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[human5892]

Not smash the cart or disk, of course, but do you finish your games?

I make a pretty good effort to play all the way through a game (and I'm using the "see the ending" definition here, not "see all five endings and collect all 98 pieces of secret cheese") as long as the game is at least reasonably enjoyable, but I don't make it a personal vendetta if a game is too challenging or requires too much of a time investment. I'd say about 70% of all the games I've played, I've beaten to some degree. From my experience, I represent a middle-ground of sorts -- I know people who couldn't give a shit if they don't get past level two, and I also know some who scoff and tell me I'm "wasting money" when they hear of a game I've given up on for whatever reason.

How about you?

 

[Ranger X]

Yes.
I paid for them. And i paid because they were worth my money and time.

 

[Solid]

if i dont beat a game i usually sell it. that way i can still look at my collection and feel proud :lol

 

[ikalugar]

I try.

 

[human5892]

if i dont beat a game i usually sell it. that way i can still look at my collection and feel proud :lol

That's an interesting method. I sort of know what you mean -- sometimes when I look at my shelves, it's almost like the unbeaten ones are mocking me for being too weaksauce.

 

[BlackNMild2k1]

I don't even play most of my games let alone beat them. A game has to keep my attention away from the next new game to get the attention and time it needs to get beaten.

 

[Tenacious-V]

Play through the ones I'm really interested in. If I'm like obsessed with it at the time, I'll try for a 100% completion, but it doesn't really matter. Games like SSBM, you gotta do everything though, for multiplayer gaming sake.

Some games I just won't care after a while and just quit, others will be a half assed attempt, just to finish it.

So it depends on the game really. I guess as long as it keeps my interest I'll try, but if it sucks or bores me, then I don't fucking care if I don't get past the first level.

 

[Ranger X]

if i dont beat a game i usually sell it. that way i can still look at my collection and feel proud :lol

Nice alternative

 

[flarkminator]

I almost never beat a game, mostly because games today aren't good at holding my attention. I get bored easily I guess. However games that I do beat, I seem to beat them multiple times. I had 4 seperates games of FFX all of them above 50 hours. GoW is one of the few games I beat this generation. The games that I beat do something that more games should do and try to make every level and area feel new and different from previous areas. Keeps the game fresh. God of War was AWESOME about that. Everything always felt new.

 

[human5892]

The games that I beat do something that more games should do and try to make every level and area feel new and different from previous areas. Keeps the game fresh. God of War was AWESOME about that. Everything always felt new.

I agree. Seeing a new area or enemy is always a great way to keep me motivated and is my "reward" for continuing to play.

I don't even play most of my games let alone beat them. A game has to keep my attention away from the next new game to get the attention and time it needs to get beaten.

This is why I have an internal rule -- I usually don't allow myself to play more than one or two games at once, even when my backlog is gigantic. I know that if I move on prematurely, I might never go back.

 

[Ristamar]

I try to beat a good portion of them once I start playing them (probably around 90% of the games I own and played). Untouched games in the backlog don't count, as I don't know if I'll even keep them.

 

[vatstep]

I buy games that I am potentially interested in. Then, I either beat them 100%, or never play them. I'm obsessive in that when I play a game, I have to clear it completely. So, if I'm not feeling up to doing this with a certain game, I just pretty much won't play it at all, or I'll just give up on it early.

I wish I could play games like a normal person again.

 

[Pimpbaa]

I always finish my games. I probably wouldn't if I bought every decent game that came out, but I'm more selective.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

95% of the time, yes

If the game pisses me off, or is too difficult, or I lose interest - I don't. But most games I buy are considered AAA (I am really picky usually) and I want to beat what I bought as well.

 

[Mashing]

I usually beat them in the sense that I beat the final boss in a game, but I usually don't r eplay them to get 100%/unlock everything. It doesn't help that I have mostly RPGs which are generally very difficult to replay over and over because they are so long.

 

[CompositeMolar]

If I like a game I will finish it, if I don't like it I won't.

Simple concept no?

 

[GrimReaper]

I finish all my games and I always try to unlock everything (unless things to unlock are not worth it).

 

[Boogie]

Hells yeah. Those little fuckers just never learn.

 

[GamerShu]

Hells yeah. Those little fuckers just never learn.

the word Hells has got to be stopped!!!

 

[LakeEarth]

I try. I'd say I beat 80% of them, not counting the backlog I intend to beat.

 

[Gorgie]

I just beat San Andreas. That's a looong game.

 

[Boogie]

the word Hells has got to be stopped!!!

stfu noob, or I'll beats ya like I beats my copy of True Crime.

 

[human5892]

I try. I'd say I beat 80% of them, not counting the backlog I intend to beat.

That raises a related question, I think -- do you actually go back to your backlog eventually, or do the games fall by the wayside permanently?

Thus far, I've been pretty good about going back, but only because my backlog is not very large.

 

[LakeEarth]

Well since Christmas I've been working on my backlog and Street Fighter 3rd Strike. Since then I have beaten... 5-6 games, and I'm working on Metroid Prime 2 (in 'robot world' right now), and I only got Psi-Ops and Tales of Symphonia to go, as well as a Harvest Moon I bought 4 months ago but never even put into my GC :lol

Problem is I keep finding games for cheap and grabbing them (which explains Psi-Ops). So I don't know if I'll beat those games in time before I grab something else, though there aren't any games till Zelda that I'm really really really looking forward to.

EDIT - but I don't 'complete' games like I used to. I intended to get all the territories in San Andreas but I wanted to get started on the next game.

 

[Digital Dark World]

Whenever I play a game I have this annoying fear of not being able to beat the game especially when I've almost finished all levels and beaten all bosses except the final ones. So yes, I usually beat the games I buy.

 

[Rei_Toei]

Only if the story keeps me interested. Which doesn't happen too often. It also depends on the genre. I suck at finishing FPS and Action-Adventure games, usually because I grow bored with it and the stories aren't impressive. If an RPG has me hooked in the first couple of hours, I'll finish it most of the time.

 

[Wario64]

if i pay full price, hell yeah i'm finishing it

if i pay $5-10, i'll give high priority to games that are actually fun

 

[theREBELins]

I recently got rid of a shitload of games that I suddenly realized I had no intentions of finishing or even playing. I much prefer to play through a game, and if I enjoyed it a lot, then keep it so I can replay through it (and if there's a big gap between play throughs this can be a little nostalgic).

I'm doing a test next gen though - I'm going to buy one single game (I guess it would have to be a storyline driven game, ie not racing) when I get my 360, and play the hell out of it and finish it, and then read reviews, do some research, then get another game, and so on and so forth I find I hate video games when I get too many of them, as they become burdens, so I'm trying to emulate my days as a little kid when the space between games was a considerable amount of time, giving me the freedom to experience the games in full.

Also, I guess the satisfaction in beating a game in this case could be even greater because when I see the credits roll, I know I can run out and get a new game to enjoy!

 

[Tarazet]

No, games are way too long now. I used to beat every game in the Genesis days because they were only 5-6 hours long. Now even a racing game can take 50 hours to finish.

 

[soul.less]

Most of the games I own I actually haven't finished... honestly, I need to start finishing more games before I buy new ones.

 

[Hyoushi]

Yes. All of them. As thoroughly as possible.

 

[Ponn]

I've decided I have ADD and have a hard time concentrating and beating games all the way through. Just like movies, very few hold my attention all the way through. I decided to slow down on getting games and pick and choose a bit more wisely. I love RPG's, but damned if I can actually finish them. Suikoden 4 was a waste of money for me and still haven't beaten Fable.

 

[Teddman]

No, games are way too long now. I used to beat every game in the Genesis days because they were only 5-6 hours long. Now even a racing game can take 50 hours to finish.

No kidding. I really have to choose my RPG's carefully nowadays, because it's a huge time investment at the expense of playing other games--so it better be good.

Boy, did I make the wrong choice along those lines one time when I decided to play Xenogears.

I don't understand replaying a long game unless it's part of a very select few or offers substantial extra content, like Chrono Trigger or one of the Bioware-style RPG's. I got a big pile of shame and I'm going to play a game twice when there's dozens I have even played at all?

 

[human5892]

I don't understand replaying a long game unless it's part of a very select few or offers substantial extra content, like Chrono Trigger or one of the Bioware-style RPG's. I got a big pile of shame and I'm going to play a game twice when there's dozens I have even played at all?

I'll replay a game if it was extraordinarily short but fun. For example, I beat Ace Combat 4 on normal within about 3.5 hours, so after that I immediately started again on hard before moving on to a new game in my backlog -- I was having fun with the game and didn't want it to end so quickly, even if there were other games ahead.

Now, I usually start games on the highest difficulty level offered to try and offset this, although some games are just over quickly no matter what you do.

 

[Prospero]

I give a game a chance to rope me in, but my free time is far more valuable than my money--if a game doesn't justify itself to me within 10 hours or so, I usually don't continue with it. It's rare that a game can't grab my interest within 10 hours, though.

On rare occasions I'll get to a final boss or final stage and just say, "Screw it." Lost Kingdoms is one example of this, and Advance Wars 2 is another. (In AW2's case it's just because I'm weaksauce, though--I keep saying to myself that I need to go back to that final mission and finish it off.)

 

[Mr Nash]

Of course, and I beat the crappy ones with a pipe while I'm at it.

 

[Tarazet]

No kidding. I really have to choose my RPG's carefully nowadays, because it's a huge time investment at the expense of playing other games--so it better be good.

Boy, did I make the wrong choice along those lines one time when I decided to play Xenogears.

I don't understand replaying a long game unless it's part of a very select few or offers substantial extra content, like Chrono Trigger or one of the Bioware-style RPG's. I got a big pile of shame and I'm going to play a game twice when there's dozens I have even played at all?

My pile of shame is pretty small, but it includes a little game called Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics. I bought it as a speculatory thing, but I forgot that for a game to become rare and valuable, it actually has to be, you know, vaguely desirable. It's not that it's a bad game at all, but it's so dense that only a handful of people could ever really get the full benefit of it.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I can get rid of it without giving up a loss of the entire retail price.

 

[Johnas]

I try to finish most games. Some I just let slide if I end up disappointed in them. Right now, I am furiously working on my backlog before this fall arrives (Zelda, DQVIII, Shadow of the Colossus, Everyone Loves Katamari, etc.) but I know I'll only be able to put a decent dent in it at best.

When certain new titles come out (A Zelda game, for instance) I put my whole backlog on hold again. No way am I gonna wait until I finish some probably mediocre game when Twilight Princess arrives. So I guess I have a sort of hierarchy to my games, finishing the great ones first.

 

[John Harker]

Rarely.

A game is lucky if I pass the 8-hour mark.

I usually only beat games with really good storylines, which is very difficult to find these days.

Such wastes of money....

I probably have a 35-40% game-completion rate.

 

[ProgramFighter]

I don't even play most of my games let alone beat them. A game has to keep my attention away from the next new game to get the attention and time it needs to get beaten.

^^^Pretty much sums up how I am. Between competing with new games I purchase and everything else in my life, I don't usually beat my games unless I really enjoy them. This pretty much sums up how everything is in my life from books to games. Some games that I have beaten this gen include Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Metroid Zero Mission and Fusion (Man, I loved those two.), Jak and Daxter, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and some others.

 

[Ironclad]

I always finish the games I buy. Sure, I have a backlog sitting here taunting me but that's because my purchasing frequency has been increased. My completion rate has not been affected. It all depends on what games I want to finish first. Something like Psychonauts comes up, I can easily put my backlog progression on hold and really sink my time into it beating it as many times as I want and getting 100% completion.

 

[Umpteen]

I beat the games I can. I'm pretty limited in what I can play though. I've only been actually gaming (not counting street fighter and tetris) since I was about 17. I can't do FPS for crap, I can't play 2d fighters at all. Some action/adventure types even outsmart me eventually.

But I do try, and I am always proud of myself when I manage to beat one.

 

[VALIS]

Forcing yourself to finish games you're not enjoying is what makes people burn out on video games completely. The only obligation I feel is to give games at least a few hours of play, even if it sucks right from the beginning. At that point you're either gonna keep playing because you're having fun or stop because you're not.

 

[Teddman]

Forcing yourself to finish games you're not enjoying is what makes people burn out on video games completely.

No kidding, I used to sweat it and think, "When am I gonna finish all my games! I have to finish X game before I buy Y game!" etc.

Now I just remind myself that games are about having FUN. Unless it's for a review or something, there's no reason to force yourself to play a game or "clear your schedule" in preparation for a new game. Just play whatever you want when you want to...

 

[human5892]

The only obligation I feel is to give games at least a few hours of play, even if it sucks right from the beginning.

Definitely. I can't stand when people give a game three minutes and then shout "BORING, SUCKS". If I had that attitude I might never have gotten into Majora's Mask, which turned out to be my favorite Zelda game.

 

[HAOHMARU]

I've been bad about this. I backlog like a mofo...but it seems that I never have time to play them all so they just sit in my collection.

When I get the AAA titles on release day I always finish them, I won't play anything else until I complete it. I usually don't go for 100% because I like to move on.

I'll always backlog though. I know that in some point in time I will get to them and beat them. I have a huge collection of AAA titles for the Sega Saturn I still haven't gotten to...samething for the PSX. I've beaten almost all of the Dreamcast games so I guess I've done the best on that console. Current generation I've been bad because I have all three consoles plus a JP PS2. I've probably completed only a small portion of that collection...

I just did another backlog splurge for the PS2 and GC too...mostly RPGs. I always buy for cheap unless there is a rare title I have to shell out for. I love backlogging and getting 3 titles I always wanted for about $60...instead of buying brand new and would have paid $150.

 

[bob_arctor]

Not like I used to, no way. Now, games have to be verrrryyyy compelling in order for me to see it through.

Great examples:
Resident Evil 4--ate it up in about a week and change.
Ninja Gaiden--aside from actually never starting it till way after if came out, 2 weeks and done.
Metroid Zero Mission--too short but oh so sweet.

That's pretty much it for semi-recent stuff (I'm leaving out racing games on purpose).

Currently re-playing Zelda:ALTTP. About to finish the Dark Palace--just need to shoot that one statue in the eye and extend that hallway. The game is the physical definition of compelling. I say I finish it (again) by Sunday at the most.

I dunno, but games today just don't seem to "hit" me in that sweet spot like they used to. Too many "me too" genres maybe, too much cynicism on my part probably.

 

[JPRaup]

I rarely do, I have ADD

 

[Oracle Dragon]

Im trying to finsih all of my games that I can right now... Im REALLY far behind. Im trying to tie up Code Veronica X on PS2 today for God's sake.

I'm tired of having these big video game collections. It cost me thousands of dollars, and I just don't have that kind of time any more (or money!). Im trying to finsih them ASAP, and then my plan is to sell them all, along with my Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube. Then buy an X360. My goal is to only buy a game if it is HUGE and takes many, many hours to complete (like Oblivion), or it has fantastic multiplayer that I will be using all the time. All of the rest Im just going to rent. I look at all these games that I paid $60 each for; yeah they are great, but once I finsih them I will never play them again. Sure I can sell them for $20, but I'm still out $40. I would have been better off renting them for a week for $20.

 

[johnjohnson]

I always try to beat my games. This year I've already finished 18 titles which is more titles than I completed in 2002 and 2003 combined. But I'm far from finishing all games I buy.