Gotta change my gaming philosophy!

For a while now, I've tried to "expand my horizons" by trying out a number of games from differing genres.

But I'm really getting sick of all the "almost-but-not-quite" games that I have on my steam backlog.

These games typically get high scores - like and 8 or in some cases even higher.

But rarely, I find, are these scores justified.

From now on, I'm just going to trust my instincts and buy a lot LESS games - focussing ONLY on the MUST HAVES.

...and on that note obviously we have doom4 and fallout 4. (and maybe galactic civilizations 3 or the evil within - but only if I'm sure they'll be amazing. Oh, and Wasteland 2 looks like it might be "up my alley" too.

thanks for the blog post?

@cyloninside:

Perhaps it would help if I was a bit more specific.

When I set aside some time for gaming - I don't want to be bothered with games that have me constantly checking the internet for tips/answers/walkthroughs etc. Nor do I want to be wasting a good 2 hours on monotonous and tedious gameplay.

Heck, if gaming is going to bore me to tears then I might as well just watch tv instead!

LOL....you would have never survived gaming in the 90s...

I get what you're saying... and I must admit - you're right!

Before I got the internet there were many a game that I just had to quit.

Like: aliens vs predator 2 - I was unable to get very far in either human, predator or alien mode.

civilization games - never had the slightest clue how in the heck these game work

Lara croft: angel of darkness - had to quit because it got to complicated.

I can understand Civilization (although you just needed to read the manual), but AvP2 and Lara Croft? Those weren't hard games.... I think you just give up too easily.

@FelipeInside:

civ is prob. not my thing tbh. I don't appreciate the underlying assumptions that the game makes. I'd rather just have fun and do whatever I feel like doing - but that doesn't work of course! - you have to follow their set pattern - as least in part.

avp2 - it wasn't so much that it was hard - just that I didn't know where to go to advance. But it's too late now (so dated lol)

angel of darkness - there were a couple of bits that took me AGES to figure out - like this part where you had to leap onto some rafters under the ceiling. But then it was just a mixture of texture bugs and tedium that ruined it for me. I got up to the part where you first see that dude on the motorbike - but I couldn't be bothered trying to figure out the things I needed to do and in what order. But it was quite atmospheric and intriguing though.

Dear diary, today me and jenny listend too our fav j biebs song again after skool, it was so rox te heetehee i cant wait too see our j biebs at cunsert again lols its gonna be so rad

@Bieberfan147:

But I'm sure there's many people than can relate to being disappointed with a lot of what's been on offer over the last few years. And they probably feel compelled to finish what they started to get their moneys worth. Whereas if they had only stuck to buying the games that they REALLY HAD to get - then there would be no frustration.

Maybe gaming isn't working anymore for you? It doesn't seem to hold your interest very much at the moment. Sometimes a break (by break I mean, several months or more) away from gaming may renew your interest towards it.

Anything that's slightly challenging you seem to give up on.....I fear you wouldn't have been able to play Zelda on the NES back in the day without throwing the controller at the TV or smashing the console out of frustration.

Also, do yourself a favor and don't listen to "critics" about games. Sure, read up on a game to see if might be something you're interested in and then decide if you want to try it out or not. But don't let someone eles's opinion make your decision about if you want to play a game or not. I never would have picked up Advent Rising years back if I went by what people said about the game - I enjoyed it. It had flaws, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the game. I certainly never would have played it if I went by what others thought about it.

While I do find you might give up a little Thereal25, I also understand where you are coming from. One of the most valuable things a person has (no its not currency) is time! So not wanting to have your time wasted on mediocre games, and super tedium in a world where there is a surplus of games. To the point where you could stay up, no sleep, no bathroom, nothing just gaming and wouldn't get close to completing them all. More games come out at a time now than you can possibly keep up with.

I have done something similar as I realize my time is a limited resource. I have decided to skip consoles for a while. (might get one for living room for blu-ray purposes) but I just don't have the time to spend console gaming. To just focus on PC gaming cleared a bit of that up. (although we still have a few ps3 games to complete)

There have been so many games that get close, but aren't quite there for me as well. One of the last/recent games I played over and over that I though was just an amazing game was COD4: Modern Warfare. Ever since then every Multiplayer FPS has left me feeling "well this is cool, but its not a real step up from, or evolution of the fun I had when playing COD4 online."

I try to narrow down the games I am interested in, but it seems like every month there are a few more announced that I am interested in.

The big ones for me (out of the highly anticipated games) are Metal Gear Solid 5, The Division, Elite Dangerous, among a few others. As well as at least half a dozen indie titles.

I realize now this long as post served 0 to help you lol, but I think I feel you.

That's what I do. I only buy what I'm interested in regardless of scores. It's incredibly rare that I pay any attention to review scores.

It means that each game you get is a game you have actually gone through the time to decide is right for you. You should never just listen to random people on the internet you don't trust, and that goes for reviews too.

Sounds like plan..... Keep us posted. :)

Honestly gaming is such a thing for me, I couldn't imagine giving up on it for months. The mere prospect sounds scary.

I think the key is not going on just the scores or overall popularity of games - but rather, sifting through WHY people like it or don't like it. In particular, I starting to find that the NEGATIVE reviews about games are very helpful. But I have to see exactly what they're saying though. Because sometime they're only being negative for silly reasons - like "it didn't work on my computer" or "it wasn't scary" or the story wasn't believable or whatever.

And the only other thing is INSTINCT. Sometimes I just know whether a game will be my thing or not.

Thanks for the reply - it's good to know I'm not alone!

Good heavens, the thought of having consoles to deal with as well... thankfully I'm just a pc gamer.

I think a lot of people are realising that pc games are a higher quality experience - and are ditching their consoles!

Ah, you've reminded me of Metal Gear Solid 5. Yes, that might be good - I've got my eye on that one.

But like I said - I'm going to be SUPER discerning from now on lol.

Thanks Lulu. I know I've had a few grumbles lately - but don't worry - when I find some games that are REALLY worthy of praise - I'll be sure to tell everyone about them!

@thereal25

I'm a big believer in people zeroing in what it is they like and why it its they like it..... They should be able to boil it down to a science.... It should facilitate gamers into finding games they like with ease, just by watching a video or reading about its mechanics.

I'd take that over GOTY's and Metacritic anyday.... However, like you, I'm having the exact same problem, I'm also stuck with a bunch of "almost but not quite" type of games, the only one that came anywhere close to Perfect was Portal 2. :)

@Lulu_Lulu:

I'm a big believer in people zeroing in what it is they like and why it its they like it..... They should be able to boil it down to a science.... It should facilitate gamers into finding games they like with ease, just by watching a video or reading about its mechanics.

Videos can be deceptive. I've never really bothered with gameplay videos that much because I don't like ruining the experience - but they might be a useful tool.

I'd take that over GOTY's and Metacritic anyday.... However, like you, I'm having the exact same problem, I'm also stuck with a bunch of "almost but not quite" type of games, the only one that came anywhere close to Perfect was Portal 2. :)

Portal 2 eh? I'm still trying to find the patience to get through portal 1. But you're the kind of guy that like puzzles - I respect that. But for me, if they take me too long too figure out I get mad!

Games that have been close to perfect for me are: Fallout 3, F.E.A.R. and Doom3. And in more recent times, RAGE and XCOM Enemy Unknown.

@thereal25

The only time a Video Deceived me was Bioshock Infinite's E3 Demo... I learnt a very harsh lesson about Preordering Games... Anyway, as an Extra Precaution I read the three worst reviews on Metacritic just to be safe.... I did that just before buying President Evil 6. :p

Good stuff. But be careful with the super negative reviews. In my experience, people who give scores like 0 or 1 are usually just letting their emotions get the better of them - and their complains are often poorly written and nonsensical.

Deceived in what? The game was awesome anyway.

@thereal25

Well thats not a problem those are the same people whos reviews are only two words long: "It Sucks !"

spotting haters is easy :)

@FelipeInside

I'm glad you liked it..... Atleast thats something..... There were two E3 Demos, The Highly Scripted one with an entirely different set of Powers and the other one involving the Blimp, both were nothing like the Final Product. Although that is abit of an exageration (and thats an understatement).