Topic: Help K-man get through his backlog!

[K-man]

So yeah anyone who spends a little time in IRC knows how much anxiety my backlog causes.  I've decided it becomes much more approachable when I look at games from just this console generation.  I am ashamed that most of these are even in my backlog status, but hey, I'm making progress at least.  We formulated and started abiding by a budget last month and I found out it's much cheaper to play what I have than going out and buying what I don't.

I am about to finish up Yakuza 2 and I need a break from the series before I jump into 3.  So I'm really up for playing something completely different.

[Quemaqua]

Skyrim is a bad idea because you'll never "finish" it, probably, and as much as I want to say Dark Souls, you could wait on that for the DLC to hit. If you've partially finished something, it's generally a good idea to finish that first prior to jumping into something else, as the longer you stay away the less likely you are to finish. Still, I voted for LA Noire just because I suspect it's something most people either love or hate. If you love it, you'll blow through it. If you're not really into it, you'll probably figure that out pretty quick.

[idolminds]

I voted Bulletstorm because if you're partially finished then there can't be much left.

[Xessive]

I voted Arkham City because that is an experience you shouldn't pass up! It's not lengthy like Skyrim but it is a fantastic story with great gameplay!

[MysterD]

I voted Bulletstorm because if you're partially finished then there can't be much left.

Agreed.
Took me somewhere around 8-10 hours in total for Bulletstorm, if I recall.

Might as well knock that one off, since he's "partially" there...
And a good way to get one done ASAP and make him feel good that he punched one of the backlog.

Plus, I thought Bulletstorm kicked-ass, hehe. Good roller-coaster ride of a shooter.

[TheOtherBelmont]

Xenoblade Saga?  Do you mean Xenoblade by itself or Xenoblade with the previous Xenosaga titles on the PS2?  Either way, I am going to be totally bias and say you play that/those next.  Xenoblade is still my favorite game that I have played this year, but the only downside to playing it next is that it is a beast of a game and will take awhile to finish if you want to do everything or close to everything.

[Pugnate]

Play the game you most want to. I tried to 'finish' my backlog for two years when I realized that it had turned me off from gaming to the point where I hadn't played a game in two years! I would continue to try and slog through some dated game that was absolutely not fun to play, while continuing to buy new ones which were getting dated by the minute as well.

In the end, just play what you want to. If you've gotten a few hours out of a game, and there is a new game you'd rather play... accept this. Let go of the anxiety and accept that you won't get more hours out of certain games. Those that you bought new and sat around because you never got the time, bought compulsively, and can't stand playing through them... write them off as a loss.

Start afresh. It helped me fall in love with video games again.

[MysterD]

Play the game you most want to. I tried to 'finish' my backlog for two years when I realized that it had turned me off from gaming to the point where I hadn't played a game in two years! I would continue to try and slog through some dated game that was absolutely not fun to play, while continuing to buy new ones which were getting dated by the minute as well.

In the end, just play what you want to. If you've gotten a few hours out of a game, and there is a new game you'd rather play... accept this. Let go of the anxiety and accept that you won't get more hours out of certain games. Those that you bought new and sat around because you never got the time, bought compulsively, and can't stand playing through them... write them off as a loss.

Start afresh. It helped me fall in love with video games again.

Some games, just for the life of me just cannot finish - i.e. Darksiders 1 PC. No matter how much I like this game or really want to finish this game, it just ain't clicking, for whatever reason. Whether it's a tough boss or not sure of where to go next or what to do next - yeah, I dunno...

Some games, after a few hours - I've just had enough and am done with it...and don't even want to look at it or go back EVER. It'd like after a while, I feel like I've seen & played enough.

I was planning to go to something else like driving & racing games, after Xenus 2. I got the knack to play TDU2 for a bit and got back into that on Saturday - b/c of it's free-form and open-world nature. Got hooked on that for a bit - it's just one of those games I kick around and play, here and there. After having enough of that by yesterday evening, I tried to jump back to Driver: San Francisco - but dammit, one quest just drives me nuts (Lil Bay quest)...and I gave up on trying that quest, for now...


I played a (somewhat) older game of recently - i.e. Xenus 2: White Gold. And even despite its bugs; not-so-great text translation; having to mod the game up (throw in the Russian audio to fix audio issues and toss in Wesp's latest unofficial patch); having to reload older saves b/c of a glitch/bug/broken quest (and losing 5-10 hours in one part, and then again losing another 2 hours later somewhere else) -- I just couldn't put the damn game down. The gameplay, open-world, and questing was basically what I really wanted out of (the disappointing) Far Cry 2. There just was something about Xenus 2 - basically, it's a better-made and better put-together Boiling Point.

And dammit, now I got the same sickness w/ The Precursors - started that up last night after getting tired of Driver: SF's frustrations last night. I just intended take a quick look at Precursors and see how it is...and now I'm bloody freaking hooked. There's just something about these "shoot for the moon" and incorporate the kitchen-sink Russian-developed style of games like GSC's STALKER series and these Deep Shadows games that just seem to speak to me, even despite their technical issues, for some bloody reason...

[TheOtherBelmont]

It's calling to you.  Don't fight it.

[sirean_syan]

I voted Batman. It short enough that you can blow through (provided you don't get sucked into the side stuff too much) and it's completely awesome. It's an easy simple choice.

For me, if I don't finish a game there's usually a reason even if the most immediate reason was another game or something completely outside of gaming. Plus, going back to games is hard for me if I don't start again. Short games I feel like there's not much lost if you restart (Bulletstorm) and longer games it's hard to restart (Skyrim). So, I don't think that just because you're well into a game doesn't necessarily mean it should get special preference. That said, you can should also go get some MOTHER FUCKING METROID! You know, if you feel like it.