The weekend is approaching, which means my weekly dance with the devil is close at hand. I’m not speaking of anything illicit. I’m speaking of my unhealthy obsession with Sid Meyer’s Civilization V. I’ve been playing this create-your-own-nation-from-the-stone-age-to-modern-day-and-beyond videogame from its very first version when I was a kid — I can still vividly recall the trumpets of victory every time my archer square (a pixelated dude holding a bow) successfully attacked a marauding barbarian red square (a pixelated dude holding a club) like it’s happening right in front of me. The newest version of the game, which has been out since last fall, is several eons more advanced (as the photo above can attest) in the graphics department, but the basic fundamentals of the game are still the same, and still just as wildly, obsessively addictive. I’m not entirely ashamed to admit that once I started playing this game around 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and I didn’t stop until around 4 a.m. Sunday morning. That is 20 hours of non-stop gaming.
But, see, I just had to drive back the aggressive Indian empire from encroaching upon the resource rich uninhabited grasslands to my north, but then I went too far and wiped out every last Indian city, provoking a cascade of condemnation from all my neighboring countries that I spent the subsequent centuries repairing. Meanwhile, as I’m building granaries and calvary and the Louvre, I invent little stories in my head of people living in each of my cities, whether its my culturally-rich capital or the remote hamlet tucked on a faraway island so I have access to the only unclaimed stores of coal left on the planet. It makes perfect sense to me. My fiancé, for some reason, feels different.
Okay, I admit, I am obsessed. I filed an extension on my taxes this year pretty much only because I wasted too much time trying to conquer the world over and over and over again. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? And I cannot be alone, either. So you tell me, PopWatchers: What is the longest you’ve binged on a videogame? And was it worth it?
LOL well I’m pretty good at controlling myself but my dad played Age of Empire once all night long. It was a weekday and he totally lost track of time, then his alarm went off and he realized that he had to go to work! LOL it was pretty funny.
What a sickening article. He mailed it in. We get it. The video game distributor bought the space and EW dresses up the ad to look like a review.
Problem is, Adam has ADMITTED MANY TIMES in other articles that he was the one kid NOT into video games. He makes that a badge of honor usually. (Yes, we get it…He was “different” as a kid and had to live a CLOSETTED lifesstyle). Whatever. It doesn’t mean that the EW reader should be outright LIED to.
This immature fruitwad needs to lose the petulance and start reporting with at least an ounce of integrity.
I know EW needs to fill a QUOTA but can we have a writer who also knows how to write and research at the level of an average college student?
COME ON, EW. Step it up. Lose this twerp.
Eh, if what you’re saying is true: EW thanks you for the significant amount of time you come to their website, click the pages and help keep advertisers.
The question centered around obsession with video games: not obsession with the articles people write for ew.com.
And given that he mentioned his fiancé when talking about the marathon session, I don’t think he was talking about when he was a kid…..either way, lighten up…
@ADAM,
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If my memory serves I used to play Super Mario for 3-5 hours, and with my younger brother a soccer game and Kenshiro (TFoNS), for hours too.
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By the way, I hope what Reaja suspects is untrue. Because it would have been sickening to me, too. . .
First time I played Silent Hill 2 was in one sitting, overnight. What a horrifying experience…in a good way.
College. 3 days. Crash bandicoot. When I finally stopped & walked to class, I literally jumped on a box.
THIS is why I cannot ever play grand theft auto!
I spent 11 hours playing LEGO Harry Potter. Stopping only to pee and feed my dog.
College, my friends and I played Stacraft: Broodwar all night. We were all supposed to be studying for a test the next day.
Needless to say, knowing how much Protoss Carriers are needed to destroy an entire Terran army wasn’t that useful come test time.
OMG funny
College, my friends and I played Stacraft: Broodwar all night. We were all supposed to be studying for a test the next day.
Needless to say, knowing how much Protoss Carriers are needed to destroy an entire Terran army wasn’t that useful come test time.
20 Hours > DC Universe Online
Pretty sure Lara Croft 1 and 2 made my teenage dream.
Played GTA San Andreas a whole weekend once. Only taking many naps, potty breaks, as well as snack breaks. To this day I think CJ is my real homie.
excuse me, that was to be: mini nap.
An entire weekend of Oblivion.
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Woke up at 9 on Saturday, bought the game, and played until 11 Sunday night. No sleep. No food, so bathroom breaks were minimal.
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I was obsessed.
I’m pretty sure I’ve spent 12 hours straight playing The Sims (1, 2 & 3).
Same here….the sims can really suck you in.
I do remember one incident when I played Abe’s Odd World for a whole day.
The Sims is the only game that I really play, and its not unusual for me to play that long when an expansion pack hits, or summer/winter break first begins/ends. I once played about 12-18 hours a day, for four days straight.
Rampage. The old NES version. I was 11 years old and my cousin and I played all night. My eyes hurt so bad and I had pins and needles in my legs for 4 hours. Good Times!!
Burnout!!! hands down I would have to say an entire 12 hours. I still play but have had to cut down.
Missle Command when my daughter had colic-turned the game over twice
I thought 7 hours in a row was crazy, that’s probably my max.
16 hours … realized at some point that the 5:00 was am and not pm. Changed my phone time format to 24-hour-clock after that, so that was good. I know how many hours I’ve been playing now. And when for instance it should be daylight. Yeah.