Game Picks: How to spend a monthlong gaming binge

Imagine if you had the time to do nothing but play video games. If you could dedicate an entire month to playing games, which ones would best fill the time? Take a 31 day month, subtract 8 hours out of each day for necessities like sleeping, eating and bathroom breaks, and you have 496 hours to fill with digital entertainment. Here are the games that, when combined, will get you started on your gaming binge and give you the most bang for your buck.

The games listed here have a plot, and are neither massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) nor simulation games.

Note: All completion times are based on the combined main story, extras and player (completionist) average on Howlongtobeat.com. All times are rounded up to the nearest hour. We also in no way advocate trying this experiment.

‘Fallout New Vegas, Ultimate Edition’

Average time: 91 hours

“Fallout: New Vegas” is all about retro sci-fi. There’s a ton to explore between the Vegas strip and the dangers found in the Nevada desert. Rad roaches, giant scorpions and super mutants are just the start of your problems. You start with little more than a hole in your head, and work your way up to becoming the top dog around town. The game also features a non-judgmental morality system, so you can be as saintly or sinister as you want. Make everyone’s lives better, or betray them all – it’s up to you. The important thing is to have a blast while getting your revenge on.

Plus, there’s no better way to prepare for the inevitable announcement of “Fallout 4” than to head over to “New Vegas.”

‘Dragon Age: Inquisition: Jaws of Hakkon’

Average time: 96 hours

On average, it takes about 86 hours for heroes to take the Inquisitor’s journey through the land of Thedas, given all the side and collection quests that are available. The “Jaws of Hakkon” downloadable content (DLC) adds another 10 hours. In that time, there are vast regions to explore, caves to delve into, along with Darkspawn, angry mages, Red Templars, and demons to combat. Let’s not forget that the world is being torn apart by both political turmoil and actual rifts in the sky leading to the Fade. Inquisitors have a lot of work ahead of them, and there’s bound to be more to come, so get to it.

‘Divinity: Original Sin’

Average time: 82 hours

This top-down, turn-based role-playing game certainly did a lot with its crowdfunded money. It’s gigantic. Players take the role of Source Hunters, charged with eradicating a dangerous type of magic (called the Source) and its practitioners from the world. This old-school RPG emphasizes a sense of freedom in its gameplay. Players aren’t led by the nose to specific goals. Instead, they must figure out what to do, pick a direction and do it. The rest is for you to discover. “Original Sin” also supports two-player cooperative multiplayer, so you can bring a friend along for the ride. However, we’re not sure how that impacts the completion time.

‘Grand Theft Auto V’

Average time: 41 hours.

Not every time-consuming game needs to be a fantasy role-playing game. “Grand Theft Auto V” steals both cars and your time, and you’ll have a great time watching it happen. Players can practically spend all their time exploring the large open world, committing crimes, or just doing whatever they want. The plot involves three different perspectives: a street hustler named Trevor; Michael, a retired bank robber; and a psychopath named Franklin. All of them end up being entangled in each others’ lives along with terrifying aspects of the criminal underworld, the U.S. government and the entertainment industry.

The average completion time does not take into account the recently implemented heist multiplayer mode, which would surely add more hours sacrificed to the game.

Other games to consider

You could easily use up your leftover gaming hours (and then some) by jumping back into any of these games. Or you could do something more mundane, like take a break. Go outside. Explore the real world for a little while.

“Pillars of Eternity”: 55 hours

“Dark Souls 2”: 61 hours

“Wasteland 2”: 63 hours

“Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition”: 75 hours

GamerHub.tv

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Game Picks: How to spend a monthlong gaming binge."