Some games are still fairly short and sweet but still get caught up in the flurry of new releases. I finally got my hands on a Playstation 3 of my own earlier this year and with it, a new pile of exclusive games to play and never finish.
I have immensely enjoyed playing Uncharted, Killzone 2, inFamous and LittleBigPlanet so far but just don’t think to put them in and play them. I especially want to get Uncharted finished because I believe I am pretty much right at the end of the game and really want to have it done before the sequel arrives. Being someone who started on one console earlier, I obviously have the scenario where all my online buddies are on Xbox Live, which pushes me to switch the Xbox 360 on first just to see what everyones up to and eventually not even thinking to put the other one on.
This brings me onto my next point, multiplayer games. Gaming is gaming so whatever you are playing, you should be enjoying your hobby. Problem is that every now and then a game comes along that soaks up all of your time.
While I hadn’t really bothered playing any fighting games since Tekken Tag, I picked up a copy of Street Fighter 4 at launch and have found myself completely and undeniably addicted to the depth of the gameplay. So much so, that since it’s launch earlier this year I have already logged just on 430 hours of playtime in the game. On one side, I really enjoy playing the game but at the same time I want to curse it for stealing all of my limited gaming time and have found myself practically incapable of turning down a chance to play it if an invite should arrive.
So now, as the 2009 games rush arrives I find myself already making up my list of new games that I want, even when I have so many to still play. Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2, Forza 3, Borderlands, Batman, Dirt, Operation Flashpoint… phew, the list goes on and on.
What is even better/worse depending on how you look at it is that I don’t even want to hold off on buying some of these because so many games are now coming out during what would have been next years’ “dry season”.
How about you readers, do you keep your games limited, do you trade out or are you sitting with a similar set of issues? Leave a comment and tell us your plans for dealing with the onslaught of titles coming our way.
Last Updated: September 7, 2009
Geoff
September 7, 2009 at 12:55
Great feature, Nick.
I do try and finish the games I have before buying new ones, but I’m afflicted with burn-hole-in-wallet syndrome, and tend to buy games on release even though I’ll likely not play them.
I have a veritable stack of games waiting for my love, and they’ll get it…eventually.
Jimmytheediblewyrm
September 7, 2009 at 13:15
Too true buddy…
Shame upon all shames, i have yet to finish Mass Effect (60%), Fallout 3 (95%), Fable 2 (70%), Bioshock (2%), and Ninja Gaiden 2 (15%).
That being said, there are some games i have utterly and shamelessly molested… I have finished GTA4 3 times, COD4 around 9 times, GOW six times, GOW 2 three times, Bad Company 4 times, COD WAW 4 times, and i have clocked an utterly stupid amount of time in Forza 2.
I think it all comes down to what grabs me, all of those games i have always found to be great pick-up and play titles. I can pop them in, have a fun time, relax, and not have to use much cerebral input 😛
Also, i will almost always rather go go play multiplayer with friends than play a SP campaign. During the 6 months i was off Live, i clocked some serious single player time (picked up Fallout 3).
I game to relax/have a bit of fun, and for me, shooting things and trading paint with friends is the best way to do it.
ewie
September 7, 2009 at 13:26
Still have a few to finish from last year, bought a few second hand at great prices and they are still waiting to be finished. This year I only bought 2 games at retail.
Halo wars and Sacred2 , and still need to finish both, have progressed a lot on them, problem is the damn xbla.
Every second week a good game that need to be bought, and they are more impulse buys as well. See if there is microsoft points on my account and a good game get along, then i buy because the points are there, 2 weeks down the line points are gone but then a trails, or shadow complex hits, so of to buy points again (4200)
and the next cycle return, sitting with over 70 xbla games that way.
easy
September 7, 2009 at 13:39
if its not worth finishing the first time, then its not worth finishing at all.
thats the way i approach unfinished games.
Potty391
September 7, 2009 at 13:45
I’m afraid that I’m in exactly the same situation, I’ve got about 50 Xbox360 games of which I have only finished about 30 of them… most of them are good games. Problem is, the ones I’ve already finished are better/more fun so I have finished most of them 2 or more times (GTAIV comes to mind.
And now I’m not even speaking of PC games, i’ve got a backlog of hundreds of games to finish :cwy:
Geoff
September 7, 2009 at 13:50
That sort of thinking, and I’d never have experienced the magic of Fallout 3. My first time playing, I got 4 or 5 hours in but couldn’t get in to it and left it sitting for a few months.
I eventually got back and became hopelessly addicted, garnering another 80 hours of game time.
koldFU5iON
September 7, 2009 at 14:02
I had a similair evaluation of myself recently and I was determined to finish my myriad of titles bursting out of my cupboard. And I’ve managed to do well, but then I pick up an old game I remember playing put it in and then realise why I stopped playing it, I’ve got a new rule now if i’m not enjoying it and i’m getting more frustrated with each level then it’s going back into the drawer and labelled ‘do not play’ having a PS3 as well I’ve been playing a lot of the exclusives, and I’m almost finished inFAMOUS which I’m really enjoying and then it’s off to ratchet and clank.
Been playing a few GOW games as well I might as well get back into since I’ve got all of the maps now! just frustrated that I have to get online to play some games in Ranked I hate lag. XBLA is killing me too …Trials HD sucks … no it doesn’t … I :heart: it.
And I got stuck into EVE online as well .. my life is over..
evilredzombie
September 7, 2009 at 14:08
I have a max of 3 games at a time… that way i dont get distracted and actualy enjoy the game.
What fun is a game if you dont imerse yourself in teh full story and actualy finish it? ist like renting movies and never finsih watching them..
easy
September 7, 2009 at 14:11
i don’t know about fallout 3, but any game that only offers a couples hours of play before i go play something more exciting (here’s looking at your far cry 2 :angry: ), is not worth it.
so if i had decide to pick up fallout 3 and only clock up 4-5 hours before putting down in favour of something else… it would be gathering dust in my “miss-guided purchase” collection.
i don’t have time to complete games that didn’t grab me on the first outing, and if they did, they’d be completed. kinda like books… of which i have a massive pile of shame :blush:
dewej
September 7, 2009 at 14:52
the only games that work on my pc (that are fun) are team fortress 2 and cod 4, I play alot of tf2, but my dad only lets me play on the weekends :cwy: , wich obviously irratates the hell outa me, if games worked, i would have a huge problem getting them done 🙁
squirrely
September 7, 2009 at 15:06
I’ve stopped buying games on launch day and to be honest it’s not that bad. I buy better games – and I don’t sit around feeling guilty about not playing a game. I’ve also limited myself to buying 1 game at a time. Same with CD’s – i bought 8 cd’s the last time and I still haven’t even opened 6 of them – it’s a waste… you’re gonna spend more time on the better ones anyway.
0rk0
September 7, 2009 at 15:13
Maybe I’m just old school, but we used to play games to finish them. Be it arcade, PC or console.
I usually wait for the prices to drop to get more value for money and it gives me more time to decide what I want to play next.
I try to mix the game types of my next game.(RPG,FPS,Puzzle and Adventure)
Playing Sacred 2 now for almost 2 months without buying anything new. This also helps newer games to go to better prices.
If I do buy more than one game, then I usually finish the one first before even touching the next.
That way I’m less likely to fall into that trap of not playing a good game to the end.
It all comes down to self-discipline.
Reaver
September 7, 2009 at 16:07
Finally started on Bourne Conspiracy on Friday, still got Mirror’s Edge, Too Human, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space and Fallout 3 to get through. I think it’s safe to say that I’m screwed.
LazySAGamer
September 7, 2009 at 21:52
I’m so far behind at the moment that I am yet to start Bioshock properly and only recently finished Assassin’s Creed 🙁
I blame work and studying for ruining my gaming life, that and I am hopelessly addicted to MP games and the XBLA…
Dawid
September 9, 2009 at 14:22
Backlogs… we’ve all got them. However, I’m glad to say that I finished well over 15 games in August, purely because I was trying to catch up with backlog. I’ve only got about 5 games left now (excluding online downloads). So, it’s very possible to rid yourself of your waste seeing that you make the time for it. Bring on the holiday games!