I generally don't play Survival Horror games, because, well, they stress me out and when I'm escaping from reality the last thing I look for is that kind of stress.
I recently picked up Dead Space because my friends and younger brother were talking about how good it was.
So, against my better judgment I picked it up and played it for about 2 hours last night. After having enough stress I saved and turned it off.
I spent the next several hours thinking about why I played it, because, frankly, it really stressed me out and wasn't terribly enjoyable - though I do have to say Stasis and surgical dismemberment is quite fun.
So while I was contemplating why I played the game when for the most part I found it to be stressful and not terribly enjoyable (not because of the gameplay or mechanics purely because of stress the environment induces in me) asked myself, 'well, how would you deal with that situation if you were in it?'
That's when I figured out why I kept playing it, because I would keep on going - just like you have to on Issac Clarke. It was an interesting revelation, and it has made me look forward to turning Dead Space back on today after work.
So the last game I played was Dead Space, and it's shown me I'm a determined person who perseveres...even if at the time I do not find it enjoyable and really stressful