A World of Games

Trying to play too many games at the same time is the main reason I hardly ever finish any game in my substantial backlog. It’s also the reason that I got severely burned out on gaming a few years ago despite the fact that the last few years have seen a surge in the release of quality games. Unfortunately, the prospect of another 60 to 200 hour game, no matter how amazing it is, became something I dreaded rather than anticipated.

What’s brought this into my mind is the recently released trailer for Fallout 4 as well as the severe drop in my free gaming time since last year. My first thought when seeing the trailer was,

“I should really pick up the GOTY editions of Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas and play through them before Fallout 4 releases.”

Now you should realize that both games, along with all their DLC, will total hundreds upon hundreds of hours of quests and adventures through the post-apocalyptic wastelands of the United States of America. Where exactly I would ever find that sort of free time in my life as it currently is, is unknown! The best I can do these days is to squeeze out an hour of gaming time at most after I get home from work and maybe 2 hours or so on a Friday evening when I can stay up late.

Nonetheless, it is possible for me to play through long games still. Case in point, Red Dead Redemption, which I am currently playing through on the PS3 whenever the urge strikes me. The problem is that there is no way on earth I could split my limited time (and attention!) between several big release games and ever hope to finish them or to even enjoy my time in their worlds.

Returning to games I’ve played previously is a waste of my time when I could be playing and enjoying my time with new games and experiences. And yet in the case of games such as Red Dead Redemption there is just such a lure that it is impossible to resist revisiting the worlds they offer up. Thankfully the games that manage to draw me in for a second serving are few and far between with most of those games being served up by the geniuses at Rockstar.

So as someone who has always identified as a gamer where does this leave me? I still play games, although far less, and do keep on the lookout for games that are exceptional and worth taking the time to savour rather than rush through in an effort to get through as many games as possible. Maybe the positive side of this is that it also means I’ll be far better off financially with less money being spent on games that I never get to experience to their fullest!

• Gaming