Games I Need to Fucking Finish Already

We all do it.

Buy a game, excited to see what it has to offer. Bury ourselves in the first hours, having a great time, admiring the story, the new and interesting mechanics, or sometimes even just the nostalgic place in our brains that a game managed to tweak.

Then you have to go back to work on Monday. Your wife (or girlfriend, or boyfriend, or hell, Mom) needs you to head out somewhere on Tuesday night, then there's a basketball game on Wednesday. Friday, you're heading to a movie, or to the bar. Saturday, you head out of town to go golfing or get caught up in cleaning or yardwork.

Or, most insidiously, that new game you've been excited for since three E3s ago finally hits shelves, and that last big thing falls by the wayside.

This is a role call for all of the neglected software sitting around my game shelves right now, or piled next to the TV, deliberately placed in my line of sight to make me feel sorry for it and pop it back in.

I'll finish all of these. Someday.

List items

• 

  1. L.A. Noire

  [COMPLETED 6/12: Holy shit what an ending. Holy. Shit.]

  Easy. I'm 20 minutes from the end. Should be the first one off this list.

  ...

  Unless I crack open my Rockstar Pass-provided DLC. Which I probably will.

• 

  2. Dead Space 2

  [COMPLETED 7/03: Ohgodtheeyeballthing.]

  Fantastic game. Currently on chapter 8.

  Progress swallowed by jumping back into borrowed copy of Red Dead I needed to burn through after seeing it collect dust for 6 months.

• 

  3. Fallout 3

  [COMPLETED 9/18: FINALLY. MZ was OK, but my weariness for Fallout gameplay doesn't bode well for my ever even starting New Vegas.]

  Technically finished the main campaign, but the GOTY edition - and my decision to play them in reverse order of quality ("worst" to first) means that I've still got Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta to finish.

• 

  4. Bulletstorm

  [COMPLETED 9/17: Quite a good little game. Fun mechanics, ridiculous and kind of endearing characters.]

  Bought used in April to get in on a coupon that was about to expire ($30 total).

  Turned it on to see if the idiot who sold it back with the online pass certificate in the box had activated it or not.

  He had. Did not actually start the game. Wife has played about 2/3 of the campaign, loves it, tells me I really need to play it.

  "It's on the list..."

• 

  5. Darksiders

  Straight up had so much fun with this game - for the two weeks after I bought it late February of last year. Grown-up Zelda set in the apocalypse?!? That opening level busting through screaming humans and upending buildings!?! Amazing!

  I stopped after the first dungeon.

• 

  6. 3D Dot Game Heroes

  Like Darksiders, a game I was hugely looking forward to and enjoyed greatly.

  Then I got stuck on the fire tower.

  No progress since July of last year.

• 

  7. LittleBigPlanet 2

  Currently about 1/3 of the way through, playing co-op with the missus.

• 

  8. Fallout: New Vegas

  A 'bargain' at $40 in post-Christmas sales.

  It's now <del>June</del> September, the game costs <del>$40</del> $30 regular, and my copy is still in the plastic.

• 

  9. God of War Collection

  Bought used for $10.

  Last summer.

  Disc has yet to visit the inside of my PS3.

• 

  10. The Sly Collection

  Another used purchase made to capitalize on bargains. Still sealed with Gamestop's big, clear, 'remove this and we know you've played it' sticker.

• 

  11. Borderlands

  A new entrant. Had finished the game proper with wife co-op shortly after buying our PS3 in late '09.

  Copy of GOTY edition went on sale at Best Buy this week.

• 

  12. Dark Void

  $10 last July.

  Still in the plastic.

• 

  13. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

  Bought as a lighter family co-op game last summer. We're about 3/4 done ... Episode 1.

• 

  14. Prince of Persia

  Particularly embarrassing. Loved this game too. I'm about 3/4 done. No progress since, according to Giant Bomb's database, Sept. 11, 2009.

  Never forget.

• 

  15. ilomilo

  So adorable! So neglected. I think I got to where the demo ended. Maybe.

• 

  16. Beyond Good & Evil

  One of the best games of the past decade. Bought XBLA version day one.

  Have yet to turn it on.

• 

  17. Mass Effect 2

  Another one where I am finished the campaign, plus one DLC piece, but I've still got Kasumi and Overlord to go.

• 

  18. BioShock 2

  See: Mass Effect 2, Borderlands.

  Minerva's Den sounds awesome. It's bought and paid for, sitting on my PS3.

• 

  19. Alan Wake

  At least this one hasn't cost me any money. Borrowed copy sitting on top of larger pile of owned games.

• 

  20. DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue

  The first one was fun, co-op with the little lady.

  We turned on this one, got to the POW camp, never went back. Will someday, once Deathspank fatigue wanes.

• 

  21. Castle Crashers

  Stop me if you've heard 'started co-op but got distracted by other things' before.

• 

  22. Ōkami

  Oh so embarrasing. Bought the Wii version day one. Got about 5 hours in.

  That was three years ago.

• 

  23. Kirby's Epic Yarn

  Fun, cheeky platforming, another co-op jaunt.

  We're about halfway done.

• 

  24. Super Mario Galaxy 2

  Pretty sure I haven't turned this one on yet either.

• 

  25. Resident Evil 4

  Now we're into the weeds.

  Bought the Wii version used on a Christmas trip back home, probably 3 (maybe 4) years ago. Only took the shrinkwrap off two summers ago.

  Don't think I ever actually put it in the Wii.

• 

  26. Disney Epic Mickey

  One of the few on the list that I think I stopped for quality reasons. Only played the first couple levels.

  Fun, but not the experience I had hoped for. The wifey agrees with the GB review, as she finished the whole thing. Underwhelming.

• 

  27. Rabbids Go Home: A Comedy Adventure

  Insane, French fun. In our defence, I think a normal human brain exceeds its daily klezmer tolerance in about one-hour doses of this game.

• 

  28. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

  That pause during the Best of the Year Bombcast where Brad basically turned everyone over to naming this Best Wii game convinced me to buy it ... and to play the first hour. Really intriguing and I'd love to play more, but it's already been so long...

• 

  29. Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse

  Pretty sure I finished the first puzzle.

• 

  30. Sam & Max Episode 6: Bright Side of the Moon

  Representative of the whole first season.

• 

  31. Tales of Monkey Island

  I am currently in the belly of a giant sea creature. Send help.

• 

  32. Machinarium

  Cute little adventure game, I think I started it on a plane last year. Then the plane landed.

• 

  33. And Yet It Moves

  Included in the Steam Indie Pack, never started.

• 

  34. Torchlight

  I know counting Steam on this is entering a slippery slope, but considering that I was really looking forward to this game and I've still barely left the town for the first time, it merits mention. Luckily it was only $5 in a Steam sale.

• 

  35. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

  Last but certainly not least (in shame). I am on the final mission, but the fuckers just will not successfully defend that goddamn beacon.

  And I will NOT bump the difficulty down just to see the ending...will NOT...yet.