But Gran Turismo 5 belongs firmly in the other category.
Gran Turismo 5
From: Polyphony
For: PlayStation 3
Nearly six years in the making, the fifth edition of the ground-breaking driving franchise just scraped into the 2010 calendar year after initially being pencilled in for a March release.
Why the delay? Perfection.
Developer Polyphony - or, more precisely, GT godfather Kazunori Yamauchi - has again demanded absolute perfection before releasing the game.
The strive for perfection, in how the cars look and sound and feel, is what turns some casual gamers off the series.
Some, like me at times, prefer simple arcade driving games, where the emphasis is on pure fun.
But Yamauchi-san and his team have never tried to hide their passion.
They want to create the most realistic driving simulation EVER.
And, while I am far from an expert in the automobile field, it seems they have succeeded.
Gran Turismo 5's reach extends to more than 1000 cars, including Lamborghini and Bugatti for the first time.
All of the cars look photo-realistic, with about a fifth of them giving "premier" treatment for even sexier graphics.
There are 70-plus tracks, including all the world's great motorsport meccas, as well as Dunsfold Park, the Top Gear test track.
Game modes included for the first time are rallying, Nascar and karting - the latter of which is magnificent fun.
Also included for the first time, after years of gentle criticism, is a damage model of sorts, though it is a pale imitation of other games.
As usual, the game features a massive GT mode in which you complete challenges to unlock licences, and compete in, oh, about a million events to unlock currency to buy new vehicles at various dealerships.
There is also a new B-Spec mode where you create a team of drivers and guide them through a series of races.
I wasn't convinced about this mode because it felt a little tacked-on, but I suppose it offers some variety.
For the first time, now I have joined the HD TV generation, I can truly appreciate how good GT 5 looks.
And it looks really, really good.
So real, so smooth, so jaw-dropping in places.
In terms of gameplay, it's an acquired taste.
Taking a realistic approach to driving physics means you have to be patient.
You can't just put your foot flat and hope to stay on the track, for instance.
And there is a lot of information to process, especially when it comes to tuning your machines.
But if you are prepared to put some time into it, there are rewards to be had.
For pure driving fans, it's nirvana.
