Backlog Blues

I like cracking open some of the words we use to define "hardcore gamers" to find ones that are more constructive. My favorite is describing incessant players as "obsessed."

I'm obsessed with games. You probably are too, if you're reading this. We read about them on websites, and sometimes have the privilege of writing about them ourselves. We collect shirts, posters, figurines (a more constructive word for "dolls," of course), and most of all, we buy games. In bulk. With the shrink wrap still on them, if we can.

The issue with being an obsessed player is that I rarely finish games that I buy. Worse yet, when I finally have a review or two out of my way and have a clean slate on my calendar, now that I'm out of school, I get the worst feeling an obsessed player can have. Restlessness. Indecisiveness. Turmoil.

Maybe that's going a bit far, but the point is that I don't know what to play. Then, I keep reading about how excellent some games are. The reasons people give are different each time, from pure enjoyment to a game having a tear-jerking story. It leads into the next feeling obsessed players hate the most: feeling left out.

I'm sick of feeling left out. Glance at my incomplete backlog below, the games I own and have never completed that I thought of/could see while sitting at my desk that are mostly from this generation of consoles. I know I'm missing out on some amazing experiences, but that restlessness leaves me wondering where I should start first. You know the feeling. I call it the "backlog blues."

Note: I left off dozens of games that I decided weren't story-driven in nature, were puzzle, racing, or sports games. "Completion" is a tricky thing to argue with those. It also doesn't include games I don't own yet, obviously.

A * next to the game indicates that I haven't even started playing the game yet.

*Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed 2
Bastion
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham City
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
*BioShock
*Blue Dragon
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Child of Eden
Dark Souls
*Dead Rising
Dragon Age: Origins
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
*Enslaved: Odyseey to the West
*Fallout
*Fallout 3
Final Fantasy XIII
*Final Fantasy XIII-2
Geist
Grand Theft Auto IV
*Halo 3
*Halo: Reach
*Heavy Rain
*ICO
*inFamous
L.A. Noire
*Left 4 Dead 2
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid: Other M
*The Orange Box (Yes, all of the games, except for Portal)
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Red Dead Redemption
*Shadow of the Colossus
Singularity
*Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
*Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
*Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

This is an interesting, albeit depressing exercise to take part in. Try it for yourself. I think few obsessed players like myself actually take the time to list out the games they own but have yet to finish.

What do we get out of this? For starters, I was hoping I could get a few people to tell me what I need to play right now on this list.

Otherwise, the questions we should be asking are: Is it crucial that we finish games? What determines which games we think are more "important" for others to play? Do you finish every game you buy? Why not/how the hell do you do that?

Tags: Fallout 3, BioShock, Shadow of the Colossus, Assassin's Creed 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Skyrim

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Sandy Morley

April 28, 2012

Hahaha, your excercise? I do it all the time. I have four piles of games, ranging from 100% obliterated to barely/not-touched. Games I've oblitered only count for about 5%, and even with half of those I have to convince myself that it's okay to put them there—games with online achievements that I can't get due to servers being dropped, for example.

Oddly, I never really feel left out. I know I can get last year's amazing game for £5, and to be honest I can't afford to get sucked in like that. Often the extra year allows me to shake off the media bias and see how games really stand up without the hype, and yet they're new enough that they can still feel fresh.

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Danny Concepcion

Your backlog makes me cringe, Mike. You have a lot of quality games on there. I'd say you should start with Shadow of the Colossus.

I don't think some of my games are more important than others to play, partly because I don't have a backlog. Not because I'm super good at games or anything, but because games are pretty much my only hobby. I also stopped sinking countless hours into online gaming. The only real "rule" I have is that I don't play any online multiplayer until I've beat my newest game. Online MP can be a huge time sink.

There usually aren't more than 1 or 2 big games a month anyway, at least until the holiday season rolls around. Then I'll usually save the colossal game like Skyrim till after I'm done with everything else.

Austin Wells

Just for time's sake, I suggest enslaved. It's a short, 10-12 hour campaign, and the story is pretty good. It looks like it might be the shortest game on your list, that I've played. Currently trying to get through fallout 3. I don't know why, and I loved new Vegas but im having a hard time getting into 3. played about 15 hours so far. It's good, but hasn't quite gripped me yet.

Mark Purcell

Stop whatever it is you are doing, play and FINISH Bioshock. There should be no hesitation, just play it! You're welcome :)

Tristan Damen

April 29, 2012

AB CD

Your list isn't too bad, and from what I see, you'll probably end up more than pleasantly surprised. I will say this though: I'm one of those gamers that has moods. A lot of times my mood will determine what genre I'm in the mood to play. If you're ANYTHING like that, you'll probably need to take suggestions by genre more so than just which one wins.

I would say start with Enslaved. That's a game that I didn't play until well after it came out and I really enjoyed it. I want to tell you to play Assassin's Creed, as it's one of my favorites... but once you start with one of them you'll probably want to play all of them.

Second suggestion: Bastion. Easily my favorite arcade game.