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Estimated lengths for single-player games

Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
edited October 2007 in Games and Technology
This is a long shot, but is there a database or website out there that records estimates of how long it will probably take to complete a single-player game? Like Game A takes about 10 hours and Game B takes 40-60 hours. The reason I ask is that I bought a bunch of games from the last 10 years on eBay and would like to know what I'm getting into before I choose the next one to play.

Will I need to just look through individual reviews for that information?

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Tim James on

Posts

  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Best bet is just to ask here with specific titles. No such database exists.

    LewieP on
  • bigwahbigwah Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Yea, list the titles, and maybe we'll be able to give you some input.

    bigwah on
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  • Shooter McgavinShooter Mcgavin Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Half-Life 2 took me about 7 hours.

    Shooter Mcgavin on
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  • NerdtendoNerdtendo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    It also depends on what kind of gamer you are.

    Crono Trigger could easily be beaten in 25 hours or so on a first time play through if you're just trying to get through the game. You could double that time if you are going through and doing sidequests, exploring the world.

    I maxed out the clock on FF7 before beating it. It stops at 99:59:59. A few things are also dependent on the clock (such as chocobo breeding), and break when the clock maxes.

    Nerdtendo on
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  • Magic PinkMagic Pink Tur-Boner-Fed Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Nerdtendo wrote: »

    I maxed out the clock on FF7 before beating it. It stops at 99:59:59. A few things are also dependent on the clock (such as chocobo breeding), and break when the clock maxes.

    Woah, you out-nerded the game. That's damn impressive.

    Avoid the back cover blurbs as well. They tend to be crap. Or, just divide them in half.

    Magic Pink on
  • NerdtendoNerdtendo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Yeah, I can't get into titles like that anymore. I play through them, beat them, and hardly ever look back. Kinda sad really. Power through every title, and rarely really see everything behind it.

    I want to go through Morrowind again, and actually read all of the in game literature. But I can't stop myself from hopping off of buildings to train acrobatics and such.

    As for the time developers say it will take to complete a game, I usually cut off about 2/3 of it. Fable was supposed to take 40 hours. P'SHAW!

    Nerdtendo on
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  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I figured someone would suggest I just reply with the game names. Maybe this could be a thread for people to ask this kind of thing in the future. *shrug*

    Background: some of these games aren't the best ever, but I am being a completist since I missed a lot of stuff. I will not blaze through most games, but will not spend a lot of time lolly-gagging, and on the RPGs I may lean toward a little power-gaming with FAQ help. Also, I realize that some of these are open-ended. I'm just looking for an estimate on the order of multiples of 10 hours.

    NOTE: These are all PC games!

    <List updated with times as I receive them or find them in reviews>
    Aliens vs. Predator 2 ~12-15
    Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal expansion
    Battlezone
    Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 ~10-12
    Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ~10
    Close Combat 5: Invasion Normandy
    Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord
    Command and Conquer: Generals ~15
    Freedom Force ~30
    Gothic 2 ~20
    Heroes of Might and Magic 3
    Homeworld ~30
    Jagged Alliance 2
    Mafia
    MechWarrior 4
    Medieval 2: Total War ~15-40
    Morrowind
    Myth 2
    No One Lives Forever 2 ~12
    Planescape: Torment
    Prey ~10
    Quake 4 ~12
    Rise of Nations ~15-20
    S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ~10+
    Sacrifice
    Silent Storm
    Temple of Elemental Evil
    Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines ~30

    Yeah, I've got my work cut out for me in the next year or two. If you're curious, those games ran me $213.83 shipped from eBay and Half.com.

    I don't have these games yet (either getting for free from friends or they are a little more expensive and rare) but feel free to chime in on them:

    Age of Wonders 2 or expansion
    Arcanum ~30+
    Call of Duty 1 and 2 ~10
    Diablo 2 and expansion ~20+
    Dreamfall ~10
    F.E.A.R. ~12
    Grim Fandango ~30
    Jedi Academy ~12-15
    Neverwinter Nights 2 ~30+
    Max Payne 2 ~5

    Tim James on
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  • bruinbruin Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I've found that often you can Google the name of a game follow by "hours" or "play time" and get a good idea of it

    bruin on
  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    bruin wrote: »
    I've found that often you can Google the name of a game follow by "hours" or "play time" and get a good idea of it

    oh google, let me count the ways I love you.

    LewieP on
  • KhavallKhavall British ColumbiaRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    LewieP wrote: »
    bruin wrote: »
    I've found that often you can Google the name of a game follow by "hours" or "play time" and get a good idea of it

    oh google, let me count the ways I love you.

    Rather, let me search for it, as I know you have that information.

    Khavall on
  • DarlanDarlan Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    If you're looking for something short and sweet, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay would be a good start. I loved that one.

    Darlan on
  • HylianbunnyHylianbunny Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Tim James wrote: »
    I figured someone would suggest I just reply with the game names. Maybe this could be a thread for people to ask this kind of thing in the future.
    Aliens vs. Predator 2
    Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal expansion
    Battlezone
    Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
    Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
    Close Combat 5: Invasion Normandy
    Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord
    Command and Conquer: Generals [edit] Someone gave it to me for free; worth playing?
    Freedom Force
    Gothic 2
    Heroes of Might and Magic 3
    Homeworld
    Jagged Alliance 2
    Mafia
    MechWarrior 4
    Medieval 2: Total War
    Morrowind
    Myth 2
    No One Lives Forever 2
    Planescape: Torment
    Prey
    Quake 4
    Rise of Nations
    S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
    Sacrifice
    Silent Storm
    Temple of Elemental Evil
    Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines [edit] Almost forgot this one; just got it from Steam for $10.

    I don't have these games yet (either getting for free from friends or they are a little more expensive and rare) but feel free to chime in on them:

    Age of Wonders 2 or expansion
    Arcanum
    Call of Duty 1 and 2
    Diablo 2 and expansion
    Dreamfall
    F.E.A.R.
    Grim Fandango
    Jedi Academy
    Neverwinter Nights 2
    Max Payne 2

    You're a completionist? See you in a decade.

    Hylianbunny on
  • LanrutconLanrutcon The LabyrinthRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Bioshock: (x-y)/z hours.

    Where x equals your free time, y equals the amount of hours you spend restarting the game because you
    killed Cohen the first time
    and z being 2 if you use Chameleon, 1 if you don't.

    Math jokes. They're funny in my head, ok?

    Lanrutcon on
    Capture.jpg~original
    Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
  • NerdtendoNerdtendo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Pff, yeah. Morrowind, if you've never played it, is enough for at least a year for a completionist.

    It's also fucking awesome.

    Nerdtendo on
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  • KhavallKhavall British ColumbiaRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Nerdtendo wrote: »
    Pff, yeah. Morrowind, if you've never played it, is enough for at least a year for a completionist.

    It's also fucking awesome.

    Same with ToB if you do it the right way.


    And by right way I mean BG, ToSC, BGII, ToB. Both games and expansions, all side quests you can.

    Khavall on
  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Max Payne 2 is short. Like what, 4 to 6 hours?

    Quake 4 is short-ish, or rather, pretty typical of a shooter. I think it was like 8ish hours.

    Baldur's Gate 2, I don't know for sure, but I do know that it can probably run you 40+ hours.

    slash000 on
  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    bruin wrote: »
    I've found that often you can Google the name of a game follow by "hours" or "play time" and get a good idea of it
    You're right, this does seem to work pretty well.
    You're a completionist? See you in a decade.
    I may be misusing this term -- I merely want to play through until the "end" of the game (like I always do) but may or may not explore every ounce of gaming goodness it has to offer, at least the first time through. I am aware this will take me a couple of years, but fortunately I don't see too many new games that I am dying to play right now.

    Is Quake 4 really that short? Doom 3 had ~25 levels and I'd estimate 20 hours.

    Tim James on
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  • Death of RatsDeath of Rats Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Wait... wait...

    I think there's a market for this. A website where people can post how long it took them to complete a game on their first playthrough. The site shows the average time of everyone who's posted. Hmmm...

    Death of Rats on
    No I don't.
  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Wait... wait...

    I think there's a market for this. A website where people can post how long it took them to complete a game on their first playthrough. The site shows the average time of everyone who's posted. Hmmm...

    to the wikimobile!

    LewieP on
  • Death of RatsDeath of Rats Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Guys... lets make some money!

    Death of Rats on
    No I don't.
  • NerdtendoNerdtendo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Hell, I think a site with reviews written by the guys here would be fantastic. The "main page" of a game would include an average score, as well as an average completion time.

    Nerdtendo on
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  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Nerdtendo wrote: »
    Hell, I think a site with reviews written by the guys here would be fantastic. The "main page" of a game would include an average score, as well as an average completion time.

    I would love to do something like this, but would flat out refuse to give a number.

    Lots of short reviews, with community rating for quality of reviews, would be great. Subjectivity to the max.

    LewieP on
  • FireflashFireflash Montreal, QCRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    The only advice I can give is this: When you read a preview for an upcoming game and see something like: "Oh yeah, this is a long game we got here, one of our guys who knows exactly what to do finished the game in 30 hours." It's usually over-inflated bullshit.

    Fireflash on
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  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Fireflash wrote: »
    The only advice I can give is this: When you read a preview for an upcoming game and see something like: "Oh yeah, this is a long game we got here, one of our guys who knows exactly what to do finished the game in 30 hours." It's usually over-inflated bullshit.

    Or lots of padding in the game.

    LewieP on
  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I think there's a market for this. A website where people can post how long it took them to complete a game on their first playthrough. The site shows the average time of everyone who's posted.
    I think it'd be nice to have this information because aging gamers may not have a lot of time, but still may want to check out a few classics out of nostalgia. Admittedly, I went a little crazy with this concept (eBay, you are so addicting), but there are a lot of other people out there that like to finish games and want to know what they're getting into.

    Tim James on
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  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Nerdtendo wrote: »
    Hell, I think a site with reviews written by the guys here would be fantastic. The "main page" of a game would include an average score, as well as an average completion time.

    It would be cool, but it would probably never take off or end up working.


    The closest thing we had to that, actually, was the Nintendo DS Wiki, which was actually kind of a 'voting' system for games we recommend...

    That Wiki died when the console Megathreads died.

    slash000 on
  • RenzoRenzo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Nerdtendo wrote: »
    Hell, I think a site with reviews written by the guys here would be fantastic. The "main page" of a game would include an average score, as well as an average completion time.

    I know some people have tried that before. Worked out for a while, then it dropped off the face of the interwebs.

    But yeah, Max Payne 2 and Butcher Bay are maybe 6 and 10 hours, respectively.

    There's pretty much no way you can estimate completion time on Morrowind. Depends on how you play and what you want to do.

    Renzo on
  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I should also mention that I am down to about 15 gigs on my meager 160GB drive, so I'm targeting short and large games. :) Anyone know how long it would take to finish one campaign of Medieval 2?

    Tim James on
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  • Magic PinkMagic Pink Tur-Boner-Fed Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    As far as I can tell games all last 15 hours because I never seem to have time to play more then that before the next one comes out.

    Magic Pink on
  • SithDrummerSithDrummer Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Yeah, I've got my work cut out for me in the next year or two. If you're curious, those games ran me $213.83 shipped from eBay and Half.com.
    No, not work. Your next two years will be privy to distilled awesome.
    Tim James wrote: »
    Gothic 2 - ~20 hours
    Myth 2 - forever, because I keep replaying it
    No One Lives Forever 2 - ~12 hours
    Call of Duty - ~9 hours
    Neverwinter Nights 2 - minimum ~25 or 30 hours, but it is an RPG so you'll probably be doing more than the minimum
    Max Payne 2 - ~4 hours
    I'm kind of being generous with Max Payne 2 - it could very well be shorter. I definitely did a speedrun through the hardest difficulty in under 2 hours to show my friend something*, but your first time through it is probably closer to 4 hours.

    *
    For God's sake, do not read this spoiler unless you have beaten Max Payne 2.
    Seriously.
    Mona lives on the hardest difficulty.

    SithDrummer on
  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    No, not work. Your next two years will be privy to distilled awesome
    Yes, you're the first person to mention all the great games I get to play! There are only a few undisputed classics, but I figured people would be more jealous by now. :) And thanks for the estimates.

    Tim James on
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  • RenzoRenzo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Well yeah. You've chosen some really fucking awesome games there. :^:

    Renzo on
  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I updated the list with some estimates from you all and reviews I found on the web. I get sick of wading through endless Google results after a while though. :) It's the old too-much-data problem. I'll look again when I'm motivated.

    It really does look like 10-12 hours is the length of modern shooters. Honestly, after wading through Doom 3 and Far Cry, I'll take it. HL2 felt like a better length, although it may have been just as long.

    Tim James on
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  • ThetherooThetheroo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I got Morrowind when it first came out and I'm still playing it. I beat Baulder's Gate 2 a while back, it took me about 30 or so hours if I remember correctly, but I had never played BG1, TotSC, or ToB. I might have to remedy that. And if I might make a suggestion to add to your list (I know you've got enough as it is)....
    Get Planescape: Torment if you haven't played it already. That game is simply phenomnal, and you'll add around 10 hours to the play time just trying to read all the dialouge there is available.

    Thetheroo on
  • Tim JamesTim James Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    thetheroo wrote: »
    Get Planescape: Torment if you haven't played it already.
    It's already on the list. :) Snagged it for $25 shipped from eBay!

    If something else isn't on the list, I've probably already played it or really don't feel like sitting through it. I spent a lot of time looking at all-time-greatest and most-under-appreciated games lists from fans and critics.

    Tim James on
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  • ThetherooThetheroo Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Ahh, must have missed that. Good decision. :)

    Thetheroo on
  • StriferStrifer Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Tim James wrote: »
    I spent a lot of time looking at all-time-greatest and most-under-appreciated games lists from fans and critics.

    Good idea. I, personally, am trying to amass a collection of the greatest and most obscure PS2 games for future generations. There are so many people that do not appreciate a good game...

    Strifer on
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