If you’re like me, you’re sitting on a venerable goldmine of great games that you haven’t had time to finish. Or, in some cases, games you’ve had to abandon for some reason or another. No big deal, right? That’s why the gaming industry doesn’t release that much in January and February. If you plan wisely and follow these tips you’ll be ahead of the game in no time!
You won’t be able to be a completionist on EVERY game. It’s just physically not possible for most gamers to scour every planet in Mass Effect 2, traverse every side quest in Skyrim, and collect every Lego block in Lego Harry Potter. Unless you’re the town’s only weed dealer, you’ll have commitments outside of the house that require you to leave your characters behind. And that’s okay. Just keep your expectations reasonable. Instead of scouring every planet in Mass Effect 2, maybe just probe the planets closest to your quests. Or, just focus on the one element you really need to survive.
If you’re hoping to finally finish Gears of War 3 then find a buddy or two to play with. Set actual times to play and make sure you show up to play them. Hell, if you’re having problems meeting up online – drive to the dude’s house. Also, don’t be so hardcore to not allow your partner to play ahead if necessary. Sometimes life happens and you get stuck away from your console for a few days. Let the other dude play ahead as long as he’s willing to replay with you later or he might give you a couple of days to catch up.
It’s a fact that MMOs and multiplayer games (Modern Warfare) can eat up a lot of your gaming time. If you’re staring at a stack of top-rated single or co-op games and you just can’t get them in the disc drive, then maybe it’s time to take a break from your clan. Don’t worry, your friends will still be there in a week or two. Sure, your sniping skills might suffer from a couple days on recovery. Nevertheless, taking a break from a repetitious multiplayer game can help you to break from some bad habits while letting you try out a whole new game at the same time.
No one wants to be the guy (or girl) that is left behind when a big sequel is released. So, if in your stack of backlog games you see Mass Effect 2 and Borderlands, those games need to jump to the top of your queue. It will keep the story fresh in your brain and will assist with your playing. Furthermore, it will help you when the new game launches and all of your friends want to play cooperatively. It might even give you an advantage because the mechanics will remain fresh for you.
This tip coincides with the first on this list: lower your expectations. If you know that Borderlands is going to take you 40 hours to finish, then maybe you should hold off on the extra 20 hours of DLC. Take that time to relax your brain and to try a new experience. Plus, if you hold off on buying the DLC immediately you might get a better deal later.
Back in the days when I played Halo multiplayer religiously, I would frequently take a break between sessions to play simple online poker. It allowed me to continue enjoying video games without destroying all of my brain at the same time. I find that good racing games and puzzle games fill in the blanks perfectly. Plus, if you get stuck on a really difficult puzzle in your main game, taking a break with a small game will allow your subconscious to keep working on the puzzle. Sounds crazy but it is 100% true.
If your stack is 20 games deep it is time for some brutal decision making. For me, at the bottom of my pile is the flawed Xbox 360 launch title Perfect Dark Zero. I know that game has issues, but in the back of my head I keep thinking I’ll have time to dive back into the game. However, reality does exist and it is far more practical for me to put that puppy in mothballs until I hit retirement. There’s a reason why games like this are at the bottom of our piles — we’re just not that interested in playing them.
I find that tackling the shorter games first will give me the momentum to tackle the big games later on. I have set my gaming routines and have focus on finishing the games in my backlog. While I understand why short games get slammed with bad reviews, at the end of the day, short games are more convenient for preoccupied gamers. For those of us with careers, school work and the like, these short games allow us to enjoy a story in a compact time frame rather than to see it drawn out for months or even years (will I ever finish Oblivion?).
Hand-in-hand with focusing on the short games first, I recommend saving the ultra-long games for when the weather gets bad or life confines you to a bed. While I joke that it has taken me years to play through Oblivion, if I get snowed in for a week I’d be much more likely to tackle that behemoth. The other option is to maybe plan a stay-cation just to finish one of these big games. Your friends and love ones might make fun of you, but how else are you supposed to finish a Zelda game?
Finally, I find the biggest hurdle to finishing your backlog is competition from other forms of entertainment. If you really want to take down your epic pile of awesome games, shut off Netflix for a week. Take some time away from your comic books. They’ll still be there and you’ll have the joy of finally mastering a game that has been hovering over your shoulders for weeks. Unless Netflix suddenly drops the license of your favorite 80s sitcom, it will still be there for weeks to come.
That’s my list of tips to help you tackle your backlog of unfinished games. If you have any other suggestions feel free to comment below. Also, if you want to use this opportunity to make an official list of games you need to finish before you die, why not use our comments to tell the world?
