Can't finish a game

IGN posted an article today that led me to look into my Steam library and check out all the titles that I've bought and either started playing or haven't played at all but are sitting (most are uninstalled, except for GTA IV). I can't get around to playing them. Great games such as Dragon Age, Titan Quest, GTA IV, Red Faction: Guerrilla and Assassin's Creed all fall into the category of owned but not finished or played.

I start a game, then get sidetracked by wanting to play a multiplayer shooter like CSS or BFBC2 instead of sitting and getting involved or re-involved in a different game. Anyone have any tips on getting into these games so I can actually finish some???

Oh and PS here's the article....I didn't know the fact on Mass Effect 2

Why Don't We Finish More Video Games? - PS3 Feature at IGN

 

I have the exact same problems as you. I always go to the multiplayer and never go back to the single player.

 

I think most of our purchases fall into the categories of:

1) I know i'll like it
2) It's on sale
3) I can play it whenever I want
4) Impulse buy
5) I need to buy something, why not a videogame?

I must own hundreds of console games and have finished maybe 2% of those, why? I lost interest, I moved onto the next marketing hype.

The games I have finished, were pure gaming bliss for me personally and had a special hook I just couldn't put down till I finished it. I think when we see a future game listed we immediately think it will be that game as well that we can't put down but we lose interest for whatever reason.

So why isn't it important for me whether I finish a game or not? I have the cash for it and I treat it as entertainment like going to the movies except I get more value from it. In the last 2-3 years I have slowed way way down on my purchases and buy games that go on sale like for $20.

 

Most of the games I never finish are older games I used to play on the consoles. GTA games as an example. I never really played Portal but that was free and Left for Dead @ $4.

 

BC2 is making me not finish Metro 2033, Bioshock 2, Arkham Asylum... Dayuum...

 

I have the same problem. Although I do get drawn into the plot of single player games, I'm always drawn towards just thinking "bah, screw it. Imma play TF2 already". For some reason multiplayer games always seem to have a lot more breathing space, they just feel less "constrained" (even though you usually have a lot more freedom in single player games). That being said, I really got in to assassins creed and would play it through a few more times if I didn't have something else.

 

story of my life right here..... there was a time where i would be addicted to a game where i would play and beat it multiple times..... but in the last year or so i too have game adhd

 

yup, i cant count all the games i've started but never finished, but i do remember when i had time i forced myself to finish certain games.

never finished:
bioshock 2
mass effect 1
dragon age
crysis
lost planet
splinter cell conviction

the list goes on...
all those games i've started then add hits me, woo.

 

Exactly how I feel. Back in the day when console systems were best (I'm talkin super nintendo, playstation, even PS2) I finished all of the games that I owned no problems at all.

I think that the biggest part of it for me is the appeal of multiplayer. I have no problem sitting down to a server for however long I feel like playing, but when it comes to single player games I feel like it's necessary to sit down for a good chunk of time. Thing is, if I put together all the tiny chunks of time that I spent playing multiplayer games, I could have easily beaten some of the other games several times over.

 

I don't like multi-player or FPS games to be honest.
If a game cannot hold my attention, then of course I will get bored and go do something else (I still don't do multi-player).
If I get side-tracked, then it's usually due to real life.


People don't finish games for a variety of reasons.
I must have had several games I haven't finished.
For example, I finished Knights of the Old Republic I and II multiple times.
Mass Effect I and II as well.
Jade Empire too.

Dragon Age Origins... on the first go, I think I finished just about 60% of the game before I stopped (I dunno why, I just stopped).
It was months since then, but I developed a desire to play it again and this time I finished about 85% if not 90% of the game before stopping.
Again, I just stopped playing (but hopefully I will finish it sometime soon).

Aside from that, I don't play other games really.
I play them on a sparse basis for the most part because most I find just dull.

 

I haven't touched half my steam games despite buying them. Okay, maybe I played them for 1-2 hours but after that I tend to go back to older games that I enjoy. I always have plans to play The Witcher and finish it before the second one comes out but then I always get distracted by dota, SC2 and Black Ops zombie mode

 

I was getting quite a backlog of games on Steam I hadn't beat, so I kinda had to force myself to finish a few. There are a few that I just cannot get myself to enjoy and want to spend time on: Dragon Age, GTA:IV, CoH, Titan's Quest...I admit I am more likely to log into BC2, DoD, TF2, or L4D and play a few quick rounds, or more, than sit down for these snore fests.

Despite this backlog, I am still interested in new games. Although I have been a bit better at showing some restraint, but perhaps it is because I plan to go crazy this Christmas with the Steam Sales.

 

Honestly the best way to start a game seriously is to save it untill winter when it starts to get cold and youre indoors more then uninstall all other games and just give it a crack when you have 4 - 6 hours to start to get into it. Thats how I'm just now finally able to play Fallout 3. I tried playing it several times in the past when I had system that could max it out @ 1680x1050 and I could never get into it but now that I'm having to play it at 1024x680 on low-medium detail I'm actually enjoying it, mainly because I stopped playing FPS's due to lack of available challenging players ( used to play competetively ). It always helps when you get so good at a genre that it stops being fun so you abandon the entire genre in search of a new challenge and while Fallout 3 isn't really a challenge for me it is a better time killer than going onto CoD4 and knifing my way thru people into the top 3 to 5 every single game which is nothing short of stale anymore.

Honestly, if you want to try a game with optional goals like GTA or Fallout I suggest taking every single option you run across, the side quests and goals were put there for a reason and if you want the full effect of the game and not have it seem too short or a waste of time by only chasing the main goal then you need to take the options.

Also if there is a specific game you are having troubles getting into then post a thread and ask us what mods or possible other media there is for the game to make it better. For example I don't think I would like Fallout as much without the sound packs, some of the extra non cheat perks, extra custom weapon schematics and additonal places to expore like the DC interior building mod

Then there are always the games that you like to play but not all in one go. I have an almost 7 year old Sony PS2 memory card with a Ratchet and Clank save that is 7 years in the making and I'm only bout half way thru the game. I play it a couple hours a year and it is always the one game I can count on to kill the boredom without being too demanding or losing any of its fun factor over the years each time I come back to it. And before anyone says anything, yes I know 7 years is a long time to not have beat a game but I'm anal and I have to find every gold bolt all on my own and often lose hours in a location trying to find it only to realize I don't have the required item to get to one yet then I give up on it and continue with the game

 

For me, I think it's that I play a game that I really like, and when done, I search for that other one similar that gives me the same feeling, so I'll buy a dozen games in search for that same thing but rarely find it.

I have a huge collection of games, and have only but finished maybe 5% of them completely (if they can be finished). Heck I got about 10 hours into Starcraft 2 campaign and quit and can't get myself to get back into it.

 

I'll try to finish my games, but if I don't, who cares... I just try hard to find games that I am almost sure I'll enjoy and play all the way through and if they are on sale it helps too (I don't think I have ever bought a game for more than $15). In fact I could probably list all my efforts here:

• Half-Life 2 series. Finished it (I think).
• Crysis series. Finished.
• Street Fighter IV. Finished.
• Portal. Finished (Story)
• Left 4 Dead 2. Finished.
• Frontlines: Fuel of War. Haven't started the single player yet.
• World in Conflict. Not Finished.
• Dirt 2. Not Finished.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Not Finished. What a dull, and boring game... worst $2 dollars spent.

I also tried Alien Swarm and America's Army 3. Uninstalled both in about 30 mins.

For now I play Crysis multi-player, Frontlines multi-player, Portal, and the occasional L4D2.

Man, I need more stuff to play. BFBC2 is on my sight next.

 

The last single player game I finished was jade empire... other than that, I have only played multiplayer games since I like playing with other people

 

I don't think you should look at gaming as some kind of homework in which you have to finish at some point because you really don't. I don't think you should stress out about not finishing them and that you should play them only if you feel like it that way you will enjoy playing them more. When you are bored of the games your currently playing then you can go back on the games you haven't finish or started and play those.

 

I don't really consider it stressing about it, it's just I see the games in my library and tell myself that I'll get to them, but I just never do. I've never been strung up on not finishing GTA IV, but I would definitely like to sometime in the near future. I did like the recommendation of waiting til it's winter and there's not much else to do (trust me, besides snowboarding, winters in Wisconsin DON'T allow much to do outside), so I might have to tackle them then.