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Six Great Games for Lazy People

• By Patrick Shaw
• June 23, 2009 12:27 PM PST
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Laziness isn't a crime (especially when it comes to games)!

Let's face it--for the most part, video games are only demanding less and less from the player, especially with beginner difficulty settings and tutorials coming standard with most new games.

Several days ago, Nintendo took this to a new level when they revealed that in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you will have an option where you can actually have the game play itself. If you can't get past an obstacle in the upcoming platformer, you can simply press a button and the game will not only show you what to do, it will do it for you.

But that's not necessarily a "bad" thing, is it? Not every game has to be uber grueling. Hell, I remember the days when some games only supplied you with one life and once your health bar was depleted you were forced to start from the very beginning of the game. We take a look at several great games that don't feel like a chore to play.

#6: Any Light Gun Game Ever Created

For: Everything from Arcades to the PS3
Physical Effort Required: Not Much
Mental Energy Required: Not Much
It doesn't matter if we're talking about Time Crisis, House of the Dead, or Duck Hunt, light gun games as a whole take a lot of the exertion out of playing video games. All you need is one functioning arm and decent vision for you to partake and excel in them.

Most light gun games also restrict your movement completely, which is why they're referred to as "on-rails shooters," because it's as though you're on a track going through a fun house filled with video game enemies. But I'm not knocking light gun games. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and The House of the Dead games, are some of my favorite titles that are devoid of many of the frustrations of more involved titles, including having to worry about where you're supposed to go next.

#5: LocoRoco/LocoRoco 2

For: PSP
Physical Effort Required: Not Much
Mental Energy Required: Medium
Similarly to the way several video games for the iPhone are played, in the LocoRoco games, tilting is really the only thing you do to get through levels.

But instead of using the iPhone's accelerometer to tilt the phone itself, you move your LocoRocos by pressing buttons on the PSP to tip the world, which causes gravity to propel those cute gelatinous singing balls through levels. The only other thing you have to worry about while playing the game is jumping. If you've never played LocoRoco or its sequel, you're missing out on some of the best simple pleasures the PSP has to offer.

#4: LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman, and LEGO Indiana Jones

For: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PSP, and PC
Physical Effort Required: Medium
Mental Energy Required: Not Much
While there are a number of straightforward puzzles featured in these tongue-in-cheek movie tie-ins, all of the LEGO games essentially demand only two things from the player: shoot/slash/punch through waves of enemies and press the continue button whenever you drop dead. The reason the slew of LEGO video games make it onto this list is because it's literally impossible to die in them as they supply you with infinite lives.

Having infinite continues is something that's been featured in other arcade-style sidescrolling action games like the Metal Slug games, but the surprising thing is that this takes nothing away from your experience. No one likes dying in games and the LEGO games are well aware of that as you can blast through levels as The Dark Knight, Luke Skywalker, or Dr. Jones with no regard for your own life.

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