The CAGer's "Pile of Shame"...

[Trusty Mutsi]

Trusty Mutsi: Hi, my name is Trusty Mutsi.

Support Group: Hi Trusty Mutsi!

Trusty Mutsi: I have a problem.

Support Group: *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*

Trusty Mutsi: I buy games too much. I don't play what I have enough. I'm addicted to getting the latest games, or getting super cheap deals on games I don't have time to play. This is the vicious cycle of my gaming life: I buy a game, or get one as a gift. I play it for a couple days. I am already on the internet checking out the newest releases and deals. I see games I can't live without and trade in the games I haven't finished so I can have the newest title. Then I eventually trade in THAT newest title (Which I never finish) to get the NEXT newest title. It's especially hard around christmas. There's deals everywhere. I'll have at least 6 games I haven't gotten past the 2nd or 3rd level, and I'll buy 6 more games on the cheap. As of now, I have 8 new games, and 7 unfinished games, and I am still looking online for great deals, or wishing I was playing games my other online friends have...

Support Group: BE STRONG!

Trusty Mutsi: Well, I want to change. I don't want to spend $50 on a game I won't even finish. Heck, I don't even want to spend $10 on a game I won't even finish...

Support Group: Yeah!

Trusty Mutsi: I want to finish the games I have and enjoy them to their fullest....

Support Group: That's RIGHT!

Trusty Mutsi: So my plan is... *sniff* I'm sorry, this is so hard... my plan is to finish the games I have before I buy anything new. This is a win-win situation. I'll have the satisfaction of playing a game from beginning to end, and by the time I finish these games, the others I wanted at release will be in the bargain bin.

Support Group: *Rushes onstage and gives Mutsi a group hug* WE'RE HERE FOR YOU!!!!



Seriously, this is my plan. I really think I have a problem and need to learn to be happy with what I have for a while. I am still not sure if I will wait until I've finished EVERYTHING, or if I'll make a rule of no new games until I've finished 2 I already have. I also think I may need to cut down/stop looking at all the great deals and read about the latest games on the forums, because it just makes me want stuff I don't have. Not sure if that's realistic or not...

I also tend to get stubborn and try to play through a game even when I'm not enjoying it anymore. Looking back on it, it's stupid. There's a difference between playing too many games and having a weak attention span, and playing something I REALLY am tired of, but haven't finished. I guess once in a while I stick with a game even when I'm not having the BEST time with it, and still appreciate sticking through to the end.

What I'm doing is listing all my games here, and keeping a journal of what I've finished, and also post when I've been weak and bought a new game. You all then have free reign to rip me a new one.

So, let's begin (I'm listing Gamerankings percentages because I might play them from worst games to best).

XBOX 360

Gears of War 94%
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 90.8%
Call of Duty 2 90.1%
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 84.3%
Condemned 82.7%
Tomb Raider Legends 81.6%
King Kong 80.9%
Prey 78.6%
Far Cry Instincts Predator 78%

DREAMCAST

Virtua Tennis 90.6%
Marvel vs Capcom 2 89%
Rush 2049 82.6%

PS2

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 94%
Chrono Cross 93%
Devil May Cry 92.2%
FF 7 92.1%
Guitar Hero 2 92.1%
Res Evil 2 91.6%
Ratchet and Clank 89.1%
Jak 2 88%
Res Evil 3 87.9%
Soul Calibur 3 86%
Shadow Hearts Covenant 86%
Ace Combat 4 85%
Silent Hill 3 84.3%
Silent Hill 83.3%
Deus Ex 82%
Zone of Enders 2nd Runner 82%
Culdcept 81%
Zone of Enders 76.6%
Justice League Heroes 72.4%
24 The Game 64%


XBOX

Forza Motorsports 92.6%
Splinter Cell 92.5%
Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition (Just need to finish expansions) 90%
NFL2k5 89.9%
Crimson Skies 89.4%
Mercenaries 85.2%
Timesplitters 3 84.8%
Psi-Ops 84%
DOA Ultimate 83.9%
Hulk Ultimate Destruction 83.9%
Spider-Man 2 83.7%
Phantom Dust 83%
Silent Hill 2 82.2%
Otogi 81.3%
Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike 79.5
Gun 79.5%
Lego Star Wars 77.6%
Gladius 77%
Cabela's Outdoor Adventures 2006 74%
Worms 4 69%



GAMECUBE

Metroid Prime 96.3%
Resident Evil 4 96%

PC

X-Com 93.6%
Starcraft 93.3%
Neverwinter Nights Platinum 88.5%
Hitman 2 85.6%

Dang, these will take forever to get through, since I can only play about 4 hours a week, maybe more on a good week:(

Right now I'm working on Gladius and Justice League Heroes. I'm trying to stick to 2 games at a time.

Will update.

Thanks for your support

[RedvsBlue]

Wow, I didn't know Stephen King was a member here...

[Trusty Mutsi]

Wow, I didn't know Stephen King was a member here...

It is to laugh.

Ha ha.

[SpecTrE3353]

Crack is bad.

[jkam]

Welcome to the woes of CAG....it gets easier. Too many games and not enough time. I think you should put everything down and play through Resident Evil 4...you'll thank me later.

[Trusty Mutsi]

Welcome to the woes of CAG....it gets easier. Too many games and not enough time. I think you should put everything down and play through Resident Evil 4...you'll thank me later.

The game really IS awsome. I should also play through the rest of it before I forget what I was doing last time I played.

[-Never4ever-]

the rest of it before I forget what I was doing last time I played.

Just another part of the "problem" :lol:

At one point, I actually had a notebook with each game I was playing and notes on what I had done last and what I need to do next. But that didn't work, so then I tried making up "need to finish" lists and tried to work through them one at a time, no go. Finally I decided that i was going to go weeks, months, even YEARS without buying a single game. That one didn't even last a day.

So I'm out of ideas, but I think of it like this; if there was ever a problem I would actually welcome, this would the be the one.

[Xevious]

...that first post brought a smile to my face.

[lordxixor101]

I am beginning to think this is almost everyone's pain. I know I have way too many games that I'll probably never play all the way through. I think some rules can help save you a few bucks, if nothing else.

1) I would never buy a game for $30 or over unless it falls into 1 of 2 categories:
- You are going to play it straight through instantly (drop everything else your playing)
- Or it's a collectors item that you may never find again.

2) Have a plan when you buy games. Why are you buying these? If it's because they are so cheap that you will play them through eventually, then don't worry about them. So, they are in the backlog. I know I have tons of games I grabbed at $2 a shot. I played through several of them, but others are still sitting there. I decided a long time ago not to worry about these. I'll go and drop $2 at a convenience store like that, I figure the joy of buying these games might have been worth $2, so if I play through them, great. If I don't, oh well.

On the same note though, if your paying $10 (or even $5, depending how much disposable income you have), why are you buying it now? Are you going to play it now? If not, will you be able to find it at the same price (or only slightly higher) later? If you aren't playing it now and you can get it for the same price later, no reason to buy it now. You'll be amazed if you hold to this how you may never buy the game (or you might find it so cheap that eveentually, you can get it from the above rule.

Outside of that, I say just ride with it. You really can't come to this site often and not be temtped by more games. If you are serious about finishing all your games, you might want to take a CAG website hiatus (I always spend more when I come here regularly).

Also, slightly off point, but I never understood why people (not just you) insist on finishing games just to finish them. If they are good, then they are good. But, if a game doesn't drive me to finish it, I think that's a fault of a game. There are so many discounted games all the time, that I rarely will force myself to finish a game.

[pimpinc333]

Just another part of the "problem" :lol:

At one point, I actually had a notebook with each game I was playing and notes on what I had done last and what I need to do next. But that didn't work, so then I tried making up "need to finish" lists and tried to work through them one at a time, no go. Finally I decided that i was going to go weeks, months, even YEARS without buying a single game. That one didn't even last a day.

So I'm out of ideas, but I think of it like this; if there was ever a problem I would actually welcome, this would the be the one.

Yea I have the same problem. What I do now is play every game to its fullest before moving on. I don't start a game until im for sure I won't have any other games coming out that will make me drop said game im playing to start a new one. Seems to work but I have a backlog way too long of really good new games.

[Puffa469]

I have soo many damn games that I just sorted out a pile of PS2 and Xbox games that need to go into a box and into storage. That pile is about 100 games. Out of those 100 games, probably 75 of them I havent played for more than 15 minutes just to check that the disc worked. And at least 25-30 of those 100 games are still sealed.

And even after all that sorting I was left with another 100 or so Ps2 & Xbox titles that will stay on my shelves and hopefully get played sooner or later.

[JEKKI]

I thought by the time I finished all my games,

and if I didnt buy any more in the mean time,

I would have saved enough money to purchase whatever horrible price ppl are charging for suikoden V.

[Blackout]

What sucks is that I have loads of PS2 games to play and finish.....but I really want to jump into next gen. I won't do it until I finish most of them(maybe like 20-30 games).

[Puffa469]

What sucks is that I have loads of PS2 games to play and finish.....but I really want to jump into next gen. I won't do it until I finish most of them(maybe like 20-30 games).

Look at it this way. By time you move into the next gen, all the games that you wish you were playing right now will be like $20. ;)

[blandstalker]

On the same note though, if your paying $10 (or even $5, depending how much disposable income you have), why are you buying it now? Are you going to play it now? If not, will you be able to find it at the same price (or only slightly higher) later? If you aren't playing it now and you can get it for the same price later, no reason to buy it now. You'll be amazed if you hold to this how you may never buy the game (or you might find it so cheap that eveentually, you can get it from the above rule.

This is really, really good advice and I've been doing exactly this for a little while now. If I'm concerned that I'll never see the game at that price again, I'll consider buying it. If it's something that will be everywhere for that price or less later, then I'll just wait.

I've also noticed that it's much easier to forget the extent of your problem when you're in a store. It's just you and that game you're thinking of buying. You've forgotten all about that backlog and one more game doesn't seem like too much. I've started looking at a potential purchase and thinking "Do I own 2 or 3 games that are even remotely similar that I haven't opened yet?" If the answer is yes, then put it down and don't look back.

[Trusty Mutsi]

I am beginning to think this is almost everyone's pain. I know I have way too many games that I'll probably never play all the way through. I think some rules can help save you a few bucks, if nothing else.

1) I would never buy a game for $30 or over unless it falls into 1 of 2 categories:
- You are going to play it straight through instantly (drop everything else your playing)
- Or it's a collectors item that you may never find again.

2) Have a plan when you buy games. Why are you buying these? If it's because they are so cheap that you will play them through eventually, then don't worry about them. So, they are in the backlog. I know I have tons of games I grabbed at $2 a shot. I played through several of them, but others are still sitting there. I decided a long time ago not to worry about these. I'll go and drop $2 at a convenience store like that, I figure the joy of buying these games might have been worth $2, so if I play through them, great. If I don't, oh well.

On the same note though, if your paying $10 (or even $5, depending how much disposable income you have), why are you buying it now? Are you going to play it now? If not, will you be able to find it at the same price (or only slightly higher) later? If you aren't playing it now and you can get it for the same price later, no reason to buy it now. You'll be amazed if you hold to this how you may never buy the game (or you might find it so cheap that eveentually, you can get it from the above rule.

Outside of that, I say just ride with it. You really can't come to this site often and not be temtped by more games. If you are serious about finishing all your games, you might want to take a CAG website hiatus (I always spend more when I come here regularly).

Also, slightly off point, but I never understood why people (not just you) insist on finishing games just to finish them. If they are good, then they are good. But, if a game doesn't drive me to finish it, I think that's a fault of a game. There are so many discounted games all the time, that I rarely will force myself to finish a game.


This is really, really good advice and I've been doing exactly this for a little while now. If I'm concerned that I'll never see the game at that price again, I'll consider buying it. If it's something that will be everywhere for that price or less later, then I'll just wait.

I've also noticed that it's much easier to forget the extent of your problem when you're in a store. It's just you and that game you're thinking of buying. You've forgotten all about that backlog and one more game doesn't seem like too much. I've started looking at a potential purchase and thinking "Do I own 2 or 3 games that are even remotely similar that I haven't opened yet?" If the answer is yes, then put it down and don't look back.

Thanks to EVERYBODY for their feedback, and especially these two posts, which help a LOT.

I think Gears of War is the last game I paid full price for. I usually pay no more than $15-20 a game. Even then, I need to calm down when I see a cheap price. It's very rare a game won't eventually hit $10-15 someday, unless it's super rare. I think the only recent purchase I don't regret is "24- The Game" for $7.

I think my biggest problem is when I realize I'm not enjoying a game anymore. I'll plug through it anyway, REALLY not enjoying myself. I need to just let myself move on to another game. Maybe I'll come back to it later, maybe not. At least I won't be wasting what little playtime I have.

I'm currently playing Gladius. I played it like CRAZY when I first got it, but now I can maybe play one battle before being bored out of my skull. I should shelve it and move on to another game. But maybe when I move onto a new game, it should be another one I'm still working on, that I'm NOT sick of, rather than a new game I haven't really gotten into yet. It's frustrating when I have 6-8 games I keep rotating through, but have barely gotten anywhere with them.

I guess the one reason I'm so stubborn about finishing games is that sometimes I force myself to finish, and I'm glad I did it. The overall experience of the game was worth it, even though it had boring parts. I supposed it can be like a TV series. You go through a couple snoozer episodes, but the over series was worth watching.

I just wonder is Gladius will be worth it at the end, or if it'll just be battle after battle, and then a quick cutscene ending...

[dopa345]

I just wonder is Gladius will be worth it at the end, or if it'll just be battle after battle, and then a quick cutscene ending...

I have Gladius and I enjoyed it but it does get to be somewhat of a slog after awhile with all the repetitive battles. Unfortunately the ending isn't too great.

I'm trying to focus more on completing games as well, especially my backlog of RPG's. When I moved, I only took one console (my PS2) and a few select games that I've left unfinished in order to force myself to finally beat them.

[The Crotch]

You know, I used to have a backlog. It was epic. Wheel of Time, Hitman 2, RE4, Pikmin 2, Allied Assault, Neverwinter Nights, FFVII (stop gasping, my PlayStation crapped out on me), Serious Sam: Second Encounter... the list could stretch on for ages. My solution?

I sold half of it. Even RE4. It was - and continues to be - quite painful, but I don't regret my decision.

[Trusty Mutsi]

Well, I almost got Oblivion with the 35% off deal, but when I got to EB, I found out I needed to print out the coupon, and it was too close to closing for me to go back home and print one out. Glad it turned out that way, as I knew I really didn't need it yet, and I want to get into the expansion stuff in Morrowind.

So when I got home I booted Morrowind up, and had a fun little adventure. I had to find the Dark Brotherhood in Mournhold and take out their leader. It was great. I turned invisible, walked past ALL the guards (like maybe 7-10 of them), went into the leader's room, closed the door, took him out, and used the Amulet of Divine Intervention to teleport out. So basically no one ever saw me do it:)

There's still quite a good deal of fun to be had with Morrowind for me. Glad I haven't moved on yet. It might help my effort to stick with the games I have by journaling my game progress in this thread.

[JEKKI]

aw man I jux realized I got dat phoenix wright shit on lock son...

whatchu mean on lock yo?!?!?

dawg, I got it pre-ordered for the free stylus.

word??

word up!

damn yo, so much for not buying games til the backlog clears.

nah it's all good mang, let's jus do it and keep on rollin!!

true dat, aint no OBJECTION!!