I restarted a game of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3 recently, and it occurred to me that this may be one of my favorite games of all time because I can and do replay it over and over, trying different strategies, weapons, etc. and it has never gotten old or “done”. I haven’t kept count, but I’m nearly positive I’ve played it to completion at least a dozen times. So, I then wondered how many other games I treat this way. The answer is: Very few. Allow me to elaborate by stating that I have over 1,200 games in my Steam account, and many, many more elsewhere. My attention towards games has changed over the years, from “I’ve painstakingly researched this game, know I’ll love it, must play it and finish it in every conceivable way”, to “Eh, it’s only [INSERT SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNT], I’ll give it a shot”. This allows me to emphasize: VERY FEW!
So, being an admittedly introverted freak that hates most games the general public loves, here are some of my most loved, “replayed” games which I find myself replaying constantly, regardless of their age or reputation:
Thief 1 & 2
Disciples 2
Majesty (The original ONLY)
Doom 1 & 2
Rainbow Six: All versions
Hitman: All versions
Defense Grid
SWAT 4
I could swear we had a thread like this last year or maybe 2 years ago. Anyways, the first 2 Bioshock games are easily in the 3+ range now, I think I started BS1 a 4th time, but never finished.
I assume you’re not talking about old games that are still being supported with new DLC or have “HD” re-releases.
I used to sell or trade my games when I got tired of them, so the oldest games I play now would only go back to the time when digital distribution was becoming more prevalent.
All of which is the long answer. The short answer is Armageddon Empires.
Super Mario 3 (I was in to speed running for a time)
Europa Universalis
Sonic 2
Age of Empires 2 (noticing the pattern yet)
Rogue Squadron
Mass Effect 1
Mine is probably Guild Wars 2. I have 9 level 80 characters, most of them with 50% or more completion of the game. I’m well over 1000+ hours of gameplay at this point.
As for non-MMOs… I don’t know. Maybe Anno 2070.
EDIT: Ok, just remembered one that easily beats Anno - Sword of the Stars 1. I have replayed that one maaaany times.
In Chronological order, as best as I can remember it:
Tetris
Star Control
Star Control 2
Tank Wars
Civ
Civ 2
Tetris
Heroes of Might and Magic 2
Super Mario Galaxy
Mario Kart 64
Goldeneye
Wing Commander: Prophecy
System Shock 2
Civ 3
Diablo 2
Aliens vs Predator
Tetris
Halo (again and again in Co-op)
Project Gotham Racing
Geometry Wars
Geometry Wars 2
Warlords Battlecry 2
Fallout Tactics Multiplayer demo
Master of Orion 2
Halo 2 multiplayer
Call of Duty Modern Warfare multiplayer
Gears of War 2’s Horde mode
Rock Band
Supreme Commander multiplayer
EU series in total. Probably more hours sunk into it from EU 2 on than any other series. Don’t have as much time as I used to to revisit games so my full list is skewed older.
Honorable Mentions:
Fallout 2 and NV
Morrowind
Planescape Torment
Baldurs Gate 2
Rainbow Six
Bioshock
Hard to say. The only game I consistently return to over the years is Doom. But these days I tend to play the hell out of flight and race sims, action-oriented RPGs like the Souls games, and beat 'em ups. I’ll do multiple playthroughs of anything with multiple playstyles or skill-based gameplay (though I never put thousands of hours into anything like some do).
