When do you 'finish' a game?

[$h@d0w]

The Motivational Pact got me thinking.

When do you consider your games to be finished? When you have 100% on a complete counter? When you've seen the main storyline? Or when you've unlocked every single bonus costume and easter egg?

For me, it's probably the complete perfection. Like, the one player game in Soul Calibur on the DC. It wasn't finished until I got the last weapon and different title screen.

The problem recently has been the flood of games on the different systems, it makes it really difficult to concentrate on one game

[acidforblood]

Take Rare's N64 games as an example.

Ok first came Banjo Kazooie which i completely finished and really enjoyed it, then came Jet Force Gemini which i enjoyed up until the point where i had to go back and collect all those furry bastards. Then came DK64 and i just couldn't be arsed to play it....to similar.

If a game has a fresh idea or looks different etc i'll play it to the death but i find the appeal gets watered down by familiarity.

[Vaipon]

I think the word finish always means that you have played through from beginning to end, and not necessarily unlocked every last feature. If someone tells me that they have "finished" a game, I will only expect that to mean that they have played through the title and obtained an ending sequence. I think we need to invent a new term for utterly destroying a game and dominating every last little piece of it though... Any suggestions?

[Jay]

I think the word finish always means that you have played through from beginning to end, and not necessarily unlocked every last feature. If someone tells me that they have "finished" a game, I will only expect that to mean that they have played through the title and obtained an ending sequence. I think we need to invent a new term for utterly destroying a game and dominating every last little piece of it though... Any suggestions?

How about 'anal' as a verb? 'I totally analled Mario Sunshine last night! I found every last item, and every secret in the whole game! Now I'm gonna go back and anal Soul Calibur ...'

Or not.

Jay

[Adam Stone]

I usually say i have 'beaten' a game when i have obtained every last item, unlockable goodie etc etc. I dont personally use the term 'finished' but i do say i have 'completed' a game when an ending has been witnessed.

It personally depends on the game for me to completely, utterly 'beat' it. Games such as Zelda, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil, Eternal Darkness, Pikmin, SSBM are a few for the Cube i have 'beaten' recently. All of these gript me and wouldn't let go until i had done so.

Other games such as Timesplitters 2, Die Hard and even Mario Sunshine were great and i did 'complete' them, but didn't feel the need to 'beat' them. I will probably one day, but am not too fussed.

[C']

I think the word finish always means that you have played through from beginning to end, and not necessarily unlocked every last feature. If someone tells me that they have "finished" a game, I will only expect that to mean that they have played through the title and obtained an ending sequence. I think we need to invent a new term for utterly destroying a game and dominating every last little piece of it though... Any suggestions?

How about 'anal' as a verb? 'I totally analled Mario Sunshine last night! I found every last item, and every secret in the whole game! Now I'm gonna go back and anal Soul Calibur ...'

Or not.

Jay

Not.

Definitely, not.

[$h@d0w]

How about 'anal' as a verb? 'I totally analled Mario Sunshine last night! I found every last item, and every secret in the whole game! Now I'm gonna go back and anal Soul Calibur ...'

Or not.

Jay

So you anal'ed Mario last night?



I'm close to 100% on DMC2 (Need to do Dante Must Die) and SC2 (Missing last row of weapons), only games I've really played at length recently.

[Jay]

How about 'anal' as a verb? 'I totally analled Mario Sunshine last night! I found every last item, and every secret in the whole game! Now I'm gonna go back and anal Soul Calibur ...'

Or not.

Jay

So you anal'ed Mario last night?

More worryingly, I'm *this* close to analling Tony Hawk

Jay

[Firsty]

Haven't lived until you've analed.

I suggest "cained"

[marcus]

Generally a finished game for me is one where Ive played through until past the final credits, I dont have the time I would like to of to be able to be a true completist, nor am I able to replay games often, so I prettty much get to the end, finish it and rarely do I return to it again as Ill ofd moved onto the next.

[evilmatt]

With some videogames, being a perfectionist is a bad thing. I finished Metroid Prime with only 97% (only? hehe) but being the perfectionist I am, I had to go back and find that elusive 3%. Only to find that a couple of the things missing from my logbook, can't be found once you get so far into the game.


So I've had to start again from scratch.


I've put it away for now, too busy with Wind Waker and leading Torquay to second division glory in CM4, but the knowledge I didn't complete it properly is knawing away inside of me.....

[srgbilco]

Clocked?

I have the time to fully beat a game, as I usually just buy one game a month. But with SMS I couldn't be bothered to get every last goddamn blue coin and extra shine (Yoshi's Fruit Adventure, I'm looking at you). Last time I left it, I had around 105 shines.

But a really imaginituve game like TWW, where you don't have to repeat the same damn task every few minutes, I probably would complete all the sidequests and stuff. Not to sure about the picture gallery though.

[Sigur]

When i've fulfilled the tasks set.

[Ady]

I consider true completion wringing thre best out of the game.

The over-emphasis on piddly unlockable extras makes a lot of today's games seem too much like hard work.

Very few games are worth constantly replaying with a granular perecentage increment and puerile 'l337' cred status as the only reward.

[charlesr]

I do enough on big games to see the end sequence. Blast Corps is probably the only game in recent times that I have "completed" every single damn thing in. And tbh, it was worth it.