of kids.

My friends pissed me off a lot with this one, mostly because they tended to blow me off in favor of playing this game. Constantly. For hours. Forget the single player, though that consumed many-a-gamer I'm sure. I'm talking about the online multiplayer. It was ridiculous at some points, and the constant "Halo parties" started to sprout up everywhere. Some people even started using their sick days to play Halo 2 online. And that worked perfectly, because there were plenty of other people that did the exact same thing. Disagree with me if you want, but Halo 2 was by far the most time-consuming game ever.

So...if I spent half as much time, oh I don't know...studying as I did playing these games, I probably would have done a bit better in high school. Either way, whether I was enthralled with a story or researching a particular video game "myth", these games kept me entertained for a very, very long time.

List by DarkCloud858