Working on gaming backlog

[wallwalker]

One thing I've noticed about my gaming history since I started Backloggery yesterday is that it was so much easier to "complete" games in the 8- and 16-bit eras. Heck, even the PSX/N64 stuff was easier to "complete" than this generation's games.

Part of it is because "completion" involves beating things on the highest difficulty and getting all of the achievements. I know that some people play solely for that - I do try to get complete playthroughs when I can on certain games as well, the ones that offer plot-related carrots. But that's just it. I play games to enjoy fun plots and see interesting characters. All I ask of the gameplay is that it be good enough not to really irritate me in the process. Most of the time it succeeds. Sometimes - as is the case of Dragon Age: Origins for me, more and more - it really doesn't. But if I want to play a game for the sake of gameplay, I play the sort of game that doesn't really have a deep plot to it, like a Katamari game.

(I haven't quite given up on DA:O yet. I mean, it has a great plot and characters that I really like, and the design team is awesome about what it chooses to include in its games, and I really want to like it. I really do. But the gameplay gets on my nerves to the point that I can't stand to play it.)

Comments

[squeemu]

I had that problem with FFXII, actually. The cities were just too big, there was too much extraneous information that I felt obligated to look at in case I missed something, and for all that, there weren't really any super exciting hidden gems.

And most of the older games had that. Well, the few I played, which wasn't really that many.

Then again, I haven't played enough newer games recently to properly complain. Just the latest FFs, really. I'm hoping that changes soon!