Well, it's supposed to be the top 10, but I really can't think of a number 7 to 10, so it'll just have to be the top 6 most tiring games... Oh well. D:
I wrote this list a little while ago, and decided that I may as well post it here - on a site about gaming. The list is entirely based on my opinion, which is likely different then yours, so if you disagree, don't get all mad at me. :P In the list, will be the game title, followed by a description. And no, before you ask, I don't expect you to read the whole thing.
Introduction:
All these games with movement didn't always exist. Most games used to be all button mashing, such as games for early consoles like the Atari, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the PlayStation, etc. But now, we've moved on. With new technology that's almost always advancing, we can have motion in our games, and our consoles can sense that motion. When motion control associated with gaming comes to mind, you probably think of the Nintendo Wii, famous for its controller that can sense movement. Nintendo has moved from simple buttons on the NES, to using a touch screen on the DS, and now using motion with the game. This technology also brings along many opportunities that have up sides and down sides. An obvious upside is realism. In "Cooking Mama" for the Wii, you can use motion to actually control your cooking. For example, when cutting something, you'd swing the Wii Remote as if it were a knife and you were actually cutting with it. A downside is that you can get tired after playing for an amount of time. Of course, some games are meant to be tiring, such as Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution, which are mainly meant for fun exercise, but other games can abuse the motion controls and make the game actually quite tiring to play. On this list, you'll see some games that don't use motion controls at all, and get tiring after a while, but wouldn't complete the game if they took those parts out. For example, Guitar Hero can get tiring from strumming, but if strumming were taken out, it wouldn't be a very good game. In this list, you'll see the top six most tiring games. Some are tiring in a good way, some bad, and some neutral. Enjoy!
#6: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (WII, MAC, PC, PS2, PS3, X360)
Guitar Hero is a fun music game that makes you feel like a great guitarist. It comes with a "toy" guitar that connects to your console and acts as a controller. In the game, you pick a song and the notes will scroll along on the screen. There are 5 different notes, and there are 5 frets on the bar. To hit the notes, you must press the correct fret on the guitar, and flick the strum bar to simulate strumming. All the motion in this game is necessary to make it seem real. If any were taken out, it would be quite lame, and wouldn't be anything like it is now. Really, the only thing that would make you sore is strumming with the strum bar. The constant flicking of your wrists will eventually make them sore, if you're strumming fast enough. You strum at different speeds depending on what level you play at.
#5: Rock Band (WII, PS2, PS3, X360)
Like Guitar Hero, this is another one of those games that might get you tired, but has necessary motion. Rock Band is one of the newest music games, and allows you to play guitar, sing, and drum. Really, the only things that will get you tired is drumming and playing guitar. With guitar, the constant motion of flicking the strum bar up and down really starts to make your wrist sore. Surprisingly, I never seem to get sore from pressing the fret buttons, but only from flicking the strum bar. Depending on what level you choose, you'll have to strum at different speeds. For drums, the swinging of your arms might eventually get to you. On easy levels, there might be barely any drumming, but on harder ones, you might have to swing your arms at really fast speeds. Overall, it's a really fun game with realistic and necessary motion.
#4: Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (WII)
This Wii racing title is all about racing, but with a twist. Instead of just pressing a button to accelerate, you need to shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuk! The faster you shake them, the faster you go, and eventually you'll end up thinking your arms are going to fall off. Constantly flicking your wrists can really get tiring, and after playing for a while, you're sure to want to quit. At least the motion stops excessive play! To be quite honest, I didn't really like this game, and got tired of racing by shaking the controller. The point of shaking the controllers is to simulate Donkey Kong banging on his bongos. I think I'll leave this game alone and stick to Mario Kart, a racing game without excessive motion...
#3: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (WII)
This Wii game was based on the 2008 Summer Beijing Olympics that occurred in China. Basically, the game takes a handful of Olympic sports, and puts them into a game format. With track and field, gymnastics, shooting, archery, rowing, aquatics, and much more, there's a sport for everyone to do. Unfortunately, it gets pretty lame quite fast, and is really repetitive. It's also really tiring. For example, one of the main game categories is track. Track consists of running, sprinting, hurdles, etc. To do all of these things, there is only one type of movement. To have your character move at all, you have to shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuk extremely fast. It's suppose to represent your character swinging their arms back and forth while running, but I don't see how anybody could possibly swing their arms that fast (regularly) while running. If I saw someone always swinging their arms like that while not playing the game, I'd probably burst out laughing! Anyways, the point is that this game requires excessive movement when it wouldn't really be required in real life. Because of all that movement, your arms could get REALLY tired.
#2: Dance Dance Revolution (ARC, PS, PC)
I'll only be placing the original Dance Dance Revolution in this list, because if I put all of them here, they would take up more that the 10 spots available on the list! Dance Dance Revolution is, (as you should be able to tell from the game title) a game that's all about dancing. You first step onto a mat or platform with four arrows on it. One faces up, one down, one right, and one left. You then pick a song from the song list. Depending on the song, arrows (facing the same ways as the arrows on the platform are) will scroll on the screen, and you need to match the arrows (on screen) by hitting the same arrow on your platform. You hit the arrows with your feet, by stepping on them, so if you do it properly, you'll be dancing to the beat of the music! Depending on the game level that you pick, there will either be more or less dance moves. The harder the level the more you move, and the more you move the more tired you get! Overall, this is a fun dance game that can also be used as exercise.
#1: Wii Fit (WII)
This is one of those games where motion and complete body movement are necessary. It just wouldn't have a purpose if there was no movement. This is one of Nintendo's latest big ideas, a game to get people active and fit while having fun! This game comes packed with a new Wii peripheral called the Wii Balance Board. This board has many small sensors in it that all sense weight on different parts of the board. When first played, it will measure your weight and after you tell it your height and age, it will tell you whether you're underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. After a daily fitness test, it will allow you to do many different activities. This game will have you doing pushups, balance minigames, sit ups, running, yoga, and many other activities that can improve how fit you are. Based on what activities you play, you can get extremely tired, or just a little. You might want an electric fan nearby!
Conclusion:
Motion control and other games that require movement are interesting ideas, and can be quite fun. Unfortunately, there are just some games that need less motion, and there are some that don't need it at all. With technology always advancing and getting better, who knows what we'll eventually be able to do? How much more realistic will games get? Will we move from simple motion controls to almost full body control? I guess we'll have to wait and find out.
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And well, that's it for that list. I've been really busy lately, as these starting months are the busiest parts of my school year. Hopefully I'll be able to get some work out of the way. That's all for now,
- Steve
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