Historically, I've been a quitter. Books - I didn't finish any non-required reading until college. Film - I fell asleep; okay, I still do half the time. Games - I'm known for starting them all (usually all at the same time), and finishing almost none. Shit, I thought I had nearly quit this blog. To the six of you I kept waiting, I apologize.
Times have changed. Recently I started finishing games consistently. I used to discard anything that didn't mesh nearly perfectly with me from the get-go. Recently I finished the excellent (?) L.A. Noire after a dreadfully irritating start. Next I plan to finish up the totally disappointing Bioshock 2, and (hopefully) finally finish a Pokemon game with Pokemon White. These games all have their ups and downs, but the downs used to be the kind that would turn me to quitting - control issues, inferiority to predecessor, caves…
All desire to quit has been washed away as of late though. I just want to finish - everything. While this is part of a very legitimate excuse for lack of posts, it also seems a good place to start for the resumption of regular posting. There's a lot I have to say (really, I've had ideas for three or four essays) about L.A. Noire. I also have some thoughts on the popularity of online competitive play, especially with the new multiplayer darling Words With Friends (and also how multiplayer gaming can recreate the accomplished feelings one gets when finishing a single-player experience). Then there’s the inevitable something that will come out of finishing Twin Peaks and playing Alan Wake again. For now, this is all you get.
Many go back to old games to relive the magic of childhood gaming (you know, Roller Coaster Tycoon, or Ocarina of Time for the sixth time) and others continue with classic, sometimes stale series years after their prime. I've stumbled upon my own way of reliving these experiences. It’s a method that many game nerds have been utilizing for quite some time to varying degrees of satisfaction. I stopped being so judgmental and just started playing.
Back in the golden days of the N64, young Ross would play anything, and for as long as he could in most cases. Not fun? Maybe it’ll get better. Too hard? Try again. Ready for bed? Just a little longer. People, in general, seem to have a soft spot for pretty much every game they played as a kid. It’s not just the typical, “A Link to the Past is awesome; VII was the best Final Fantasy,” business either. Once a friend brought up Chameleon Twist and I got excited. Chameleon Twist. I had to see numerous lists of all-time worst games to realize that maybe I wasn’t bad at Superman 64, but it was bad at itself…
The point is this – I’ve been playing games again, really playing games. I’ve been playing things just for the joy of interacting with digital interfaces, progressing through a story, and just to be able to say that I finished. I’ve wanted to post something for weeks, but I’ve been too busy playing games with damn near all my free time to do so.
So often people let reviews, friends, gameplay footage, and a slew of other things dissuade them from simply trying games. This wasn’t the case with me, but I had what might be a worse problem. An example: Let’s say I paid full price for a new game, but then hastily decided that I didn’t like it and trade it in at Gamestop only three days later. Now let’s say that that actually happened – and it did – with Red Dead Redemption. Imagine my surprise when I finished the (in every way) inferior L.A. Noire with a general sense of satisfaction.
This is the first post in a long while, and it may take me a couple weeks to get another one together. In the meantime I have homework for the readers (yes, the aforementioned six of them). Play a game that you quit, never tried before, didn’t have time for, or that you let yourself believe you didn’t like. Pick something on the shorter side and actually finish it. It’s really fun. I'm going back to grinding for levels in Pokemon now.
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