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

[RTSDaddy2]

The problem that I've had -even before the USB Drive - was how to stay focused on one game long enough to complete it before starting a different one.  I don't know what that says about me really - that I'm impatient?

For example, I was kicking behind in Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess. I had even gotten across the bridge at night with the Goblin King, and then I got to where you're supposed to follow the wagon to the Zora's home...and I never was able to shoot that damn bird thing at the right time so the wagon always burned to a crisp.  After several days of trying, I gave up.

I think this was key for me with the Wii though - it was about that time that our first Wii burned out, and when Nintendo sent a new one, they sent it with all my save data gone...I had to start over! Same thing with the one I bricked this year.

Any ideas on what I can do to stay focused and finish one before going on to another?

[crashwg]

I've got the same problem.  I haven't completed a game in I don't know how long.  I'm going with "they don't make them like they used to" as my excuse.  I'm pretty sure I'll get through the New Super Mario Brothers Wii game though...

[Hoopz]

Lump me in with you guys.  I was moving right along in Super Mario Galaxy and then just sort of hit a wall.  I haven't touched it since.  Maybe it's how long I get to play because of work, kids, etc, but I find I'll waste 15 minutes playing Wii Sports Tennis or Bag Toss instead of playing an in depth game.

[hypernova]

You're commitment-phobic. 

I know a guy at work who buys games left and right, and very rarely finishes them.  Never understood why.

I'm the POLAR opposite.  I will never start a new game until I've finished the one I've started, unless it's one that can be done in small portions with no full-length plot, like Mario Kart or puzzle game or whatever.

[Bender]

I think it's how you connect with the game. If the game doesn't hold your interest then move on till you find one that does
I can't tell you haw many I've started and never finished
The last couple I finished were Infamous, The Force Unleashed and Halo ODST, I just really got sucked in and wanted to play through.
I do find RPG's too time intensive. I stared Oblivion and really liked it, but it sucked up way too much time and is supposed to take like 100 hrs to finish, Who's got that kind of time? It kinda sucks cause Mass Effect and Fallout look really good too

[danny_galaga]

Just play those games that don't take that commitment. Some old arcade classics. Or Crazi Taxi (i have the gamecube version so i can play it on the wii)...

[DJ_Izumi]

Crazy Taxi on Dreamcast, PS2, GameCube, PSP, and PC.  PS3 if you count the backwards compatable units.  Not to mention Crazy Taxi on Xbox1.  What we need is Crazy Taxi on PSN and XBLA I say, with wheel support, none of the other ports supported a wheel.

[Ginsu Victim]

I just have too many games now. It's hard to pick one to commit to.

What's funny is I'll replay a game I've already beaten.

[ChadTower]

It has been quite a while since I finished any game other than a first party Mario game.  I finished Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy.  I'm working through NSMB now.  Most other games I get most of the way through, something causes me to have no time for a couple weeks, and I never get back to it.  The only nonMario game that I have finished in recent years off the top of my head is Halo (not as long ago as you'd think).

[Frigo]

What's funny is I'll replay a game I've already beaten.

I find myself playing my NES/SNES/SEGA games more and more than my newer consoles every day. There's just something satisfying about beating Mega Man for the 1000th time, as opposed to beating the latest clone FPS. Even a game as intense as GTA IV I haven't finished, not because it's not fun (it is), but because it feels like something fundamental is missing from the experience that I can't quite put my finger on...

[shmokes]

It's all about lack of time for me.  I've got a kid and school now.  I just have so little time to play.  And it's the same with me and RPGs.  Fallout and Bioshock and Demon's Souls look really great, but I just don't have that kind of time.  If I'm going to play an adventure game I need something in the 10-15 hour range, and even then I might have trouble getting through it.  It's really frustrating because once you get sidetracked by life halfway through a game, it's really difficult to come back a month or two later and remember what's going on in the game world.  If I could just win the lottery I'd be golden.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

Ah yes, the demon called Real Life.  It's always encroaching on my game time...

The last games "with-a-plot" I played and stayed with until the end were Grand Theft Auto 4, and Metal Gear Solid 4:   

In the case of GTA4, even after I had completed the story, I was left somewhat nonplussed.  I think part of the problem there was that they stretched a dubious, hole-ridden plot over what is ostensibly just a "sandbox"/"collection" game (and the sandbox wasn't very deep in GTA4, compared to San Andreas.)  Also, I personally can't stand collection games, because very seldom do the rewards match the efforts taken to "catch 'em all." It feels like level-grinding; another thing I absolutely cannot stand in games...

On the other hand, my experience with Metal Gear Solid 4 was pretty damn amazing.  I don't have any history with the Metal Gear saga, so I went in blind.  It was a very, very linear game!  That said, the story was engrossing (if confusing at times,) and while it may have been slow in places, it didn't feel like it was stretched to fit a certain play-time goal.  It didn't pretend to be something it's not; it is a game that offers a particular experience-- and almost zero replay value. 

Bender is hitting it on the head; it all depends on the story.  With game worlds as fleshed-out as they are these days (HELLO Fallout 3) and all of them jockeying for market-share (well, really just wallet-share,) you really have to get sucked into the world to devote the time and energy to complete it.  It just varies from person to person.

[ChadTower]

Oh!  I totally forgot that I have finished all of the LEGO games.   

[Malenko]

sometimes the games story keeps me playing, like Tales Of Vesperia and Assassins Creed 1 & 2 but more often then not its how fun the game is. Ive owned Super Puzzle Fighter 2 AND Command and Conquer Red Alert 2:Yuris Revenge for over 10 years and still play them.


As for Fallout 3, the game was just terrible. Yes I finished it, I felt obligated since I beat 1 and 2 multiple times but 3 was just awful. I didnt play any of the expansions because I had my fill of murdering "Feral Ghouls" aka Zombies in the main story. And yes, I 1k'ed the 360 version.

[massive88]

Who's got that kind of time? It kinda sucks cause Mass Effect and Fallout look really good too

Oblivion and Fallout can take 100 hours, I beat Oblivion in about 40 and Fallout in 25.  They didnt suck me in, but the openness of them can make it take forever, if you are enjoying it.  Both of the main story quest lines will take you about 20 hours if thats all you care to do.

Mass Effect is even shorter.  The main story takes about 15 hours if you dont go do side quests.  And the main story is badass.  If you are at all a fan of sci-fi and RPGs, you should play it.  Trust me, its really only about 15 hours if you dont do side quests, and the atmosphere is just awesome.  And Bioware's speech options of playing as a complete dick is routinely hilarious.  The side quests in ME are meh, and not worth the time.  If you've done 2, you've done them all, and theres a ton.  The main story is so much better its not even funny.

[Bender]

Who's got that kind of time? It kinda sucks cause Mass Effect and Fallout look really good too

Oblivion and Fallout can take 100 hours, I beat Oblivion in about 40 and Fallout in 25.  They didnt suck me in, but the openness of them can make it take forever, if you are enjoying it.  Both of the main story quest lines will take you about 20 hours if thats all you care to do.

Mass Effect is even shorter.  The main story takes about 15 hours if you dont go do side quests.  And the main story is badass.  If you are at all a fan of sci-fi and RPGs, you should play it.  Trust me, its really only about 15 hours if you dont do side quests, and the atmosphere is just awesome.  And Bioware's speech options of playing as a complete dick is routinely hilarious.  The side quests in ME are meh, and not worth the time.  If you've done 2, you've done them all, and theres a ton.  The main story is so much better its not even funny.

Thanks for the info! 15 hrs is probably at the limit of how much time I can put into a game these days, but I think I'll try it. The story looks pretty engaging

[DJ_Izumi]

"Do I even really WANT to unlock every achivement for The Williams Collection?  Some of these goals are really hard and shouldn't I just be playing the pinball tables for the fun of it?"

[shmokes]

Speaking of thoroughly engrossing, completely linear, and not too long adventures . . . Uncharted 2.  Get it.  You won't for a second be sorry.  As in, it is an absolute ball from the very first second of gameplay until the very last. 

[Malenko]

"Do I even really WANT to unlock every achivement for The Williams Collection?  Some of these goals are really hard and shouldn't I just be playing the pinball tables for the fun of it?"

Id say playing all the tables is finishing the game, not getting all the achievements. There alot of 360 games I beat but didnt get all the cheevies on

[massive88]

Thanks for the info! 15 hrs is probably at the limit of how much time I can put into a game these days, but I think I'll try it. The story looks pretty engaging

Before you hold me to that, again thats if you do no subquests, and also if you dont have any problems in combat.  I did a fair amount, and still finished it in about 20 hours.  If you take assualt rifles (I played as a soldier), combat should not be a problem.

But the Sci-fi atmosphere was fantastic if you are a fan of the genre.  From the music, to the aliens, to even the old film filter that they have available, I loved it.

Also playing as an ---uvula--- was even more fun than being a dick in KoTOR, which is saying a lot.

Also long ago I decided I wouldnt play for achievements.  Ill play a game if its fun and if I enjoy it, not to inflate my epeen.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

"Do I even really WANT to unlock every achivement for The Williams Collection?  Some of these goals are really hard and shouldn't I just be playing the pinball tables for the fun of it?"

First of all, I love Williams Collection.  Fun, relatively deep games that you can play for hours, or minutes.  It's interesting you bring up that game in the context of this conversation: it gets pretty constant rotation in my PS3 regardless of what else I'm playing.

That said: Gah!! There's another thing I just don't get about current gaming culture: achievements/trophies.  What the hell are those good for?  They're given for doing just about anything in a game ("Achievement Unlocked: You Pressed a Button!") and as far as I know they don't get you anything.  Clothes for my avatar in effing Playstation Home?  Really?  I ran that piece of garbage once.  It makes me mad that I can't delete it from the XMB!

epeen.

Oh...  Yeah.  That pretty much explains it.  Never mind.   

[massive88]

That said: Gah!! There's another thing I just don't get about current gaming culture: achievements/trophies.  What the hell are those good for? 

There is one thing they are good for, but not enough games use it like this.

Its nice if the titles have them like check points along the way.  For instance, a 5 point achievement for each hour of game play or whatever.  COD4 was like that, so you could check where your friends are in a game at a glance, which is nice.

Beyond that, theres not much reason besides abusing peoples OCD or the previously mentioned epeen.  Both of which are genius for MS, who I believe started it, to entice people to play more games, longer.

[Ginsu Victim]

Achievements are sometimes cool, though mostly they've replaced real rewards in games.

I did enjoy earning the Gnome Chompsky award in Left 4 Dead 2 (take the gnome in Dark Carnival all the way to the end of the scenario, similar to Half Life 2: Episode 2, just a bit easier), simply because it made me play the game in a different way.

[Malenko]

I used to worry about 1k'ing games, but some are just stupid, like in SmackDown VS Raw 07 one achievement was "defend your created championship 50 times in a row online" no thanks. but sometimes they are pretty clever and make you do stuff that you normally wouldnt in game just to play it a little differently (Tales Of Vesperia has some of those)


I have given up on my epeen, all the 9 yr olds in modern warfare 2 wh00p ---my bottom--- on the regular.

[RTSDaddy2]

I appreciate the comments and thoughts - nice to know I'm not alone on this! One question though - if I'm a commitment phobic, how do you explain 12 years of marriage? 

I actually did complete WarioWare for the Wii (not shake it, the first one - party game), if one can complete a party game, and I also beat Bowser in Super Mario Galaxy....but by no means have I conquered every world in that game yet. From a computer side of things I actually finished Spider-Man 2, and I loved Syberia I (that things final cut scene still is emotionally off the chart for me).

I would agree with you all about how engrossed one is in the story.  It also depends on whether or not I'm completing it by myself or not - Chad, in mentioning the Lego thing, brought back many horrors.  I love my 7 year old kid to death, I really do, but when we play "Lego Indiana Jones", or "Lego Batman", what is her favorite thing to do? Come over and punch my character for no reason until I break apart, losing all my collected lego token things. Usually I can tolerate once, but by the 10th time, I get up and leave the room.  I find I do much better when I can play alone - which isn't often anymore these days.

I never will forget this: one day we were playing LIJ, and we were in the temple of the Holy Grail where the saws come along that cut your character.  I had to leave for a restroom break; when I came back, she had gotten mad at having to wait, and had pushed my character into a corner near the two saws so that every other pass my guy was getting chopped in half!

I also agree with the idea of having too many games and not knowing where to start....but again, I think part of my problem has been the loss of data.  After many months of sitting here listening to you all talk about Resident Evil 4, I finally gave in and tried it out - and I fell head over heels for the thing. I had gotten Leon to the first really major place in the game (I assume near the end of part 1, cemetary looking place with monuments, etc), when the Wii bricked the second time and lost all that work - and you know how hard it is to get through those early villages (Level 1 part 2 or 3, I think, where there's nothing but a host of undead).  I still have RE4 but haven't started back through it yet.  Because of that, also picked up The Umbrella Chronicles, but can't get/ haven't gotten past the damned giant scorpion yet on the train.

The one game for the Wii - that for all it's psychosis things that fascinate me - that I can't seem to get into at all is "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories."  I either suck at looking for stuff, or find it too freaky to go into the really scary parts...because I'm still just running around the town.  I think I'll bank on a little too freaky...when I entered the dress shop and called for the daughter, heard the little voice laugh at me, I turned the sucker off (I was here alone at the time- was REALLY not ready for that).

[ChadTower]

Come over and punch my character for no reason until I break apart, losing all my collected lego token things.

 

I have two sons.  The older one is not a serious gamer - he'll screw around, get himself killed, get you killed, you have to constantly tell him to hurry up because the game won't scroll due to where he is.  Last night in Ghostbusters he kept wandering off in buildings and getting lost.  The game won't let players get all that far apart in a level so rather than warp him forward it would warp me back.  Drove me nuts.  We went through the exact same thing as you on the GC LEGO games.  I kept two files - one for my completist goals and one for us to mess around in while we threw each other off cliffs and broke out into light saber duels for no reason.

The younger son is serious about his gaming.  He wants high scores, low times, high %, etc.  He's a blast to play with.  Gotta take the serious with the silly, though, and I expect before too long they'll be better than I am at everything except the Mario games and the "solve it" puzzle games.

I so remember the stage you're talking about.  Don't take it so seriously and have fun with her.  It won't last long.  You can play for goals after she goes to bed.  Make sure your gaming memories with her are fun ones and not "why can't you be 11 already" frustration.

Oh, yeah, and I got maybe a third of the way through RE4 Wii.  LOVE that game.  Found out that my kids could hear it even if I played at 10pm and it was freaking the younger one out.  I hate headphones so I never played that one again.  Sad, too, because I LOVE horror games.   

[Bender]

Thanks for the info! 15 hrs is probably at the limit of how much time I can put into a game these days, but I think I'll try it. The story looks pretty engaging

Before you hold me to that, again thats if you do no subquests, and also if you dont have any problems in combat.  I did a fair amount, and still finished it in about 20 hours.  If you take assualt rifles (I played as a soldier), combat should not be a problem.

But the Sci-fi atmosphere was fantastic if you are a fan of the genre.  From the music, to the aliens, to even the old film filter that they have available, I loved it.

Also playing as an ---uvula--- was even more fun than being a dick in KoTOR, which is saying a lot.

Also long ago I decided I wouldnt play for achievements.  Ill play a game if its fun and if I enjoy it, not to inflate my epeen.

No worries! (it always takes me a bit longer anyway)
Picked it up for $10 yesterday

Speaking of thoroughly engrossing, completely linear, and not too long adventures . . . Uncharted 2.  Get it.  You won't for a second be sorry.  As in, it is an absolute ball from the very first second of gameplay until the very last. 

I'm playing that now and love it, The first one got a little repetitive in the middle, but picked up in the end
This one has been balls to the wall all the way so far!!

[RTSDaddy2]

Come over and punch my character for no reason until I break apart, losing all my collected lego token things.

I so remember the stage you're talking about.  Don't take it so seriously and have fun with her.  It won't last long.  You can play for goals after she goes to bed.  Make sure your gaming memories with her are fun ones and not "why can't you be 11 already" frustration.

Oh, yeah, and I got maybe a third of the way through RE4 Wii.  LOVE that game.  Found out that my kids could hear it even if I played at 10pm and it was freaking the younger one out.  I hate headphones so I never played that one again.  Sad, too, because I LOVE horror games.   

Thank you for the seriously great advice, father to father. Sometimes I do take it too seriously...I will make sure our gaming memories from now on (both hers and mine) are not ones of frustration.  We had fun yesterday...I discovered that you can see "parts" of upper levels on the new SMB by doing free play...we both got the snot tickled out of us by world 8-7 with the rollecoaster bone snake.

That was a problem for me too with RE4...I had to find time to play it when she wasn't around - Mommy agreed to call me when they started home from the store so I could shut it down, but that didn't always happen. Mercifully, I would be in an empty shed or field when they walked in the door.

[ChadTower]

Finished Ghostbusters last night. 

Now on to NSMB.

[daywane]

All the games I have finished were played with some one else. EXCEPT ZELDA
That was my first game I finished on the NES.
Wife and I we just starting our family when Sega Genisis came to our aid.
I would work all day and think of coming home and help wife out with kids and toss them into bed. SONIC TIME!!! (also when Friends came over Monoply Nes and Sega Gen.)
a little drink, a little smoke, munchies, some sports game on the radio, and monoply on the tube.

Then came SNES.  Zelda was MINE!!! but again I would go to work and think of helping wife ECT. ECT. ECT. but now it was DONKEY KONG Country!!!!

oldest daughter got into Res Evil on Game cube. We finished that. we had so much fun with that we found the Harry Potters and finished most of them.
She has moved on and started a Family of her own

Youngest daughter tried the games I like but just could not figure out the hard parts.
she is 13 yrs old now. we have finished a few sponge bobs, and a TAZ on PS2
she is big into rock band. NOT MY THING.

She bought a Sponge Bob with her Xmas $$$ and seems to love it.(Wii)  But Tia and I seem to spend more time on the sports games. She loves to watch me do Punch Out , she likes tennis and bowling He have got close to the end of a Harry potter on game cube together but she got frustrated and quit.

I just remembered.... Virtual Villagers on PC. She finished that one. I had it going in living room and her bed room ..... she would watch my villagers grow and get her's as close to mine as she could. we finished that game several times.

[danny_galaga]

All the games I have finished were played with some one else. EXCEPT ZELDA
That was my first game I finished on the NES.
Wife and I we just starting our family when Sega Genisis came to our aid.
I would work all day and think of coming home and help wife out with kids and toss them into bed. SONIC TIME!!! (also when Friends came over Monoply Nes and Sega Gen.)
a little drink, a little smoke, munchies, some sports game on the radio, and monoply on the tube.

Then came SNES.  Zelda was MINE!!! but again I would go to work and think of helping wife ECT. ECT. ECT. but now it was DONKEY KONG Country!!!!

oldest daughter got into Res Evil on Game cube. We finished that. we had so much fun with that we found the Harry Potters and finished most of them.
She has moved on and started a Family of her own

Youngest daughter tried the games I like but just could not figure out the hard parts.
she is 13 yrs old now. we have finished a few sponge bobs, and a TAZ on PS2
she is big into rock band. NOT MY THING.

She bought a Sponge Bob with her Xmas $$$ and seems to love it.(Wii)  But Tia and I seem to spend more time on the sports games. She loves to watch me do Punch Out , she likes tennis and bowling He have got close to the end of a Harry potter on game cube together but she got frustrated and quit.

I just remembered.... Virtual Villagers on PC. She finished that one. I had it going in living room and her bed room ..... she would watch my villagers grow and get her's as close to mine as she could. we finished that game several times.

cool to read (",)

When i tell people about games at work, the older guys just roll their eyes. They don't think it's very productive or good for a family environment. Because i'm single and never have meaningful, long term relationships, they imagine that's how all gamers must be. It's good to hear your sort of story, even if your wife not always have been too happy about it 

[ClubNinja]

Now on to NSMB.

This game rocks with a 4 year old who is more excited about picking you up and tossing you into a lava pit than actually completing the course.  Seriously.  Another case of save-the-goals-for-after-bedtime and just have fun.

[ChadTower]

This game rocks with a 4 year old who is more excited about picking you up and tossing you into a lava pit than actually completing the course.  Seriously.  Another case of save-the-goals-for-after-bedtime and just have fun.

Ha!  My statements above on that so apply here.  Older kid likes to obstruct and do silly things.  Younger kid gets serious about finishing levels and teamwork.  It gets interesting with all 3 of us playing.  I think I started having more fun when I switched from needing to make tangible progress every time to using it as a way to relax. 

I can't lie, though, and say there are no moments where both the younger son and I look over to the older kid at the same time with a WTF look on our faces.     You can only get killed by a turtle shell from behind so many times before you start throwing them back and it turns into SSBB.

Then invariably we end up in Super Mario War.

[ClubNinja]

Hehe.  And after I've resurfaced from the lava inside my little safety bubble, just as I float over to my partner to be popped back into action, he self-bubbles, leaving me hanging and ending the level.  That one has gotten so popular that mom no longer plays.

[Hoopz]

Now on to NSMB.

This game rocks with a 4 year old who is more excited about picking you up and tossing you into a lava pit than actually completing the course.  Seriously.  Another case of save-the-goals-for-after-bedtime and just have fun.

My stepson and I were playing last week and he got pissed when I kept picking him up and tossing him around.  My wife got tired of us bitching talking to each other.

This game rocks with a 4 year old who is more excited about picking you up and tossing you into a lava pit than actually completing the course.  Seriously.  Another case of save-the-goals-for-after-bedtime and just have fun.

Ha!  My statements above on that so apply here.  Older kid likes to obstruct and do silly things.  Younger kid gets serious about finishing levels and teamwork.  It gets interesting with all 3 of us playing.  I think I started having more fun when I switched from needing to make tangible progress every time to using it as a way to relax. 

I can't lie, though, and say there are no moments where both the younger son and I look over to the older kid at the same time with a WTF look on our faces.     You can only get killed by a turtle shell from behind so many times before you start throwing them back and it turns into SSBB.

Then invariably we end up in Super Mario War.

With the mode they have in there to compete against each other, you'd think it would be logical to make Super Mario War a variation of the game.  It'd definitely be a hit just as it already is.   

[ChadTower]

Hehe.  And after I've resurfaced from the lava inside my little safety bubble, just as I float over to my partner to be popped back into action, he self-bubbles, leaving me hanging and ending the level.  That one has gotten so popular that mom no longer plays.

Ooh yeah we have a rule now that if there is only one player left active he must stand still until at least one other player recovers.  Of course only two of us follow that rule...

I did sort of wonder why there was no competitive mode.  It just seems like there should be.

Last night we busted out Wii Sports Resort for the first time.  The younger kid is Yoda in the swordfighting game.  I'm lucky to occasionally get one round in.   

[hypernova]

Last night we busted out Wii Sports Resort for the first time.  The younger kid is Yoda in the swordfighting game.  I'm lucky to occasionally get one round in.   

Do they basically go crazy?  Took me one match to find a counter that spaz strategy.  Two basic blocking directions.  Perfectly vertically and perfectly horizontally.  Almost, if not all attacks can be blocked by one of those directions.  And since kids mostly go from side-to-side, holding the Wiimote vertically will stop them at some point, allowing for your counterattack.  Then you can spaz out on them!

[ChadTower]

Sort of.  He seems to be off the charts precise.  I'll have a block up and he'll either just bash right through it or go perfectly around it and hit me 5 times before I can adjust the block.  The kid is fast.  Almost every single time I let go of the B button he's on me instantly.  I'm spending most rounds holding out for a draw.

[crashwg]

I just completed NSMB Wii, YAY!

Every level, every coin, every secret.  The only thing I didn't get done was beating the game without a Luigi hint block showing up.  Apparently if you can manage that the stars at the title screen twinkle.  The game was fun but not fun enough to play again just for twinkly stars...

[hypernova]

I just completed NSMB Wii, YAY!

Every level, every coin, every secret.  The only thing I didn't get done was beating the game without a Luigi hint block showing up.  Apparently if you can manage that the stars at the title screen twinkle.  The game was fun but not fun enough to play again just for twinkly stars...

Not with the occasional accidental Wiimote shake jump activating.  Rather annoying.

Same here about the hint block.  Not important to me at all.