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"Short Burst" Games

Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
edited July 2007 in Games and Technology
Ok, related to the "Reading about games more than playing games" topic, I thought I'd start this up. By and large I do NOT have a lot of time to game, due to a combination of Gym, Work, Relationships, Housework and a load of other stuff. Currently I'm really enjoying games I can just pick up and play for a bit. Criteria for these is generally:

Quick Blast games - Pick up and play for 5 or 10 minutes. Beat 'em ups, a quick race on Burnout Revenge...that type of things.

Short Games with Frequent Save Points - The Prince of Persias grabbed me recently. Probably less than 8 hours each and with savepoints frequent enough to let me get away with a 20/30minute gaming session.

I prefer the game to be short, rather than long (even if save points ARE frequent) because short gives me something to aim for. If a game is 20 or 30 hours long, then after 20minutes I don't feel like I've even made a dent in it.

Currently I've got these:

Guilty Gear XX (Jpn) - Wii
Guitar Hero 1/2/80's - PS2
Burnout Revenge - 360

And other games I've completed:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 360
Prince of Persia Series - Xbox
Heart of Darkness - PS1
Super Mario World - SNES/VC

Can anyone recommend any games that are good for a quick blast? Avoiding PC games is pretty much essential for me, by the time my pc has got around to booting up and PLAYING the game, ten minutes has passed :)

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PSN: SirGrinchX
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Posts

  • PataPata Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Most handheld games are good for a quick play.

    Pata on
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  • Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Pata wrote: »
    Most handheld games are good for a quick play.

    They are indeed. Sadly money means I can't treat myself to a DS or PSP. I do have a GBA but there's an annoying line going through the top of the screen. I can pinch my gf's DS though but the only time I really get that is when she's round, and I should probably be talking to her.

    Even then an awful lot of DS games are pretty time-intensive :)

    Oh I flat out forgot about:

    Wii Sports

    :)

    Mr_Grinch on
    Steam: Sir_Grinch
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  • ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Gears of War is great for this.

    ben0207 on
  • randombattlerandombattle Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Also look into Earth Defense Force 2017.

    Perfect for short bursts of gaming.

    randombattle on
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  • NorfairNorfair Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    EDIT: I had some portable games here. Whoops.

    The Lego Star Wars games are loads of fun, and the first one is great for fast gaming (the second one takes about 25-30 hours to 100%, so it's not really what you're looking for, I think). Took me about ten hours to 100% it. It also autosaves, and the levels are short but sweet, so it's great for quick burst play sessions.

    Norfair on
  • Saint JusticeSaint Justice Mercenary Mah-vel Baybee!!!Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Shame on you all for not mentioning Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved for 360 XBLA

    Saint Justice on
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  • StigmaStigma Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Sports games have 10 to 20 minute bursts.
    Fighting games have 30 to 90 second bursts.
    Your mother only had a 3 second burst.

    Stigma on
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  • Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Cheers up to now folks. I have lego starwars but never got around to playing it! I'll give it a quick go at the weekend.

    XBLA arcade is currently a no-no, I need to buy a new 360 for that (I'm a tinkerer, I opened my 360 up hours after buying it and had a poke around. Then a bit later thought I'd see if I -could- flash the firmware. Then I thought I'd see if I could backup my own copy of Crackdown. Then I decided to see if it worked. Then I got banned). I'll have one in a couple of months though.

    Earth Defence is now on my rental list.

    Mr_Grinch on
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    PSN: SirGrinchX
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  • StigmaStigma Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I said your mother had a three second burst last night!

    Stigma on
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  • Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Stigma wrote: »
    I said your mother had a three second burst last night!


    She said that was your problem and not hers.

    Mr_Grinch on
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  • StigmaStigma Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    ZING!


    High five!

    Stigma on
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  • Saint JusticeSaint Justice Mercenary Mah-vel Baybee!!!Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    VERY NICE, YES! VERY NICE!

    Saint Justice on
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  • FizicsFizics Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    It's all about the Katamari.

    Fizics on
  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Fighting games

    most First Person Shooters

    Javen on
  • carbon13carbon13 Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Resident Evil 4: Loads of save points dotted around and mercenaries mode is awesome to waste 5 to 8 minutes shooting shit up.

    carbon13 on
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  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator, Administrator admin
    edited July 2007
    Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space

    You can finish the game in under 30 minutes.

    Echo on
  • WitchsightWitchsight Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I HIGHLY reccomend Spiderman-2. It drops you in a city, you jump... and then that shit just turns to magic. Get hero points as you will, save when you want, and swan dive man, SWAN DIVE!

    Witchsight on
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  • LethardicusLethardicus Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    PSP and DS are best bets. without them on the train in the morning and going to and from work, id barely be playing games at all. makes me so happy to get back into Jrpgs again, havent done so in awhile. still doesnt defeat my ps2 backlog =(

    oh right, i didnt even mention any games. lol

    Puzzle Quest
    Meteos
    Puzzle League
    etc. good quick stuff.

    Lethardicus on
  • RichardTauberRichardTauber Kvlt Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    MX vs ATV: Unleashed is good for all kinds of five minute gaming sessions.

    RichardTauber on
  • powersurgepowersurge Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    As everyone else has said portables are your best bet for quick bits of gaming. As for home consoles I'd recomend looking at the Ace Combat games. Each mission lasts anywhere from 10 to 20mins and the AC games have anywhere from 18 to 40 of them. Try out the AC6 demo on Xbox Live since you have a 360.

    Also Xbox Live Arcade games are good quick bits of fun. (mostly)

    powersurge on
  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Ace Combat games are not very suited to quick sessions, but they don't take too long to finish the entire campaign, and they're really replayable.

    Stormwatcher on
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  • j0hnz3rj0hnz3r Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Most games that were originally arcade games work well for this, so...

    Fighting Games
    Shmups
    Driving/Racing Games
    Rhythm Games
    Puzzle Games

    ...also quick match up games like FPSs.

    I'm more or less in the same boat and do my gaming in short 15-30 minute bursts. Thankfully most of those genres are my favorite anyways.

    j0hnz3r on
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  • FremFrem Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    A *lot* of indie games work well for this. Google "ABA games."

    Frem on
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  • PatboyXPatboyX Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    The New Paper Mario allowed me to play in short bursts. But I had to time it properly. That is, you can pretty much sense the long-ass cut-scenes gearing up and need to judge if you should save and bail or just sacrifice the next half hour of your time.

    The Free! Wolfenstein Enemy Territory game for PC is still a great way to kill time and it is less hardcore than some other mutiplayer FPS. XP but it gets tossed every round and is easy to get into a 10 minute map.

    Almost every Pop-Cap game is great. Peggle Deluxe and Bookworm Adventures are two of my favorites.

    PatboyX on
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  • projectmayhemprojectmayhem Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Beyond Good and Evil
    First God of War
    Amplitude
    Rez
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars
    Geometry Wars

    projectmayhem on
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  • darksteeldarksteel Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    If you got a PS2, Odin Sphere is a game particularly suited to short bursts of play. It has absolutely gorgeous graphics, an old-school style of side-scrolling action RPG, and an above average story that can and will keep you coming back for more. This game suits your taste because it lets you save anywhere. You'd really be missing out if you don't play it.

    darksteel on
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  • JPS3JPS3 regular
    edited July 2007
    If you can get your hands on a DS, EBA and Ouendan fit this description perfectly. For the 360, look at the Live Arcade, a lot of those titles were perfect for me to play in quick bursts. Also, Crackdown is some good fun that can be played in some short bursts.

    JPS3 on
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    reVerse wrote: »
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  • LBD_NytetraynLBD_Nytetrayn TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I've actually been able to enjoy the original Paper Mario in short and long bursts. There's so much to do between stages, it's easy to just mess around for a few minutes, or sit down and go for a longer haul and get a chapter completed.

    LBD_Nytetrayn on
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  • ZephyrZephyr Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    um

    shadow of the colossus

    it's about 8 hours long total and it only takes like 5-20 (sometimes longer) minutes to take down 1 of the colossi so i guess it would be good for pick up and play for a little bit then stop?

    great

    Zephyr on
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  • ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Geometry Wars is my newest "progress bar" game. Waiting for installation to finish? Play a round. Waiting for DVD to burn? Play a round. Waiting for file to download? Play a round. Waiting for project to compile and burn onto a microcontroller? Yeah, play some of that shit, too.

    Lately I've been playing numerous spurts of CS:S rounds consisting of bots with only knives on cs_office. It's strangely cathartic and quick.

    Zxerol on
  • ginguskahnginguskahn Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    As im playing through it right now... Armored Core 4 on the 360, Im loving it and a level ranges from about 30 seconds to around 35 seconds ;) the game is based around beating the level as fast as possible and not hanging around killing the drones, just get in there, beat the main baddie and your done.

    You could spend a life time customizing mechs however, but it doesn't seem needed in single player, 5mins learning which stats u need to boost for a certain level and you can just nail the upgrades you need.

    Theres a demo as well

    ginguskahn on
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  • SporkAndrewSporkAndrew Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    I'll throw in another vote for RE4. I'm playing it through on the Wii in half hour bursts every night before bed..

    Usually it's enough time to get to the next save point but even if it isn't you can always backtrack a bit to find an old typewriter.

    SporkAndrew on
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  • SirNickSirNick Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Used to be that the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games were really quick plays - 2 minutes a run, go see what'll happen. Pretty cool stuff.

    I don't know how much that's changed in the past couple of games, but hopefully it still holds up.

    SirNick on
  • The_ScarabThe_Scarab Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Crackdown is the correct answer. Blowin shit up in 10 minute sessions is perfect. Seriously, you get to a point with your character where your entire mo for the game is 'kill dudes, explode things'

    The_Scarab on
  • SporkAndrewSporkAndrew Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    SirNick wrote: »
    Used to be that the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games were really quick plays - 2 minutes a run, go see what'll happen. Pretty cool stuff.

    I don't know how much that's changed in the past couple of games, but hopefully it still holds up.

    Tony Hawks 3 was my "between lectures" game in first year at uni.

    If I had an hour between lectures I would fire up the single player, blast through it to 100% in 45 minutes and then get back from halls to the lecture room in time for the next one to start.

    SporkAndrew on
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  • ZombiemamboZombiemambo Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    PatboyX wrote: »
    The New Paper Mario allowed me to play in short bursts. But I had to time it properly. That is, you can pretty much sense the long-ass cut-scenes gearing up and need to judge if you should save and bail or just sacrifice the next half hour of your time.

    The Free! Wolfenstein Enemy Territory game for PC is still a great way to kill time and it is less hardcore than some other mutiplayer FPS. XP but it gets tossed every round and is easy to get into a 10 minute map.

    Almost every Pop-Cap game is great. Peggle Deluxe and Bookworm Adventures are two of my favorites.

    I wouldn't recommend an RPG simply because it might be hard to keep up with the storyline when you might only have an hour a day/few hours a week to play. Ever jumped into your latest save file in an RPG you haven't played in years? You'd probably be confused.

    Zombiemambo on
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  • Bloods EndBloods End Blade of Tyshalle Punch dimensionRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Wario Ware?

    Bloods End on
  • FallingmanFallingman Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I fing Gear of War, battlefield 2 etc - great games I can just jump in and out of if I have a spare 20 mins here and there.

    (I'm talking online play here - Just join in for a few rounds)

    Fallingman on
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  • Waka LakaWaka Laka Riding the stuffed Unicorn If ya know what I mean.Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Painkiller on PC.

    Serious Short Burst fun

    Waka Laka on
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  • etoychestetoychest Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Echo wrote: »
    Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space

    You can finish the game in under 30 minutes.

    I'm glad somebody mentioned this. Weird Worlds really is one of the top entires for short, satisfying bursts of gaming.

    etoychest on
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