I have a confession to make: I don't finish games..

[Critical Kills]

I have a confession to make. I don't finish games. Or not very often anyways. I often buy games and don't play them enough to get my moneys worth. I'd like to think it all balances out but it probably doesn't. But that's just how I roll. And since I got married my wife has gotten me a LOT better about not spending a lot of money on games I won't finish. I went from probably 15-20 games per year to about 8-10 per year. The rest I rent. And yes sometimes I keep them way longer than I should as I just sometimes am not "in the mood" to play a game and I simply let it sit there, unopened.

I asked myself why I am so bad at finishing games and there's a few reasons for that.

First, and probably most importantly, I have gamers ADD. I don't have the commitment usually to finish one thing before moving on to something else. If a game doesn't really hook me in the first couple of times playing it chances are I may never play it again unless it is to just show it to a buddy. Game that hook me, like Diablo, The Division, Gran Turismo, Ryse, Forza (the main games not the Horizon ones) etc usually get a huge amount of play time for me.

I used to be able to say that about football, when NCAA was out, but now that its just Madden I play it usually some during the football season and thats about it. I think I play FIFA more than Madden. I used to wonder, what is wrong with Madden? Well not so sure there's anything wrong with it, when I play it I really enjoy it, but nothing really compels me to play it so it doesn't get played often.

Second, I'll make a startling confession that will only startle those who don't know me. Despite being a long time gamer I'm just not very good at games. Oh sure I can blame it on my propensity to imbibe adult beverages or my eyesight and hearing, or even my age (I am 46 now) but I must confess, in the spirit of confessing, that its really none of that. They all probably serve to make me a shade worse but even when I was young I was turning the controller over to a friend asking me to "get me through this level" so yeah...

And lastly, and this is also very important. I lack patience to get through the "boring" parts. Or in many cases I lack patience to simply get through a game where I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do to advance. You see I'm not a mind reader and sometimes it is not quite obvious that I should move the third rock from the left, then drain some water and climb up to the third floor to access the next level. If I was stuck in a cave in that situation for real I'd be the guy whose skeletal remains were found 47 years later.

Thankfully game developers have started making these sequences a bit easier with clues showing up on where you're supposed to go, or outright hints that are told to you. I hear a lot of gamers getting all angry about those things and saying it makes the game too easy but I say buzz off! If you don't like the feature then show some damned self control and don't use it.

I realize I don't finish a lot of the games that I play but I'm still in love with gaming. And it makes it better for me and those like me that many games are "dumbing down" their games, or as the developers like to say "making them more accessible" to those who work for a living and don't have the time, patience or commitment to really dedicate to a game.

So the next time you think a game is too easy, think of me. The next time you think a game is too short, think of me. I'm the guy who the rewind button in Forza was invented for. And I'm not afraid to admit it!

#gamer4LIFE

[mgoblue]

Totally. I had to stop this behavior. Since November I've only purchased Fallout 4. I also own AC: Syndicate and Halo 5, but got those when I was trading in my Xboxes to fix hard drives.

I mostly only play on weekends at this point, so I'm making myself play through Fallout 4, got the DLC, and just enjoying that. It's got the ability to save any time, along with awesome story quests to go out and follow. Enough to satisfy my single player desires.

I can't afford to waste money on things I don't play anymore.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Odogg my man, your not alone, I have the same issue, it like buying the games has become my hobby, my son beats them all and I still haven't touched most of my games yet.


I have over 70 games digital downloaded on my hadr drive.


My son is bad *** beating the games. He already Beat Quantum Break. He's only 7

[DickDalewood]

Yah man... guilty here as well. A big part of it is just being a grown up and not having time. I still buy games like I'm in high school or college but do so with the time constraints of an adult. As a result, many a game goes unfinished. Sucks


Like Blue, I've had to really force myself out of the habit of buying and into the reality of patience and selection.

[FinsUp75]

I've recently come to the conclusion, and therefore an internal calm, that because as you have all mentioned, I'm an adult with responsibilities, a job, kids and a wife, etc etc. And that conclusion is that that I still love gaming, and many a game that I purchase will go unfinished. The experience of playing each game, whether it gets finished or not, regardless of time exhausted, is the payoff I will be satisfied with going forward. Not worrying myself with an ever-growing list has made me feel better.

Before this generation, I told my wife I was only going to have one game unfinished at a time, and wouldn't purchase another until that happened. Well, that didn't last too long as eventually the glut of releases and wanting to experience those different worlds/sports/etc. won out over seeing a game out to its finale.

I'm at ease with this mindset because it's allowed me to not feel burdened by this long list of games that go unbeaten, rather, I'm able to dabble if I want or take a deep dive if the game lives up to it (currently The Division and The Show have given me that deep dive desire).

[NYGiants4Natic]

The key for me is buying disc for games I know will be beaten within a week or two and can trade it.

Games I download which is most of them I only beat if the game is good.

Games I have but never beat

Wolfenstein (I try to get into it but just cant for some reason)
Evil Within (I still want to beat it but never seem to get into it)
COD BO3 Campaign (First time in COD history did not bother with it)
Infamous Second Son (Bored me to death after a few days)
Destiny (Bored me)
Division (Bored me)
MGS 5 (Bored me)
Far Cry 4 (Bored me)
Primal (Bored me)

Games I beat and loved it

Witcher 3 (Beat it on both ps4 and xb1 and dlc)
Last of US (Remastered beat 2 times)
GTA 5 (Beat it on PS4 and now playing on XB1)
Bloodborne (Beat it 4 times) Got Platinum on game and DLC)
The Order 1886 (Did not love it but beat it in 7 hours)

Games i play most

Madden I play every game on nfl schedule as I control all 32 teams with accurate rosters and injuries. Takes me a full year to finish

NBA 2K (Season mode just one team one season takes me a few months

The SHow (Play 162 game season but never get past 100 games)

[Gotmadskillzson]

I beat 99% of the games I buy. But then again I tend to only buy games that I know for a fact will interest me and not just buy games just because everybody on OS have it. I know what I like and know what I don't like. Only games I haven't beaten were The Witcher 3 (got bored to death and the game wasn't as good as I thought it would be) and The Division. I plan on beating The Division though just don't have the time for it.

[jeremym480]

I think I'm even worse than you, Odogg. I buy games then never even play them. My problem is that I get sucked into sports games and want to keep my franchise going every time I turn on my console.

I bought Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Order: 1886 and both Wolfenstein games on Black Friday and have only started Tomb Raider. Around Christmas I played it for probably 4 or 5 hours and haven't had the desire to play it again since. Hell, I bought Shadow of Mordor during a BF sale in 2014 and haven't played it yet either.

... and the bad thing is I'm already looking forward to games like Uncharted 4 and Mafia III. Which those or two of my favorite franchises so I'm sure I will play them, but those other games will continue to be on the back-burner.