Completeing a game on the Wii (or any system, for that matter)

[Bender]

Hey Massive

Thanks so much for the tip on Mass Effect it definitely pushed me over the edge to try it
I ran through the first time in just under 10 hrs, doing no side missions at all (went WAY faster than I thought)
Loved it so much I'm playing through again now and doing the side missions (to see more of the universe and flush out more of the story)
One of the best story lines in gaming!
This and Portal are probably my favorite current gen games
Best $10 I ever spent

Cheers!
This is the fist time I can remember playing a game through a second time since Portal, just goes to show how an engaging game can suck you in

[massive88]

Hey Massive

Thanks so much for the tip on Mass Effect it definitely pushed me over the edge to try it
I ran through the first time in just under 10 hrs, doing no side missions at all (went WAY faster than I thought)
Loved it so much I'm playing through again now and doing the side missions (to see more of the universe and flush out more of the story)
One of the best story lines in gaming!
This and Portal are probably my favorite current gen games
Best $10 I ever spent

Cheers!
This is the fist time I can remember playing a game through a second time since Portal, just goes to show how an engaging game can suck you in

Glad you enjoyed it!  Im actually playing through it a second time right now to brush myself up story wise for the sequel which comes out next week.

[Bender]

Yeah it looks like you can import your character from the first on into the new one, pretty neat!

[Manre Boo]

Old times when NES was the thing, me and my friends tried and finished most games we had. Some games took us weeks to get finished and it was great and rewarding feeling when you got that game at last done. Zeldas, Blaster master, Megamans and many others came very familiar to us (and most of other NES games too). Gaming was magical back then. We rarely had more than one or two new games at same time.

For me personally, gaming is these days no more about finishing games. Games I play are more and more multiplayer versus or single player puzzle / fast action mess. Games like DotA, Peggle and Geometry wars are easy to sink couple hours and move on.

 Games have changed and gaming community has changed greatly. Games are no more only kids thing, more and more adults are having gaming as their hobby. Games are becoming online / competitive more and more. We have HUGE amount of new games coming all time in addition to all old games, add all flash games / web browser games / mobile phone games. It really needs huge patience these days to finish any game as a gamer.

 Games are only getting better and better but still we can't finish most games we play. Its evolution of gaming reflecting modern society, nothing is never enough. If you get something you must get something better next day, thats how television and advertisement and media controls us. It is all slowly starting to show up in major scale, gaming is only just one category, same goes on in every other thing in our lifes. People are getting greedier, we must get every single game and ROM and new thing, different thing is, do we ever even play most of them?

One more different thing is MMORPGs, if you get hooked its like drug, it can take all your time and more, you just cant stop playing These games are of course never meant to end at all. Their meaning is to leech money via monthly fees and super addicting game system. Needless to say I have played games like WoW, Anarchy online and Age of Conan combined more than 4 years. These days I try to stay away from them on purpose, because I know what happens if I start playing some of them.
Oh wait AoC has been gone through some major updates..maybe if I install it just to see new graphics hmm..

[shateredsoul]

I went through that during my undergrad and it's even worse now.  In college what helped was playing the multiplayer games... racing, fighting, first person shooters.  My friends and I had so much fun with halo, snk vs capcom 2, burnout, etc...

I tried playing an rpg on xbox 360 about a year and a half ago... Lost Odyssey.  Really great game, but finding a save point would take so long sometimes that I just had to give it up.  I live a lifestyle where I can't really wait an hour for the next save point and I feel to old (27) to be playing psp or nintendo ds in public.

The thing about fighting games though is that I only have fun when I play them with friends.  You can also try other games that are fun and have frequent save points.  I really am liking wolverine for the xbox 360, mirror's edge, street fighter 4, castle crashers was a lot of fun when my brother and friends came to visit.

So yeah, I think we're at the point in our lives where spending 30 hours on a game is really just not something we can do. But if you're willing to go back to older games, many of those emulators let you save at any point (snes, gameboy, genesis, psOne, some on ps2, dreamcast, etc..).  I remember when I was in middle school and high school I would spend hours playing non-stop.  Homework and games, then later homework, partime work and games, then college, studying, work, and games, now wife, gradschool, work, and arcade cab project, later... kids, wife, real job, and uhh portable in the bathroom?

I really don't know how you guys find time to play when you have kids, maybe it gets better when they are older because you can play the games with them?

[Ginsu Victim]

I feel to old (27) to be playing psp or nintendo ds in public.

Get over it. I'm 32 and don't care. How is it any different from the guy across from you playing games on his phone?

[shateredsoul]

I feel to old (27) to be playing psp or nintendo ds in public.

Get over it. I'm 32 and don't care. How is it any different from the guy across from you playing games on his phone?

An iphone is a status marker, whereas a psp is not =(

but you're right! Plus most people think it's pretty cool when I'm playing console or arcade games on the psp

[Ginsu Victim]

An iphone is a status marker, whereas a psp is not =(

Did I say iPhone?

I could've meant an old monochrome phone playing snake.

[Frigo]

...portable in the bathroom?

This is where most of my gaming hours are, uh, logged.

kids, wife, real job...

This is the reason why.

[shateredsoul]

lol, but then people will just think you're texting.. a really long message.

I actually have a friend who's married, she tells me that her husband always needs his morning bathroom time with the nintendo ds.  The kids will come and knock looking for him and he'll stick out and say, "hunny, daddy needs his bathroom time" and pop his head right back in.

I thought that was hilarious. 

I think as long as I stay away from rpgs or adventure games I'll be okay (sigh... rpgs, I miss them so). Plus, I'm starting to convince that sometimes "us" time can include games. She prefers mario kart though.

An iphone is a status marker, whereas a psp is not =(

Did I say iPhone?

I could've meant an old monochrome phone playing snake.

[Ginsu Victim]

I've completed several GBA games on the toilet.

[shateredsoul]

my friend had a gameboy advance for that sole purpose... then his roommate started using it too.. on the toilet.

[hypernova]

If I needed to #2 bad, and there was only one bathroom, and I find a person was on it playing a damn video game, there'd be words.

[Frigo]

It's really the only place nowadays where a man can get some peace and quiet.

[shateredsoul]

If I needed to #2 bad, and there was only one bathroom, and I find a person was on it playing a damn video game, there'd be words.

Imagine finding that a person was playing video games, and it was your gameboy.

[Ginsu Victim]

If I needed to #2 bad, and there was only one bathroom, and I find a person was on it playing a damn video game, there'd be words.

Imagine finding that a person was playing video games, and it was your gameboy.

Thanks to Seinfeld, that Gameboy would be considered "flagged" in our household.

[RTSDaddy2]

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that time - or lack thereof - is what's stopping me these days, and I've realized it more this weekend. 

My 7 year old for some reason wanted me to play de Blob for her.  It's one of my favorite games, but up until now I NEVER got past level 1.  Well, on Friday we spent about an hour straight playing it for her, and I went about it in such a way that I was also trying to beat all the challenges. For whatever reason, I had immense luck at that, and wound up escaping level 1, saving, and moving on to level two. 

We did the same thing yesterday morning...played it for nearly an hour again and - once again, but with fewer challenges met - I found myself beating the INKT tower at the end of the level, escaping, and moving on to level 3.

Right now level 3, if you will, is kicking my behind...but I haven't put an hour into playing it yet....and therein is the issue.  I've started three online courses this week and that's far more important to me that beating all the little INKT soldiers....so, I guess I figured out my problem all on my own (not that I hadn't anyway...just thought it an interesting set of things happening....).

[daywane]

my 14 year old daughter just finished spongebob squarepants "creature from the krusty krab"

she is bumded out.
not ready for it to be over.
demands another spungebob game!

[shateredsoul]

How do you like those online courses? I have thought about taking online courses during the summer... but I was worried that I wouldn't learn as much as taking a class in person.

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that time - or lack thereof - is what's stopping me these days, and I've realized it more this weekend. 

My 7 year old for some reason wanted me to play de Blob for her.  It's one of my favorite games, but up until now I NEVER got past level 1.  Well, on Friday we spent about an hour straight playing it for her, and I went about it in such a way that I was also trying to beat all the challenges. For whatever reason, I had immense luck at that, and wound up escaping level 1, saving, and moving on to level two. 

We did the same thing yesterday morning...played it for nearly an hour again and - once again, but with fewer challenges met - I found myself beating the INKT tower at the end of the level, escaping, and moving on to level 3.

Right now level 3, if you will, is kicking my behind...but I haven't put an hour into playing it yet....and therein is the issue.  I've started three online courses this week and that's far more important to me that beating all the little INKT soldiers....so, I guess I figured out my problem all on my own (not that I hadn't anyway...just thought it an interesting set of things happening....).

[RTSDaddy2]

The online class thing is working out ok for me - man it's hard to stay focused sometimes though...and I thought being there was sleep inducing! The one thing it did do was save us a ton of money - since I'm unemployed, and my time to complete this is short (I waited too long to start on this really), it seemed the easiest way. It certainly is the least expensive - under $500 for the three classes I needed to renew my certificate.

Bear in mind that these are only for PLU credits (professional learning) for teachers, so it's nothing too heavy...I would dare say it's not quite the same as a traditional "college course online," so take what is here with that in mind.   I took the first chapter exam Tuesday night, and "passed" with the lowest grade possible...and I still have two more opportunities to take it before the grade becomes final (NOTE: they don't take the highest grade, but the last grade posted....so if I make a 90 the next time and try for more and only make a 82, the 82 counts.)

[shmokes]

I hate online courses.  They're not engaging at all.  A terrible way to learn.  But worst of all by far is the, "learn at your own pace," selling point.  I am a chronic procrastinator, so my own pace=never do it.  It's a total waste of money.  On the other hand, if you're more disciplined than I you might actually go through the courses, but you're still left with the fact that they are not engaging at all.  Also, they aren't taken seriously by anybody.  If they're just filling a requirement like for RTSDaddy to renew his certificate, that's fine.  But if you've got some kind of degree listed on your resume from an online place it's not going to be thought of as the equivalent of a classroom degree.  In fact, I think a lot of times it actually would have a negative effect on your chances of getting hired.  People just don't take it seriously.

[RTSDaddy2]

Gotta agree with shmokes on that. I went to work on the second class last night (the first one almost done - only one more exam for it, thank god),  and....well, I just never got started on it.  Spent about an hour asleep in front of the computer off and on.

The classes really are quite a bore, due to the no interaction factor. The one one talented and gifted is sort of interesting, mainly because my kid was recently tested into the gifted program and we're dealing with the "I'm bored" issues of that...it's making a lot of sense to me, because as I read about it I understand her a tiny bit better. I wish I'd not procrastinated on getting these hours (10 of them) done, because this really is kicking my behind. Plus, when I have to take care of our daughter, being a parent, plus job searching, plus trying to get these classes done really eats my days up.

The other thing I'm learning to hate is the exams. I took the third one the other night after studying hard for it and only made a 70 percent, which made me madder than a hen wetter (or mad as a wet hen, take your pick). Like I said, I have the option of seeing the questions I missed, and retaking the exam at a later date or then, etc.  Well, when I looked at what I missed, and looked at the choices again, I could have screamed, because all the RIGHT answers were sticking out like a sore thumb for the most part.  I decided to take the test again, change my answers to the OBVIOUS, and made a 93 on it the second time around.