The core of Diablo is just to kill monsters over and over again, collect items and level up so you can simply repeat it all over again.
The core of angry birds is to fling your birds at stuff over and over again in slightly different ways.
The core of Counterstrike is just to pew-pew at other players over and over again.
And yet, each is (or was) a seriously addictive game that is/was very popular.
Most games at their core are fairly basic and repetitive.
At least with ED you are not fixed into doing a single type of task repetitively. You are free to chop and change as much as you like, and when that gets a little tiring, you can always go and do some pew-pew in CQC if that is your thing.
Diablo, or other hack and slash games are fun because they involve loot and action. There are always surprises in terms of drops, legendaries, unique items, and so on, and also enemy variety, in both look and abilities, that keep you surprised, challenged and entertained while playing. And the play session involves almost non stop action, with no time to get bored, only get burned out after too much clicking.
CS is one of the most popular games of all time, for a good reason. Every round is short, fast paced, with plenty of exciting moments, and leaving you always with a feeling that you can get better, and when you do, and you can get that impossible shot that you couldn't before, or flank an enemy because you know the map, its very satisfactory, and quite opposite of boring, no matter how many hours you put into it.
Elite is very slow paced in comparison, has no surprises, gives no feeling that you can get better, and even if you do get better, most of your enemies are npc's, which again bring no surprises, and so little satisfaction when you beat them. No loot means no surprises in that way, and most activities are monotonous, and involve moving from one place to another while spending a long time looking at a black screen filled with white dots.
In those games you don't need to create your own fun by using your imagination, the fun already exists.
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