You know how it goes, right? You buy a game, start playing it, and somewhere along the line the narrative gets a little dry, or the gameplay becomes a little repetitive. Or you hit a tough patch and decide to give yourself a break. “Put the controller down, man, you’ll come back to this part later,” you tell yourself. But you don’t. Instead, you check out Steam’s front page, and that other game you really wanted to buy when it was released eight months ago is now 66% off. “Sweet deal!” you mumble to yourself before clicking the green “ADD TO CART” box.
Before you know it, you’re halfway through That Other Game, and you’ve totally forgotten about the game you were playing before it. It still sits there, waiting, longing for you to load it back up. At least it’s got company though, sitting alongside an ever-growing list of incomplete games that are beginning to clutter up your “Favourites” folder.
Until one day, you find yourself scrolling down that list, and realise just how many supposedly brilliant games you own that you have not gotten around to finishing. You feel your gamer cred waiver. You’re a little bit ashamed, but at the same time inspired. You make a list of five games you should probably get around to finishing.
Or not.
But that pretty much sums up the experience that got me here. So without further adieu, here are five games that I have played quite far into, but not completed.
Mass Effect 3
Alright, Mass Effect 3 is probably the only game on this list that I feel like I should finish, but I really don’t want to, because everyone has been complaining about how shit the ending is. I also found Mass Effect 3 really boring due to its tedious and repetitive gameplay systems, dull RPG components, and its general lack of any sort of compelling narrative. But I still want to finish it just to find out what all the fuss was about.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrim was another supposedly great game whose charm escaped me, which I thought was weird because I love fantasy RPGs. After installing about 37 mods and the high-res texture pack, I gave it another bash and managed to get about 15 hours in without feeling the urge to stop playing altogether. Then Diablo III was released and I never looked back.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Human Revolution was one of my most anticipated games of the year, and I really enjoyed it for the most part. However, at some point I lost my will to keep going, and without really thinking about it, stopped playing altogether.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
I’m kind of shocked at myself for not completing this. Its predecessor is one of my favourite games of all time, and I enjoyed the first few hours of Uncharted 3. It somehow did not grip me, although I’m assured it’s every bit as great as Uncharted 2, so this is a game I’m determined to get back in front of.
Dead Space
I know right? It’s a marvel that they even let me write about games, considering I have not finished one of the most celebrated survival horror/thriller cornerstones of the last five years. Apart from the fact that I don’t really like being afraid, I also didn’t really enjoy the core gameplay in Dead Space. I thought it was a little repetitive and “chunky”. I do need to finish it though, even if just so I can play Dead Space 2, which I’ve owned for about two years and never even loaded up. [... – Ed]
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Max
