No time to be a master

[Saurian]

I follow a similar plan to Tokuda - I choose which games I need to focus on and stick with them. I dont buy that many games, just a select few which I know I will put months into training up on it. PN03 was the last game I bought and I still havent progressed beyond stage 5 because I keep erasing my own data and starting again with new skills picked up (VERY satisfying to totally own the early stages with finesse and get 'Professional' ranking all the way!) *incredible game BTW!*

I can usually have 4 on the go at once, it depends on what's out and what my friend's are playing. I have to keep up practise on Evo and Soul Calibur or I will be laughed at! >_< Games can last you for years if you dedicate to them, I have no idea when I'll finally 1 credit Psyvariar (but I will keep trying! ) *a years worth of gameplay for ?40 aint bad * and I still havent dug as deep as needed!

[acidforblood]

Don't worry guys just wait until you have kids and the wife works evenings....a spot of baby sitting *read: send the kids to bed early* and then the the whole night to catch up on your collection.

[badgerpie]

I know exactly what you mean. Buying a new game makes me feel good. Then there's the forums and the magazines that you read, all of which entice you into buying new things.

Then there's the other hand, I have a full time job, a wife, a fair few friends none of which I want to lose

So now I'm really trying to limit myself to what I buy. There are essentials like Metroid Prime and Wind Waker that i've got but before these two latest edition I think I had around 20 - 25 games on my 'to do' list. I'm banning myself from buying anything new till both Prime, Zelda and a fair few others are crossed off the list.

As for mastery, unfortunately for my multiplaying gaming my old flat broke up as I moved in with my lady, with it went easy access to multuplayer gaming and the benchmark I used to have at how good I was.

[Boomah]

I spend more time reading (online and print) about games and deciding what games I am going to buy next than I actually do playing them.

In the good old days when there was no internet and I only got 1 magazine a month I could dedicate a long time to playing my games. Now with work and socialising I find I have no time at all. At the moment I have got Ikaruga, Mr Driller, Mario Party4 and Res Evil all sat in their wrappers untouched and my GC isn't even linked up to the TV. Compare this to when I was younger and had my Lynx. I had two games for about 6 months, California Games and Todds Adventures in Slime World. I knew every single little bit of each of those games and was a master at them both.

After reading this thread I am going to impose a game buying ban on myself until I have got the most out of the games I really want to play (Ikaruga and Mr Driller) ... no matter what I read and what gets hyped up...

that is until F-Zero comes out ....... )

Boomah

[Saurian]

Oh man! F-Zero!

I put F-Zero X on again last night and played till the early hours, man -that game is just heaven! Some parts of it are just pure Daytona! Mute City 2 where you have all 30 cars crammed into a tight path not 2 cars wide then straight into a tight bend - it's carnage!

[dgnr7982]

I spend more time reading (online and print) about games and deciding what games I am going to buy next than I actually do playing them.

In the good old days when there was no internet and I only got 1 magazine a month I could dedicate a long time to playing my games. Now with work and socialising I find I have no time at all..........

Ditto

[ThoseOfTheUnlight]

I thought I was the only one to be feeling like this, recently I've felt like a "false gamer" if you know what I mean, buying lots of stuff but not dedicating enough time to it down to a mixture of a busy life and apathy.

But its been helped no end by the wonder that Is VF Evolution, it truly is amazing and challenges you to push your skills to the limit. This along with Psyvariar, and other games like Mr Driller have seen me move away from the games that the press harps on about, and about beating my previous best.

I havent felt this good about gaming in many years!

[Roost]

I'll probably be told i'm missing out but i've moved away from the progression type gaming like Metroid where your so many many % through or Zelda i'm on xxxxxx dungeon. And started playing the games i know i'll play a lot and will get good at.

Things like WE6:FE i always played it a lot before but always on normal difficulty. I got this on GC have invested quite a lot of time into and can rinse em all on 5 stars now.

Also Moto GP on Xbl it helps that my mate that comes round and hooks his xb up to xbl at the same time as me is damn good and should be in the top 100 if it wasn't for the glitches. I really love getting better and better and when you get a personal best on a track it's a great feeling.

Where as Saur and Tok get into there beat em ups and shmups, i do the same on racing games learning the lines and breaking points etc. It may not be everybodys bag but it's definitely my bag baby.

It also means i only play games that i enjoy and the competition with my mate helps us both improve

[superkully]

I thought I was the only one to be feeling like this, recently I've felt like a "false gamer" if you know what I mean, buying lots of stuff but not dedicating enough time to it down to a mixture of a busy life and apathy.

Same here.

I read this thread in the morning and at dinnertime I popped home ruthlessly picked up every game which I had bought because it was a 'bargain' or because it was meant to be good. And anything which I knew I wasn't going to really like. I then took them down my local shop and part-ex'd them.

I feel a lot better now, knowing I only have Panzer Dragoon Orta and Kung-fu chaos as new games to play now, instead of the twelve or so sitting on the shelf before which I couldn't be bothered to even start.

I kept Halo, Rez, ICO, Ikaruga and Gitaroo Man. I can recommend this "spring cleaning" to anyone.

[PeteJ]

I also did a 'spring cleaning' recently, getting rid of about 8 games.

Since I got a PAL PS2 and my Xbox chipped, I find myself down my local browsing the second hand selves all the more often. Some days I wake up wanting something new to play, even when I've had a brandnew game come through the post on the very same day.

In April I've bought 5 games, which is slightly above average, but I've managed to complete 3 of them and something very rare for me - I continue to play.

[lordcookie]

I also sell anything I know I`m definetely not going to play anymore and I`m very very careful about what I buy. (I have 4 games for my GC, 4 for my XBOX, and 14 for my PS2).

So my advice? Buy less and more wisely and play more. Your gaming experiences will be enriched by the depth you can wring out from a title rather than you constantly playing different games.

I am in the middle of this spring cleaning (I am getting rid of 50-70 games I have barely touched ), and I did it so I could concentrate on a few core games. Unfortunately this forum has scuppered these plans, as I hear about new games, or just pop in to the items for sale folder, and find a couple of bargains. So I now have 10+ new games that are sat on my shelf still unplayed. It annoys me that I have no self control, and I buy the games with the full intention of playing them, it just never happens.

It's kind of nice seeing I am not alone though. I guess this is a bit like a Gamers Anonymous meeting.

"My name is Adam Cook, and I have a gaming problem".

[dgnr7982]

The Items for Sale forum on here is a curse!

I always feel dissapointed when I get home from work and there is no post for me - I always want there to be something new sitting there to be played - the fact that I received two new games the day before doesn't satisfy the need to play new stuff.

The mind boggles when I see the collection pics on this site - I can't believe anyone could put any time into that amount of games.

[PeteJ]

Problem is, I like that new game 'smell'. I like unwrapping the plastic, seeing the disk for the first time, watching the intro, learning the controls. Playing a new game.

I like new stuff, and I'll often pay good money just to see it. Dare I say it, I often like newness more than the game itself.

[C']

Problem is, I like that new game 'smell'. I like unwrapping the plastic, seeing the disk for the first time, watching the intro, learning the controls. Playing a new game.

I like new stuff, and I'll often pay good money just to see it. Dare I say it, I often like newness more than the game itself.

But is that such a bad thing? What we get from games, as individuals, is all that matters.

If complete and utter mastery of the intricate details of the game's system is what appeals, then so be it.

Likewise, if the feeling of 'newness' and enjoying constantly fresh experiences is what floats your boat, then that's OK too.

When it comes down to it, gaming is about having fun, but different people extract that enjoyment in different ways, and none is right or wrong.

[El Geet]

It's the social aspect that I miss. When at uni the megadrive was in constant use and the Saturn just came out...Virtua Fighter...wow. People would queue up to play. Now I only have about one friend who will play with me...boohoo.

I try and set aside Friday nights for a gaming session but it gets more and more difficult. I have a WE6:FE session most evenings or some GTA:VC but I can't really interest my friends in much else. If I could I would play a lot more.

Totally agree on the more money than sense principle. I bought three games in GAME at a snip last weekend...haven't even touched them yet.