I think it was the games that I couldn't compete, but that I could make constant quality progress in, that offered the most 'replay' or at least 'permaplay' value.
Games like this are ones like GTA - which was wonderful because it could offer hours of exploration but also a real chance of completion - True Crime: Streets of LA, Age of Empires II, WoW, Football Manager, etc etc. These are the games that consistently have the highest 'hours played' in Steam for me (exluding the games that weren't on steam) I find it harder to fall deep for linear games like JRPGs, though I love Tales of Symphonia, for example, very much.
Games like this are ones like GTA - which was wonderful because it could offer hours of exploration but also a real chance of completion - True Crime: Streets of LA, Age of Empires II, WoW, Football Manager, etc etc. These are the games that consistently have the highest 'hours played' in Steam for me (exluding the games that weren't on steam) I find it harder to fall deep for linear games like JRPGs, though I love Tales of Symphonia, for example, very much.