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Unfinished Business - Games You Liked But Never Compl

LBD_NytetraynLBD_Nytetrayn TorontoRegistered User regular
edited September 2007 in Games and Technology
So, a lot of people say that they love a game, but never finished it. I know this, I'm guilty of it myself. I love playing Zelda: Twilight Princess and Luigi's Mansion, but both remain woefully incomplete. The former because I usually just game for quick spurts, and I hate the thought of starting back at the start of a dungeon before it's finished, and the latter because I put it down for a bit, and completely lost where I was, but instead of playing it over again, it's become part of my "to-do" list.

But, what my wife is wondering for an article she is writing for 1up.com is, "why don't people finish the games they start?" Do they get too difficult for you?

Too boring?

Does real life interfere, and by the time you're able to return, it's too hard to get back into the swing of things?

Do more games need to "update" the player when they return from a long break (for example, Pokemon Pearl and Diamond do just this)?

Do you get distracted by new releases, leading to that last problem? (my issue with Luigi's Mansion, btw)

Tell your tales of distraction and incompletion here, and if you want to be quoted in the feature, be sure to e-mail my wife with your name (real, please; "Baron von Asskick '97" seems to be considered unprofessional by online publications these days, for some reason), and a vague location (we don't need your street address or anything, just a state is fine). You can e-mail said info to her at nadiaoxford at gmail dot com.

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Posts

  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    STALKER and Oblivion. I don't know why but I never finished them. I should go back to those two.

    Pharezon on
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  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Reasons why people don't get through games they start:

    1. the 'novelty' of the new game wears off
    2. they are too busy with other things in their life
    3. they end up with other games and then start those instead of finishing one
    4. they get busy and forget, then come back and realize they don't remember what's going on, then say fuck it.
    5. the game in question is just too goddamn long and they lose the feeling of 'need to see the game to the end', even if they did in fact enjoy the gameplay
    6. someone gets stuck on a part and just doesn't have the time/energy to invest in it to figure out how to get past that part
    7. Game is just too difficult period.
    8. so many 'side quests' or other 'things to do' in the game that a player never bothers finishing the 'primary plot/goal/story/etc.'
    9. The multiplayer aspect of a game becomes the only reason to play the game, and the player 'gets enough out of the game' just from that
    10. A game has you doing a repetitive task, or is very repetitive in its gameplay, to the point where you've simply "had enough" and don't care to finish it


    that's what I think.

    Also, if a person finds the game boring, obviously they might not finish it.

    slash000 on
  • StigmaStigma Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Pretty much, yeah.

    Stigma on
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  • DVGDVG No. 1 Honor Student Nether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    OCD is a contributing factor for me a lot of the time. I want to get everything in the game there is to do, but then the enormity of that task becomes apparent and I eventually lose interest in the game altogether.

    DVG on
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  • augustaugust where you come from is gone Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Disciples II.

    It's very long and I am not very smart.

    Gonna have another go at it though.

    august on
  • DaybreakDaybreak Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Heh, it's funny that you post this now.

    You see, a year ago I bought Dead Rising when it came out (8/8/06). I played through it until the very end:
    When you had to go meet the helicopter at 12:00pm on the last day. Well, for some reason I went to the rooftop above the warehouse, not the helipad, and therefore missed the real ending (and overtime mode).

    I was so mad at myself and the game that I never finished it. Finally, last week (killing time before Bioshock) I decided to give it another go. I managed to finish the game... sorta:
    I got to overtime mode, but really don't feel like going on to beat it. Collecting items and queens sounds boring, and the game seems so different than the first half because of the soldiers and such.

    So there's a game that I've halfway completed, and only got halfway after a year of incompleteness. Frustration was really the only thing that stood in my way, knowing that I'd replay difficult parts only because *I* screwed up the first time around.

    I can't think of any other incomplete games. Oh, FFIV for the GBA! I'm still not finished because I have to grind in the last dungeon for hours before I finish it. But I beat it on the SNES multiple times so I don't feel that bad.

    Daybreak on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • tehmarkentehmarken BrooklynRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    FF9. I got about halfway through the game almost a dozen times. Every dam time I play it at halfway or sooner the save file would say it was corrupted and I'd hafta start over. I really loved that game too, but playing the same half a game over and over and over just killed me.

    tehmarken on
  • Gorilla SaladGorilla Salad Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Silent Hill 2. It's so damn scary!

    Gorilla Salad on
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Oblivion.

    I have to do what to get more lockpicks? Oh, you said that NPC is bugged? Shift+Delete

    Jasconius on
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  • lazyc0mmunistlazyc0mmunist Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Vampires the Masquerade:Bloodlines, I played it every day for a week or so, then stopped for one day and haven't touched it since.

    lazyc0mmunist on
  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Yeah so, can't believe this ain't been said yet:
    GTA

    Local H Jay on
  • ElJeffeElJeffe Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2007
    Metroid Prime 2 was the only game I ever really liked and didn't complete. It was sort of hard, and I became frustrated by one of the last bosses. I had to roll around on him and attack him with bombs, I believe, and for some reason I needed Dark Ammo, which I kept running out of. Just never came back to it.

    I never finished Xenogears or FFX. On both of those, I liked the games just enough to keep going, and as soon as I died twice in a row on a certain boss, I said fuck it and quit, because neither of the games were especially enjoyable.

    ElJeffe on
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  • TurkeyTurkey So, Usoop. TampaRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Halo 2
    OH MY GOD I AM SO WI

    Turkey on
  • CraigopogoCraigopogo Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I've gotten almost to the end of STALKER 3 times. I get there and just never feel like playing. I don't know why, I love the game. I just totally lose interest.

    Craigopogo on
  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    A lot of people never finished Doom 3 because the creepiness wore off and they found repetitive and/or tedious. A lot of people never finish Metroid games because they get tired of "backtracking." A lot people can't finish DMC or Ninja Gaiden because it gets too difficult or frustrating. A lot of people never finish morrowind/oblivion/etc because they start dicking around at their leisure and just never get around to finishing the 'main story' before they've had their fill of the game. A lot of people never finish RPGs because they're too long.

    I couldn't finish Hitman 2 because I thought that the snowy big level was too fucking tedious.

    slash000 on
  • ZephyrZephyr Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    i never finished gta vc stories for my psp.

    i mean i liked the game but i got to a mission which seemed impossible so i just stopped and spent my rest of the time on it just murdering people and blowing shit up.

    Zephyr on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2007
    Oh, right. I never finished Doom 3 for exactly that reason. Eventually I used the God cheat so I could just breeze through it and see everything, but it got to the point where even that was too boring.

    ElJeffe on
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  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Also, I never beat God of War 2 since it was a rental and was not compelled to buy it.

    Local H Jay on
  • ElendilElendil Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Fire Emblem 8
    Fire Emblem 9

    I just beat Fire Emblem 7, after years of owning it and about five attempts. Take that, backlog!

    Elendil on
  • mntorankusumntorankusu I'm not sure how to use this thing.... Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Xenosaga 3. I was really disappointed by it, and I quit playing. But looking back on it, I actually did like it, I was just disappointed it was absolutely nothing like the first two. I'd like to finish it, especially since this is one of those games that gives you a summary of what's up when you start, but I keep trying and failing to get back into it.

    Mega Man X8. I spent all sorts of time and effort to get to the end of this ridiculously difficult game (on Normal mode), but then... One of the last levels appeared to be constructed almost entirely out of spikes. Hooray. No thanks!

    Ico. I guess I'm just stupid, because I was always getting stuck. :( The puzzles just seemed really obscure and hard to figure out a lot of the time. I really really liked everything else about it though, so one of these days I'm just going to start it up and use a guide when I get stuck.

    Metroid Prime. The very last bit before the final boss, at the Impact Crater or whatever. Screw going through that area again each time I want to fight the boss. It's the very end though, so this is not a big deal.

    Baten Kaitos. I have no attention span! I loved a lot of things about this game, but it was actually pretty boring outside of the battle system. In the end, I think this one was mostly because of other games distracting me.

    Beyond Good & Evil. It just sorta...failed to grab me. I think it's a cool game, and I wish I could have played through it, but I was practically forcing myself to keep playing before I gave up.

    These are some of the most significant ones, I think, but it's just a fraction of the full list of games I wish I had completed. I suck. :(

    mntorankusu on
  • PaulTheAfraidPaulTheAfraid Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Thief 1 and 2, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
    I prefer non-lethal stealth on my first playthrough of these types of games, but it almost always degenerates into frustrating trial-and-error gameplay. If I could just bite the bullet and assassinate everyone instead of sneaking by them, problem solved.

    Oblivion
    My first character was a pure mage, and there's no way that I know of to remove obsolete spells in the 360 version. Going through the spellbook for stuff I don't have hotkeyed or can't remember the name of is just that irritating.

    System Shock 2
    Because I am a miserable failure of a human being. Finishing Bioshock may have redeemed my soul a little bit, but this one still haunts me.

    Planescape: Torment
    See above :|

    PaulTheAfraid on
  • PataPata Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Megaman 8.

    Got stuck on Wily's Fortress.

    Then my little brother broke the MMAC disk. :(

    Pata on
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  • ReznikReznik Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Final Fantasy XII: I got stuck at the demon wall because my characters are far too weak. Normally I'd go back and level them up but I realised that I just don't care about any of the characters or the story so there's nothing motivating me to play, unlike Final Fantasy VII when I gave a damn.

    Resident Evils 1 - 4: Scary D:

    Chrono Cross: I'd actually been having fun with this one until I got to Fort Dragonia or whatever that place was and it reminded me way too much of FFVII's temple of the ancients. I really hate those maze/puzzle things...

    That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

    Reznik on
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  • NerfThatManNerfThatMan Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I still haven't finished Twilight Princess because I don't want it to end.

    :(

    NerfThatMan on
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  • StigmaStigma Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I never beat God of War 2 either.
    I felt like I was just going through the motions and it wasn't impressing me all that much.

    Some day I might go back to it.

    Stigma on
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  • DragkoniasDragkonias That Guy Who Does Stuff You Know, There. Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Morrowind and Oblivion. Not that I didn't enjoy the games, I liked them a lot (200+ hours on Morrowind, 80+ on Oblivion) it was just that I'd did so much with the sidequests by the time I went back to the main story I'd felt like doing something else and never got to finishing it.

    God of War - The combat was pretty cool but the world was so uninteresting, your average dark as shit world that every anti-hero in a action game these days lives in...not to mention I thought Kratos was an ass and I can't play games where I don't like the mains.

    Star Ocean 3 - Too many changes from SO2, didn't enjoy the combat as much and though MP damage was the stupidest idea ever.

    GTA3 - Just never got around to doing it, finished Vice City and Sandreas though.

    Dragkonias on
  • mntorankusumntorankusu I'm not sure how to use this thing.... Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Reznik wrote: »
    Final Fantasy XII: I got stuck at the demon wall because my characters are far too weak. Normally I'd go back and level them up but I realised that I just don't care about any of the characters or the story so there's nothing motivating me to play, unlike Final Fantasy VII when I gave a damn.
    I felt exactly the same about this game when I rented it. I didn't care about anything that was going on, at all. And I didn't particularly like the gameplay either.

    I did like Fran though!

    mntorankusu on
  • NarketNarket __BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2007
    there are so many games that i never finished

    Zelda 2 The Adventures of Link:
    very enjoyable game. i just couldn't finish it because i hated the fact that everytime you die and have game over or you save and turn it off, you start back at the beginning of the game. just irritating as hell!!

    S.T.A.K.E.R.:
    well, my roomate uninstalled it...

    GTA San Andreas:
    i played 3 and vice city so much that it was just the same old crap to me. even though there was a lot more to do, it just wasn't worth the effort.

    the list could go on and on, but that's just a few for me.

    Narket on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • GoodCitizenGoodCitizen Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I hardly ever 'finish' games these days. Over time it seems that the definition of finishing a game has changed for me. Take a look at Disgaea 2 for example. Am I finished when I've gotten through the main story? How about after collecting all the endings? Maybe when all my guys are reincarnated to max stats with 300 felonies and 9999 levels? In a way, I don't think any of my games are ever finished. I can still pop in Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the dreamcast and consider myself progressing, or atleast sucking less.

    But ya, there's some games I just don't finish because they get frustrating and I go do something else. Pretty much any Castlevania game does this to me. Fuck you rooms with medusa heads and spikes. Why do you always have to make an appearance???

    GoodCitizen on
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  • NarketNarket __BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2007
    Reznik wrote: »
    Final Fantasy XII: I got stuck at the demon wall because my characters are far too weak. Normally I'd go back and level them up but I realised that I just don't care about any of the characters or the story so there's nothing motivating me to play, unlike Final Fantasy VII when I gave a damn.
    I felt exactly the same about this game when I rented it. I didn't care about anything that was going on, at all. And I didn't particularly like the gameplay either.

    I did like Fran though!

    know what you mean. i bought the collector's edition and huge ass strategy guide thinking i would love it!! played two days, and haven't played since... $90.00 down the drain.

    Narket on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • ghost_master2000ghost_master2000 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    ...
    Metroid Prime. The very last bit before the final boss, at the Impact Crater or whatever. Screw going through that area again each time I want to fight the boss. It's the very end though, so this is not a big deal.
    ...
    These are some of the most significant ones, I think, but it's just a fraction of the full list of games I wish I had completed. I suck. :(

    the part with the platforms and neverending elemental metroids? I tried pulling MP back out a couple times and just kept getting jacked up in that part over and over again, so I just said screw it.

    is the boss after that part the one where
    it's that bug thing that charges you and you have to keep switching weapons and roll into a ball when it charges? or is that MP2?

    ghost_master2000 on
  • evilmrhenryevilmrhenry Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    ...
    Metroid Prime. The very last bit before the final boss, at the Impact Crater or whatever. Screw going through that area again each time I want to fight the boss. It's the very end though, so this is not a big deal.
    ...
    These are some of the most significant ones, I think, but it's just a fraction of the full list of games I wish I had completed. I suck. :(

    the part with the platforms and neverending elemental metroids? I tried pulling MP back out a couple times and just kept getting jacked up in that part over and over again, so I just said screw it.

    is the boss after that part the one where
    it's that bug thing that charges you and you have to keep switching weapons and roll into a ball when it charges? or is that MP2?

    It's MP1.


    I got to the last mission on Kohan (the original), where you get attacked by every single boss creature you've killed in the game, simultaneously, and gave up for some reason....

    Edit: I didn't give up then.

    First, I read a walkthrough.

    The walkthrough told me to use cheats.

    Then I gave up.

    evilmrhenry on
  • DragkoniasDragkonias That Guy Who Does Stuff You Know, There. Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Reznik wrote: »
    Final Fantasy XII: I got stuck at the demon wall because my characters are far too weak. Normally I'd go back and level them up but I realised that I just don't care about any of the characters or the story so there's nothing motivating me to play, unlike Final Fantasy VII when I gave a damn.
    I felt exactly the same about this game when I rented it. I didn't care about anything that was going on, at all. And I didn't particularly like the gameplay either.

    I did like Fran though!

    know what you mean. i bought the collector's edition and huge ass strategy guide thinking i would love it!! played two days, and haven't played since... $90.00 down the drain.

    You know...not to start a rant thread or anything, but I think the problem I had with it is that the plot was so boring. Most people in the reviews were talking about how the story was full of political intrigue on all that, but to me it was just boring and made it hard to relate to any of the characters because they have little personal development(IMO, Tactics did a better job of mixing politics with characters). I'm still playing through the game but yeah, story has done little for me when compared to FFs in the past.

    Dragkonias on
  • IShallRiseAgainIShallRiseAgain Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I have a bad habit of getting upset at the final boss of a game, and never beating a game because of it.

    IShallRiseAgain on
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  • augustaugust where you come from is gone Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    MP1 Impact Crater:
    You don't fight them. You run like hell, and when they get close drop a Super Bomb.

    august on
  • ElendilElendil Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Oh yeah; I've never bothered to beat ActRaiser. It's just hard to care once the sim stuff is over. Particularly with the "fight all the bosses again lolz" thing.

    God, there's one game mechanic that needs to die horribly.

    Elendil on
  • DagrabbitDagrabbit Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Most games don't have enough novel gameplay to last for the full runtime of the game. You're just doing the same thing over and over again with scenery and tileset changes. If the game doesn't have another really compelling reason (such as plot) to keep going, eventually the game becomes tedious and less fun.

    This can be compounded by a particularly poorly designed section of the game that is tricky, unfairly difficult, or very tedious. Usually when hitting these sections is when I realize all the flaws of the game I'd been ignoring to that point and lose interest in the game, since there's probably not a lot of interesting gameplay past that point anyway.

    Dagrabbit on
  • noobertnoobert Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    slash000 wrote: »
    9. The multiplayer aspect of a game becomes the only reason to play the game, and the player 'gets enough out of the game' just from that

    That describes me. I only really play single player games that give the player freedom. Like in oblivion, I've done all the side quests and guilds, but haven't even touched the main story line. Same with GTA:SA, Spent hours rolling around and doing stupid things, but never really even looked at the main storyline.

    These days i just stick to MMO's and other multiplayer.

    noobert on
  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    august wrote: »
    MP1 Impact Crater:
    You don't fight them. You run like hell, and when they get close drop a Super Bomb.



    Yeah, that section really isn't very hard.
    Just running and dropping a single super bomb is all you need. When you fight the final boss, using super bombs for the same reason is very helpful

    slash000 on
  • ArcibiArcibi Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Both Disgaeas

    Xenosaga Ep. 2

    Final Fantasy X-2 (well, the "never completed" part of the thread topic, anyway)

    Tales of Phantasia

    GTA 3 and both spinoffs

    And uh

    Link to the Past

    Arcibi on
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