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How
I Got a Job as a Letters Columnist  I was in Barnes and Noble the other day, in awe of the isles of manga. Yes isles. Three complete bookshelves in fact. I honestly think Japan has started slowing taking over America and we just haven't noticed it yet. When bookstores are fueled only by the money of unkempt nerds looking for the latest copy of "Hyper Octopus Girl Mitsumi-chan" you have to wonder. I used to read manga until I realized that I'd rather be spending my money on video games, a hobby populated by nerds slightly less scary than the average anime/manga enthusiast. Anyways, while leaving I noticed a typical "punk" kid reading a strategy guide. He was decked out with the multiple piercings in every odd orifice, the black jacket with shiny metal knickknacks dangerously protruding from all angles and the kind of haircut that you and I would probably berate our barber for. For some reason, I was struck with the sudden curiosity of what strategy guide was he reading. I first assumed Grand Theft Auto or maybe Devil May Cry. Something violent, something he could take out his rage against the machine on . Nonchalantly I went over to the shelf he was standing by, knelt down and pretended to look at some books on a low shelf. I glanced upward. "The Sims." I
smiled, casually got up and walked away. I'm still not sure what
to think about it. I compare the top 10 selling games in America
to the top 10 selling games in Japan and I'm taken aback at how
terrible violent we like our game experience. But, if someone
like that can play "The Sims," then maybe there's hope
for us all. Then again, he might just be one of those players
who creates swimming pools only to remove the ladder once the
pool is full, or keeps his sim in a fenced in 1x1 square until
the little guy goes insane. If you think this story had anything
to do with today's topic, it didn't. Today isn't about punk kids
playing "The Sims." Today is about the act of giving
up on a game. We've all done it. We've all gotten to that boss
we can't beat, or realized how incredibly tedious the gameplay
was, or how much we hated the characters. Or maybe we just didn't
care anymore. Either way, we stop playing. So when is it time
to give up, put down that controller and say "enough"? Throw away and/or sell video games? Why would anyone do that? Other than the obvious: This game sucks; this game isn't what I figured it would be; dear god does her #^$^'s bounce enough? I try to play every game I buy to completion. I mean, I bought the thing I should play it. Unfortunately I have neither the time nor inclination to do this. It all comes down to a balancing act. How fun is the game? How much time am I spending playing when I could be playing something arguably better? How whiney is the main/or supporting cast? Hmmmm... quick list of games sold or tossed without finishing them first: Final Fantasy Anthologies- I'm a bad person I know, but it wasn't as grand as I hoped. Lunar:Blue Star(I don't even remember th title!)- Played for an hour, hated the main character after he DIED in the first battle 5 times in row! Nothing I did kept the fool alive. This of course ment watching the opening movie twice before I remembered I could save anywhere. Besides, he wasn't as cool as Alex. Hoshigami:Ruining Blue Earth- Bad game, not fun, and besides I had FF Tactics, why have a crappy Strat/Rpg? Saiyuki:Journey West- Fun, really, but I had FFT and now I have Disgaea, how much strategy do I need? And countless SNES and NES games(but none of the classics, still have my Chrono Trigger and Original Zelda!) And some more PS1 games, like the Megaman X games(crap, crap, crap) I just try to keep my collection small, always try to figure what I'm really going to play and what can go. Games that have been beaten can go(Unless they have New Game+ or great replay value)and anything that I have multiples of in a genre(Too much platform action? Hmmm....NES stuff stays so PS1 stuff goes). That's it, no not really, but this letter is long enough. Ken I know what you mean Ken. I know I tend to keep the games I didn't find myself too enthused with on my shelf rather than try to return them. Mostly because I don't want to deal with the hassle of an EB employee and his accusing eyes which yell "The disc worked just fine, I know you just hated the game… just admit it you jerk!" I always make the assumption that somewhere down the line; I'll convince myself that "Hey! You spent $50 on that damn copy of Disgaea. You're going to mindlessly level up your characters and you're going to enjoy it damnit!" I know a lot of gamers are quick to return games before really getting into them. A seven day return policy is a pretty stressful factor in deciding whether or not to keep your latest purchase. But still, sometimes a game that can seem a bore at first can turn out to have some pretty redeeming qualities. Rez comes to mind, which on the surface is a fairly standard rail shooter, but once you get into it you see the beauty within. Although, the opposite can also be true, like when you figure out that as much fun as it is to draw a fighting penis monster with an angry face, Magic Pengel really isn't that great a game. Oh,
and you're probably the first male I've known to complain about
boobs being too bouncy. I mean, that's kind of an oxymoron. As
far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as too bouncy, but
then again, I'm currently fleeing sex-offender convictions in
no less than three states. Uh, I mean… what? Dear John, How do I know when it is time to give up on a game? Well, I believe it's when you get that feeling of dread of having to start up the console instead a feeling of interest and intrigue. Further, you know you're enjoying a game when it occupies thoughts outside of gaming, such as when you are at work and you can't wait to get finished so you can carry on. I recently made up a rule where by I am determined to start finishing some of my games or I will play them for 50 hours (this applies more to RPGs) and then make a decision. I spoke about this before but Jade Cocoon 2 has quite a strong battle mechanism but is let down by an overly monotonous system - I think I gave this game fair due after playing for 50 hours and decided that enough was enough - I really couldn't be bothered to see how it turned out. Saying that, I put 80 hours without even trying into X-2 and went straight back into the New Game +. Admittedly I have put this to one side now but it is there waiting for me and I am proud that I did complete the game, although not perfectly. I really have this nag about not completing games perfectly, it's bloody anal in the end; I knew I could never really complete Jade Cocoon 2 because I needed to hatch all these eggs and that also brought me down off of my high: why could I not be content with saying, "I killed the final boss, so I consider it complete." After all, getting all the extra eggs won't allow me to beat him further (maybe more quickly, or easily), so I should be happy with this. I guess it all comes down to knowing that you got your complete money's worth out of the game - which is another way of looking at it - if I paid $30 (which I did) for JC2 and I spent 50 hours with it, that works out at a little of 60 cents an hour which is pretty good value - X-2 is about 38 cents an hour. Most sex chat lines are far more expensive… I think this is a good way to justify budget purchases, maybe games that aren't worth $40-$50 but when drop down to $20, one can say, "Well, I didn't pay full price for this because it didn't justify the outlay but at this lower price I had some fun, recognized flaws that evidently did not represent full value and can choose to sell it on perhaps not losing nearly as much money as if I had bought it at full price." Short one today, feel free to tide this over until you actually use the topic, but I had no random thoughts today. Best regards, Lloyd Getting the "perfect" completion of a game always seemed to me like some devious ploy to convince gamers to pick up those damned strategy guides. It sure worked for Kingdom Hearts back when everyone started freaking out about the "OMG uBer cool!!11" secret ending. Your 50 hours of commitment rule seems like a big step, and I applaud you for it. It's a lot better than my system of "Play until you get stuck somewhere hard," whereas I'll get to some puzzle or boss I can't seem to get past, spend maybe an hour on it, and then put the disc away, telling myself "I'll come back to it." Ultimecia's Castle in FFVIII? Stuck. That huge battle with Sturm in Advance Wars? Impossible. That mission in Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner, where you have to grab and carry Ardjet past the hundred enemy frames that the computer keeps accidentally targeting instead of Ardjet, while meanwhile she's being ripped apart by swarms of raptors? Hell, that mission caused me to literally grab a Dreamcast and hurl it at the ground in frustration. I know taking out aggression on inanimate objects seems immature, but I'll be damned if that Dreamcast wasn't mocking me. Anyways, paying a cheap price for a game always manages to add some reasoning to an otherwise hard purchase decision. It was ridiculous to spend $50 on Gungrave when it first came out, but paying $5 at Circuit City for a game that might as well be named "Mash The Square Button," doesn't seem too bad. Oh
and yes, games are probably cheaper than most sex chat lines.
But then again, would you rather have the newest Metal Gear Solid
or a husky female you can make say anything you want? Sometimes
I like to call up just to make them refer to me "Elroy Jetson,"
and tell me how hot they get over Bump-mapping. And Good job Lloyd,
you've managed to use the phrase "it's bloody anal in the
end," in normal conversation. That deserves a trophy. Allow
three to five weeks for delivery. SIR - these days I'll just give up on one whenever something new I want to play comes along. I gave up Rygar when I got Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. I was right at the end boss, too. I've just given up Joachim's game in that to play Devil May Cry, since I'd never beaten it... it was another game I'd given up a while back for something else. I gave up Shin Contra (what's the American name again?) after an hour (but I'll come back to it soon). Currently I've got Xenosaga sitting in my 'given up' pile. I'm about 6 hours in. On another note, I just don't think traditional console RPGs are doing it for me anymore. The last 3 FFs I only played once each. Scratch that; I didn't even try FFX-2... to girl-power for me. Just a few days ago, in anticipation of trying FFXI one day, I played Everquest for the first time... ever. Champions of Norrath looks absolutely wicked. Loved Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Other than that, since I got out of college and got a job, now I just want to get back to basics of gaming... action, action, action. Stealth games are in the same boat as rpgs for me now, though Hitman 2 is one of the slickest games ever.... first time writer - Dalphi Distractions in the gaming world are a common occurrence. I hear people complaining about the lack of new titles daily, but yet I seem to be the only one still trying to stumble through the releases that continually pile up on my shelf while newer, shinier titles try to distract me. Ninja
Gaiden - Chris? Why aren't you playing me? So yes, I'm crazy. In other news, there's nothing wrong with enjoying Baldur's Gate over Final Fantasy. Hell, I'm done with Final Fantasy these days. I think it's the character design that's turning me off. Final Fantasy VII was cool because Cloud had a big ass sword and Barrett was a big angry black man in the same vein as Mr. T. FFX was fun, but Tidus was a complete dork with father issues and Wakka made me want to stab all islanders I came across in the face. Then again, I'm the same guy who berates people who dislike Link's new style in Wind Waker, so maybe I'm just a complete hypocrite. Oh
and yes, Hitman is one of the most entertaining games I've ever
played. When the first game came out me and all my friends would
watch as whoever playing snuck up behind every single person in
the hotel and strangled them to death with the piano wire, after
which this one kid Tyler would yell "Got yer' neck!"
at the top of his lungs. We're terrible, terrible people. Closing
Comments- Well,
I'll leave you with a topic for next time. I've already mentioned
my displeasure for FFX's Tidus and Wakka, and I could probably
name countless other characters that have ruined game experiences
for me. Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2 comes to mind as one of
the most hated characters in the game world, but maybe people
were just disappointed over the lack of play as everyone's favorite
mulleted mascot Snake. What do you think? Do characters make the
game or should they be overlooked as just another part of the
experience? How much does Character design really matter? What
characters work and which don't, and why? Let me know what you
think. Because only you, can prevent forest fires. |
