Hey, you just paid $60 for that game. Why don't you slow down and enjoy it? J-Cat gives you some food for thought.
Call it being thorough if you like, but I am a slow gamer. Ah, forget it, let's be honest. I am not thorough; I have nothing resembling a 1000/1000 gamescore. I am just sloth-like. Probably one of the slowest gamers I know. Just how slow is slow?
It a campaign takes a "typical" 2old2player six hours, I am taking 12-15 at the very least. This slowness has been smacked in my face. I have been playing Batman Arkham Asylum as often as I can, and I am not done.
A couple of weeks ago, I sent my buddy a message about one of the bosses via XBL: "Bane!? WTF?"
The reply?
"Bane? Ha! Welcome to 3 days ago." And this was early on in the release schedule. Three days was an enternity.
It still isn't finished. Caesar picked up, played, completed and found all the Riddler puzzles in the time it took me to finish one or two levels. I'm still not done, but I am onto something new: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.
Just Go With the Flow
Maybe that's the issue here: my own personal flakiness. I am not a committed gamer. I play what I feel like, when I feel like it. I don't feel the need to push through a game, either to get all those achieves, or to even finish it.
And since I play what I want when I want, I will often "ditch" an amazing game if the mood doesn't strike me to play it. I often find I will toss aside a major title for XBL Arcade games if I am tired or sick. Keep in mind I have a toddler in daycare. Tired and sick is the order of the day.
Example: Ditching Batman Arkham Alliance for Magic The Gathering: Duel of the Plainswalkers on XBLA.
Huh: Look at THAT!
While I don't necessarily hunt for all those achievements, I find I'm a reader and a watcher. I read descriptions of people, places and things. In RPGs the developers often have a library of information. I often wonder if anyone besides myself actually reads all of the stuff the devs stick into the game. I also want to look at all the stats, and try out each and every character. When I play an FPS, I want to be able to pick up each weapon and/pr perk and try it out for a bit. But then I get shot.
Recently I played MUA2 with some buddies of mine on line. I found it frustrating that I couldn't take a good long look at each character, figure out how they worked. I couldn't mix up a new team a few times. Dammit, they wanted to actually play the game, and I wanted to mess around with it for a good long while.
Example: Reading the books in the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or reading the dossiers in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Mixing/matching teams/weapons/perks.
Time -- It's (not) on My Side!
Let's look at the stats, shall we? Up at 6:45AM (if I am lucky) off to work by 7:30. At work until 3:20PM. Pick up kid, playtime, dinner, evening stuff with family. Kid's bedtime is at 7:30PM, and that is when my when my work day effectively ends. So I can't even think of putting the disk in until then. And it's usually later. Eleven is my beddy-bye time. So if I don't want to actually do anything like... clean, that means I have possibly three hours a night to game. Which is a TON for most people. But not much for the hardcore gamer, especially when you look at my entire week.
I have also committed to having a healthy relationship with my husband. That means we spend couple time together on the weekend nights, which means no gaming Friday or Saturday nights. If you don't have these "Date Nights" with your spouse, start them now. Yeah, I don't get to game, but my man is happy, I am happy, we have a solid marriage, and he can't bitch at me when I want to take the occasional Friday night to be involved in Community Playdates. And when I DO get to game it's very sweet indeed.
Example: all day, everyday.
Sometimes the best defence is being good at gaming
I suck. I know it. And so I go slow. I save often. I take defensive "power-ups" first, which means I can't be a powerhouse and motor through.
I haven't been gaming for very long, so everything is a little bit new. Things a seasoned gamer may have seen time and time again are all new to me. I usually take a while to figure out how to beat a boss. I am getting better. I am "getting" certain gaming stand-bys, which does speed up my game. Also, now that I am gaining confidence in my abilities, I now know when I am just not "getting the trick" behind the level and that my skill isn't necessarily to blame. I will get past the boss once I figure out how to do it.
Examples: Powered up Batman's health meter first in Batman Arkham Asylum. Understanding boss fight and special level "tropes" (giant bosses, bosses with exposed weak spot, vehicle levels)
I Love it When a Plan Comes Together
Love of reading "stuff" + general suckage = lotsa planning. Generally, for RPGs, I will get the Brady cheat .. um hint book and go through the offical write ups on the powerups, levelling strategies. For a major RPG: this prep work will take up 1/3 of my gaming time. I love it that much. But it sure slows me down.
The Downside and the Upside
I am always behind. You guys are on to bigger and better and I am just scratching the surface. You guys have unlocked all the cool weapons have gone prestige a few times and I am still on the campaign. It sucks in a way, always being that kid running to catch up. And so that's why I have decided to not try to catch up.
Gaming ain't a race. I stop and smell the roses. I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy it in my own sweet time.
