Although classes are a big priority in college, many students find that playing video games takes up more of their time than studying.

“It fills the time between golfing and going to the bar,” said senior accountancy major Steven Leazzo.

Some of the reasons students spend time playing games ranges from boredom to entertainment.

“It’s potentially an escape from aspects of everyday life,” said Brad Sagarin, assistant professor of psychology. “Games are very effective at providing that.”

Sophomore accountancy major Stephan Holm spends a considerable amount of time playing video games.

“In a normal week when there’s no homework, it can get pretty bad,” he said.

Holm, along with his friend sophomore accountancy major Mike Lee, have considered not sleeping in order to play video games.

The flexibility of a students’ schedule allows him to get involved in a game and the way games are structured can reinforce certain behaviors, Sagarin said.

“They reward the player for performance and practice, which makes it desirable for people to do,” he said.

For some students, the appeal of video games lies in the graphics and their realism. For Sagarin, it’s all in the plot.

Holm and Lee like that playing games brings people together. There are usually a number of people playing games in a room, Holm said. On his floor in Stevenson Hall, tournaments are carried out with some regularity.

Multiplayer games over the Internet also are popular. These are enjoyable to people because it is a way of getting their social needs met, Sagarin said.

Games like EverQuest that allow players from different places to play together can be absorbing, Sagarin said.

Jason Snelten, a junior electrical engineering major, does not play Internet-based video games.

“Those are too addictive,” he said. “I know people who will play for 10 hours a day.”

Due to the number of games available, the most popular systems are Playstation 2 and Xbox. According to a game rankings Web site, among the most popular games for Playstation 2 are God of War, Area 51, Gran Turismo 4 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Furthermore, the most popular games for Xbox include Psychonauts, WWE Wrestlemania XXI and Jade Empire.

In spite of the new advanced gaming systems, for some, the basic and classic games will always be number one in their heart.

For Snelten, the best game ever is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 for Nintendo.

“Hands down, the best game ever,” he said.