I Hate Gaming Droughts!

[lost]

Post-christmas has been a difficult time for me. The holiday season brought an orgy of awesome titles to play, not for a long time have I consistantly bought games and they have consistantly been hits.

However, since Uncharted (I think) there hasn't been a release which I was truly excited about. This week that's resolved with Burnout Paradise but I'd like to share my pain.

Every gamer knows that there are certain games you let pass by in order for these dry spells to be filled. The issue with this now however is that the length of games means you get through a whole lot more than you thought you would. For example I intended to play either Jericho, Timeshift OR Blacksite. I ended up playing all three.

This trend continued and I have quite literally ended up scraping every last morsel from back catalogues. This has resulted in some pleasant surprised...and some major disappointments.

So what follows is an aid to those of whom perhaps hesitate over a title.

One huge surprise was Stuntman Ignition. After playing the demo I was left with the impression that the developers had got rid of the tightness of the first game and left a sloppy controlling mess. The final game was tightened up excellently. Very few of the missions are dull and many many of them outshine AAA titles for sheer awesomeness. Definately worth the price it's on offer for.

To balance out this DO NOT EVER BUY THE BEE MOVIE GAME. Metacritic reviews suggested this was an intelligent next gen platformer with plenty of easy fun to be had. The biggest compliment you can award this game is that you truly feel that you are a bee as you play some of the most humdrum gaming ever.

Flip-flop. The Syphon Filter series has seen a bit of a rebirth on the PSP and Logan's Shadow is easily one of the consoles best games. It has a perfectly crafted blockbuster story and some satisfying shoot outs. It does make me yearn for a big console verison however.

Continueing on, I thoroughly enjoyed Doom 3 and found most of the criticism pushed it's way to be hyperbole. Quake 4 was a shoe in right? Wrong. I get half way through and it's like somebody cracked open an ants nest. Bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs! It's not that it's a bad game, it just became unplayable.

Further raiding the early titles of the 360 Amped 3 is great fun. You can pick this up dirt cheap and if your a fan of extreme sports titles it's something pleasingly familiar and decidedly different all at once.

Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter 5 and Halo 3 all provided some fun and again you can already find them in bargain bins or sale racks.

I have had the good fortune with my PS3 to have played not one single shit game on it. This perhaps explains why I'm in love with it so. The same can't be said for the Wii. After the brilliance of Super Mario Galaxy games like Dewy's Adventure and Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 felt boring and backwards. I have no trouble believing that 3rd party Wii games don't sell. There's a reason, most aren't very good.

Rounding up the rant Medal of Honor Airborne was incredibly frustrating, Overlord turned into a buggy mess and Eternal Sonata became stranded in it's own concept, failing to break out and create something for itself or execute it's unique, interesting premise.

So there we go. I just thought I'd share as my gaming has been so erratic and polarised this last month that I'm desperate for titles like Turok, Burnout and Conflict: Denied Ops to truly get my teeth sunk into. I'm happiest as a gamer when every week there is one standout title which I can enjoy.

So how about you guys? How'd you pass the time?

[Heretic Machine]

Well... if I had the money, I'd go out and buy one of the dozen or so games that came out in the past six months, which were awesome, but I never got to play. Or I'd just wait until Tuesday and pick up No More Heroes, or Endless Ocean for the Wii. Not to mention Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin for the DS. I'm sure there is some stuff coming out soon on the 360 and PS3 too.

I don't know how you people just go through games so quickly. Hell, if I were gaming like you, I'd think I'd just invest in an MMO and be done with it.

[Baron Samedi]

You obviously don't own a DS.

[Krom]

I usually go outside.

[Disgustipated]

Use Gamefly, if you're spending money on all of these games you need to rethink your finances.

[jacob.armitage]

this season i mostly played CoD4 online.
picked up Tomb Raider legend for cheap, had a blast playing through that, as well as Beautiful Katamari for $20... which is about all its worth.
viva pinata also sucked up quite a bit of my time.
and played through Gears of war with the Mrs. co-op. i think next up is halo 3 with her.

i still have assassins creed still waiting to be cracked open.

with DMC4, lost odyssey and burnout paradise on the horizon the next few months are going to be great. i certainly don't think we are seeing anything of a drought.

[dbh1973]

You must be a student, otherwise there's no way you'd have time for all those games if you held a job or had a family. I just finished Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP and I still have a ton of games to finish. Not only that, thanks to my newly modded PSP Phat, I've gone some PSOne classics to rediscover.

I need a gaming vacation.

[lost]

You must be a student, otherwise there's no way you'd have time for all those games if you held a job or had a family. I just finished Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP and I still have a ton of games to finish. Not only that, thanks to my newly modded PSP Phat, I've gone some PSOne classics to rediscover.

I need a gaming vacation.

I'm a student with a job 4 nights a week.

I really struggle to replay games and if your prepared to trade in games and be smart about it you can make your money go a long way.

I have just found that the sorts of games I like are the ones getting a lot shorter.

[Heretic Machine]

I'm a student with a job 4 nights a week.

I really struggle to replay games and if your prepared to trade in games and be smart about it you can make your money go a long way.

I have just found that the sorts of games I like are the ones getting a lot shorter.

Why would you buy games, only to trade them in, knowing you'd do this before-hand? Just get Gamefly, that'll be cheaper, and if you find something you really like you can pay to keep it.

[lost]

Why would you buy games, only to trade them in, knowing you'd do this before-hand? Just get Gamefly, that'll be cheaper, and if you find something you really like you can pay to keep it.

I haven't found a UK based postal rental company I felt happy using. Plus there's a certain value to owning something, even if you don't keep it. I keep stuff like Bioshock and Uncharted.

[JayK47]

I seem to have a backlog of games from the last holiday season. You must have entirely too much time to game. May I suggest getting a girlfriend or a dog or a cat. Something to tie up a few hours of your every day. I usually seem to feel a gaming drought around mid to late summer. That is when I pick an oldy but goldy and play through it again. Something like Deus Ex, Mass Effect, KOTOR, The Witcher, Morrowind, Oblivion, and so on.

[H1PO]

I love gaming droughts. Gives me time to save money for the season, and play the games I've missed.

[KamaItachi]

Generally I don't mind droughts. Now I have the time to go back through some games I never felt I got the most out of, first time through.

I'm actually having a really good time going through the Halo 3 meta-game now I've gotten through Mass Effect and Bioshock. I've also had a copy of The Darkness sitting as a "Rainy Day" game when I had nothing else to play.

[Philonious]

It depends how long they go on for, but given the recent bounty of games I'm enjoying the drought. I have OCD when it comes to buying games, but not when it comes to playing them... So I have a HUGE backlog, and right now I am enjoying them and saving money. Part of the problem was being raised at a time where all developers were like Atlus, and if you didn't get it at launch, you wouldn't get it at all, so I feel the need to pick everything up right away.

[dbh1973]

I'm a student with a job 4 nights a week.

I really struggle to replay games and if your prepared to trade in games and be smart about it you can make your money go a long way.

I have just found that the sorts of games I like are the ones getting a lot shorter.
I think that is my problem. The majority of games I want to play are RPGs, and they have a minimum 30-40 hour investment. I know a lot of members on this board poo-poo short games, but I'm happy Heavenly Sword was under 10 hours. My gaming time is just too short nowadays.

[lost]

I seem to have a backlog of games from the last holiday season. You must have entirely too much time to game. May I suggest getting a girlfriend or a dog or a cat. Something to tie up a few hours of your every day. I usually seem to feel a gaming drought around mid to late summer. That is when I pick an oldy but goldy and play through it again. Something like Deus Ex, Mass Effect, KOTOR, The Witcher, Morrowind, Oblivion, and so on.

Ah the inevitable get a girlfriend line. I have one, I live with her with, funnily enough, a cat and a rabbit. Step back sonnyjim!
Perhaps I should have noted that this is my last 2 months of gaming. The thread I guess was more a complaint that few big releases offer value for money and as such I end up playing a load of second string choices.

[Gorvi]

Do you have a DS and/or PSP? In the next few weeks, there's Advance Wars: Days of Ruin on the DS and WipEout Pulse on the PSP. Both look like they'll keep you busy for a while if you're into those sort of games.

[bKangy]

Go get an emulator and find the old Gameboy version of Harvest Moon. You can waste a week or so on that I reckon.

[LionEyez]

I love gaming droughts. Gives me time to save money for the season, and play the games I've missed.

Yeah, same here. Plus there's games you tend to keep playing for ages once hooked. In my case that's BF 2 (and mods.)

[AspectVoid]

I have no problems with the drought this year, because I have a backlog of games I need to get through. Assassin's Creed, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Bioshock, Lego Star Wars, The Darkness, and Halo 3 on Legendary. This drought is the best thing for me, because I can start whittling the list down.

[jpublic]

Yeah, I love game droughts. I save money, and work on my game backlog. I've got loads of PS2 games I haven't gotten through, I'm still working on Eternal Sonata, and my X-mas gift of Armored Core 4 needs playing.

[51|RandoM]

What game drought? I had to build an ark in September to survive the rain of games that started in the fall.

Sounds more like you focus more on buying games than you do playing them.

[Yellowman]

Yeah I have to agree with the rest of the comments, either you buy too many games, play games too much or really enjoy Internet hype. Either way you need to refocus!

[TrackZero]

I....what? There still hasn't been enough time since the holidays for me to wrap up Assassin's Creed, run through Mass Effect as Evil, get anywhere deep into Overlord and I finally just got Rock Band. Not to mention I've still got Viva Pinata and Fight Night Round 3 waiting for me, virtually untouched. I love this time of the year, as I can finally play catch up. But I doubt I'll be able to get through my back catalog before Turok is out.

[lost]

What game drought? I had to build an ark in September to survive the rain of games that started in the fall.

Sounds more like you focus more on buying games than you do playing them.

That would suggest that I don't play the games I buy, which I do.

I have a few which are incomplete, like the rest of you. Eternal Sonata and Overlord being the big two. My enjoyment of them did grind down a bit though, Overlord is buggy and Eternal Sonata is enjoyable but I would have liked more variety.

I'm also about half way through the quest mode on Virtua Fighter 5.

In the UK we haven't got Rock Band yet, Zack and Wiki just came out and UT3 for the PS3 is months off. Perhaps there was more to fill your time than there was for me.

So I'm not much different huh?

[Grifter]

Sounds to me like your personal drought is caused by the fact that you don't seem to be into most of the games the rest of us are enjoying and multiplayer isn't your thing so it's not extending the life of the games you are into. The only advice I can think to give is written out below.

Build your self a gaming computer (or upgrade the one you have) and play The Witcher and Stalker. Maybe grab Titans Quest for a little Diablo style action or check out Gothic 3 with the community patches and there is always Sam&Max if you like point and click adventure games plus much, much more. Maybe that game you didn't like on the 360 or PS3 will be more enjoyable for you on the PC.

[Adam Blue]

I dunno...there are always games to play. Like, currently I'm trying to go throug both Omega V and Metal Slug 3 on XBLA. Now I beat the metal Slugs in the past, but now I'm trying for achievements. I also just bought Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, so there's another game I need to play through. And this is after all the holiday titles.

And when there's really nothing else to play, I go back to my library of SHMUPS to try and complete them.

[lost]

Sounds to me like your personal drought is caused by the fact that you don't seem to be into most of the games the rest of us are enjoying and multiplayer isn't your thing so it's not extending the life of the games you are into. The only advice I can think to give is written out below.

Build your self a gaming computer (or upgrade the one you have) and play The Witcher and Stalker. Maybe grab Titans Quest for a little Diablo style action or check out Gothic 3 with the community patches and there is always Sam&Max if you like point and click adventure games plus much, much more. Maybe that game you didn't like on the 360 or PS3 will be more enjoyable for you on the PC.

Hit the nail on the head. It is definately a personal gaming drought as opposed to a global one.

I'm dieing to play The Witcher but my girlfriend is a bit funny about me spending hours at the PC. She doesn't mind the games thing aslong as I'm not completely disconnected from the rest of the world.

Multiplayer has always been a funny thing, I played CoD4 multplayer a bit. It's easily the best experience I've had but most I have little interest in.

The thread was more intended as a means to discuss what we all do when we really can't find anything to play. Weird web games, past favourites etc.

[Grifter]

If you have an HDTV you can always hook your PC up to that so it will have more of a console feel and hopefully your girlfriend won't bitch. I would just tell her to deal with it, if you want to spend a few hours a week in front of the PC thats your business but thats just me. The second a woman starts to micro manage my days and tell me where I can and can't spend my free time it's over, I'm out the door.:cool:

[Tel Prydain]

Drought? 0_o
Hell, I've got a long way to go before I catch up with 2007's gaming - I fear the thought of more 'must-have' games hitting this year. And I only have a single console.

[51|RandoM]

Games I bought in 2007 that I still have to get around to playing:

Wii:
Metroid Prime 3
Super Paper Mario
Super Mario Galaxy

360:
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

PS3:
Virtua Fighter 5

PS2:
Persona 3
Wilda Arms 5
Growlanser Heritage of War
Okami
Godhand
Odin Sphere
Grim Grimoire

PSP:
Riviera

DS:
Castlevania:PoR

Currently playing:

PC: TF2, lots of it, lol.
360: Nothing
Wii: Fire Emblem
PS3: Nothing
PSP: Host Shots Golf: Open Tee
DS: Front Mission

If a) you don't like multiplayer and b) you only have one of the "next-gen" consoles, I could see somebody running out of games.

Add a ps2, a psp, or a DS to the mix and I don't see how you can run out of games to play.

[lost]

Games I bought in 2007 that I still have to get around to playing:

Loads....

If a) you don't like multiplayer and b) you only have one of the "next-gen" consoles, I could see somebody running out of games.

Add a ps2, a psp, or a DS to the mix and I don't see how you can run out of games to play.

I have the full range including a DS and the PSP. It's more a case of things you want to play. I'm really frustrated with the DS catalogue at the moment. Whole load of shitty horse games, since Zelda I've not made a single DS purchase.

The PSP is a different story, I'm thinking of picking up Dead Head Fred or Daxter/R&C. I got an email from Sony outlining the PSP releases for 2008 and it wasn't encouraging. The console could be so great for "hardcore" gamers and I really hope they keep third party interest.

Does anybody else get a total crick in their neck if you play a portable for too long? Also will the PSP av cable work on an SD tv? I haven't been able to find a difinitive answer.

[PrivateJohn]

I need more RPG (not jrpg).
Where is Fallout 3, Fable 2 & Too Human?????

With all due respect, i love FPS but there is just too much FPS on the market right now and i am the person that like to play 1 or 2 FPS and then master it for the rest of 6 months or so.

[Mal.Reynolds]

Have you tried Kingdom under fire ??? AMAZING GAME

[lost]

Have you tried Kingdom under fire ??? AMAZING GAME

Not out here till beginning-mid Feb.

If you mean the new one that is.

[Kefkataran]

Sadly, I have to parrot a lot of people: I just haven't had time to finish most the big 2007 releases myself. And while new releases will likely remain scarce in the spring there's some big stuff coming. Burnout Paradise next week, Turok the week after that, No More Heroes (maybe), Smash Bros, Culdcept Saga, etc., etc.

(Half of these games I'm doing reviews/write-ups for, so that doesn't help with me working through my backlog.)

I did just spend the last week of my break blasting through Blue Dragon, though. Nice to cross that one off the list finally!

Have you tried Kingdom under fire ??? AMAZING GAME

I... what?