Life’s Too Short for Crappy Videogames
Friday, November 17th, 2006I play a lot of videogames. I like to think I’m fairly discerning: I don’t buy games based just on a positive review score without considering the source, I don’t buy a sequel to a game just because I liked the first, I don’t buy games just because they’re popular, etc. Sometimes, something slips through the cracks. Some games don’t quite live up to even my most informed of expectations and I’m left disappointed. I play a lot of videogames though (I don’t know if you realized that). Usually that means the game gets tossed aside for a few months before I come back and finish it.
Something changed recently. I don’t know if I’m getting more discerning, if I’m coming to terms with the (apparently) increasing number of high quality games and my (apparently) decreasing amount of free time, or if I put too much faith in my well-researched opinions and just ended up with a couple of stinkers. Whatever happened, I’ve got two games on my shelf right now that I have actively decided I am never going to play again.
It’s hard to express the significance, but I’m not one to just drop something I’ve invested in. I buy comic books I’ve lost interest in because I’m committed to finishing a set number of issues that make up a story or a specific creator’s tenure, I finish out a season of a disappointing TV show because maybe, maybe it will all come together and be awesome in the end (Lost), I finish books I’m not thrilled with because, well, I don’t know why.
That’s changing with these two games. I’m done with them. Full stop. I’m not going to pick them back up if I have time. In fact, I plan on giving them away to the first person I can find who actually expresses any interest (and doesn’t cost me shipping, sorry random internet strangers).