If you haven't played a long game in a long time, do you restart it or just pick back up?

I haven't played Dragon Age Origins in forever. I remember a good bit of it here and there, but not all of it. If I were only, say, five or ten hours in, I would roll a new character. However, right now I'm a mage that's about 25 hours in and I’m in the Dwarven caves. I’ve also finished the questline where you save the noble leader of… uh… see why I’m contemplating a new character? It’s the one where that smartass Grey Warden, Alistair I believe, admits that he’s next in line, or near the top of, the line for the throne that what’s-his-face took from the big guy in gold armor in Osgiliath… er… Oswald… er… what’s the name of the first big battle? Anyway, you have to fight some zombie-ish things, invade the castle overrun with zombies, there’s a boy who is badly in need of an exorcist, and somehow this all leads to you killing a dragon for some old dude’s holy ashes. Or something along those lines. And an agonizingly long walk through the Fade. I just remember this part taking a very long time and a lot of questing and I don't necessarily want to do it all over again.

Anyway, now to start the topic proper. I’m just wondering what most of you duders do when you want to continue playing a long game that you haven’t played in a long time. Shorter titles (let’s say less than eight hours) aren’t really what I’m talking about here, I’m talking about 15+ hour games.

It depends on if I remember what I was doing in the game where I left off. Especially in Metroidvania kinds of games, if I go more than a week without playing, I'll probably have to start over.

Restart for me... I mainly play around for a bit to figure something out then I go ahead and... restart... even on RPG's... fuck that pisses me off actually since I am planning on restarting the persona games once I get to them... yeah I know... but hey I just beat Devil Survivor so... yeah... I am beating some games!

Depends on the game, but 99% of the time, I just pick that fucker back up.

I restart the whole thing. I think I've restarted Darksiders 5 times or so now.

If it's a really long game and I'm more than 6 or 8 hours in I'll either pick up from where I started or never play it again. I don't know the last time I restarted a long ass game (ok, Red Dead, I was in Mexico and my Xbox 360 broke, bought a PS3 and then beat it on PS3 from the beginning. That was an exception because of the circumstances and how goddamn good that game is.)

I generally restart the game, unless it is a long game, especially an rpg, and I dropped it tens of hours in, where the chances of playing it again are slim.

@xobballox said:

If it's a really long game and I'm more than 6 or 8 hours in I'll either pick up from where I started or never play it again. I don't know the last time I restarted a long ass game (ok, Red Dead, I was in Mexico and my Xbox 360 broke, bought a PS3 and then beat it on PS3 from the beginning. That was an exception because of the circumstances and how goddamn good that game is.)

Red dead is awesome and is highly replayable... fully agreed on this one for so many good reasons. The zombie DLC was pretty good too.

Oh just something a bit more personal and off topic slightly, and upon beating devil survivor I feel like punching something... I got Yuzu's ending and I feel like someone just kicked me in the balls for surviving by the skin of my teeth on that final fucking fight... ARG!!! I will replay it though... just so I can MURDER EVERYTHING WITH HIGH LEVEL DEMONS!!! BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

However this game is awesome and I will replay it... later... Kinda in a JRPG burn out right now.

I typically restart games from where I leave off wish is sometimes frustrating, but if I'm still not getting the hang of it, I'll restart the whole campaign.

I would restart, since I probably brain-dump a lot of knowledge concerning the game in question.

Depends on how far I got and how complicated the game in question may be. I restarted Metroid Prime 2 after having gotten about 8 hours into it because I thought it would just be easier then trying to pick up where I left off, but normally if I'm past what I think is about 30% through a game I'll pick up from where I left off, but if I'm less than that I'll restart.

I generally attempt to pick up where I left off. I then spend an hour fumbling with the controls, trying to remember how to do anything. Most of the time, after a bit of practice, I am able to get back on the horse and continue but occasionally, I am so baffled that I have to start over. I am currently trying to continue Vanquish after a long hiatus. Unfortunately, I am at a boss battle which is not a good practice field.

I have to restart the game because i know that i had some well planned out idea. Can't remember any of it so i always have to restart.

It depends, usually it's pick up where I left off unless it has an overly complicated battle system. I picked up Batman AC after a good 5 month break where I left off and was fine.

Usually restart, but if I didn't finish it in the first place that usually means I didn't like it that much in the first place and then I still don't finish it

This happens to me alot actually, sometimes It'll be years before I go back to a game, but I always pick back up from where I've left off.

I've replayed the beginning of Final Fantasy XIII like 4 times.

Restart, most of the time. Especially if it's a game with a lot of complex systems and gameplay mechanics.

I almost always, no matter what, finish what I'm playing; if I don't I never play it again.

Restart from the beginning every time!

I generally pick up where I left off. Had the same dilemma recently with Final Fantasy 12 where I could not remember a lot of the story beats; but I was much farther in the game where I just did not want to go through at least 20 hours of game.

I usually pick it up from where I left off, because there's no guarantee I'll finish if I start over.

Tough question to answer one way, depends on how long ago I played the game. If it was kind of recent or I just want to continue, I'd pick it up. Otherwise, if you don't remember anything, start from scratch. I must say, starting old games from scratch brings back the old fun of it.

I tend to always finish games, but maybe not finish second runs. If I go back, depending on how well I know the game and how long it's been, I may pick back up where I left off, or restart. It also depends on what type of game; like I tend to always pick up where I left off in RTS games, but in Assassin's Creed 2+ (or other open-world games like GTA IV), it changes depending on how far into the run I was and whether I can stand to lose the progress or not.

@believer258: I restart the whole game over again.

Its the reason I try to finish every game I play before moving on to the next one.

restart, sometimes like they discuss in the podcast today the nuance of the moves required for the later stages of a game is lost over time. I remember picking up older xbox or PS2 games and the control schemes where all over the place and i just had to redo the tutorial.

I always pick up where I left off and try my best to remember what the hell is going on. I have way too many games on my backlog to afford restarting 50+ hour RPGs, which are the kind of games I tend to forget about for a while.

I usually stop due to being stuck. and the strange thing is I pick up were I left off before a boss battle, forgot everything about the game and win easily....happened with Last remnant and that has a complicated nuanced battle system.

Right now I can go back to long term games like Last remnant....all my saves were deleted by a slip of the controller when I was deleting one save game......

I pick that sucker right back up from where I left off. Considering my nasty habit of half-finishing games and then not picking them up again for months, restarting would be a poor choice. Which reminds me. I should really finish Icewind Dale II.

Usually just pick up where I left off.

I try to pick up where I left off. If it's too much of a hassle to re-adjust in the thick of things, I shelve the game until I've forgotten almost everything and start over.

This has happened three times with Darksiders so far, still haven't finished. I got pretty far the second time.

Mostly A because the save has since been long deleted, it happened with Dragon Age: Origins like three times and that's why I never finished it.

I pick it back up, and I've actually found that even if I'm lost for the first little while that it starts coming back to me a lot better than I anticipated once I reimmerse myself in that world. This also happens when I restart, and then I end up getting really bored before I get back to where I left off and usually don't beat it. Lots of things about the game will trigger those dormant memories, like the music, and the graphics and stuff. But if it's been like over 3 years, I'll probably just start it over to get a new perspective on the beginning.

I usually try to get right back into it and find that I quickly remember what was going on and how to play the game. There are exceptions though, where I just need to start over again.

Depends on how much of the lore / gameplay mechanics I remember. If I lost all context up to that point, and a quick wiki search can't do it justice, I restart.

Sadly forced to answer with D.

The problem is that the games I do not finish can't be picked up again easily, Aquaria for instance. I have completely forgotten where I have already been, where I wanted to go next and so forth. On the other hand, I was so deep into this game when I stopped (pun intended), I don't want to restart either. It's a real pickle, because I love that game. This applies to several games in my collection. I even stopped playing Darksiders about 90% through (I think). I am probably not going to finish Alice Returns either, because that game just draaaaaags.

depends if its a jrpg its either trying to find a save that is far back because I probably got stuck if I did not finish, or its just try to figure out the controlls after a long time no play. I generally do not go back to games I have not finished, because I usally have so many more games to play if I even do that. 

Restart. I can't remember the controls, so I need to go back to the beginning and the tutorials. Or if there is no tutorials, then at least the early part where everything is easy so I can get a feel for the game again. Also, there is the story. "Who the hell are all these people and why am I doing this again?" Understanding that helps me enjoy the game more.

I never restart long games. The only exception being games that have alternate playthroughs depending on moral decisions (like inFamous); but I often prefer to resume and struggle with the story and gameplay for a few minutes.

If I was 30 hours into an RPG and resuming is not an option (case in point, my PS3 got a ylod when I was in the final dungeon of FF13), I choose to left the game unfinished than replaying it.

pick up from last save. realize i have neither the motivation nor interest to puzzle out how i`m supposed to play or where I`m supposed to go. Stop. Never play again.

That`s the usual procedure.

I feel some anxiety when I think about jumping back into a game midway through, but I don't think I've ever had too much trouble, like riding a bike. That said, I have only once actually finished a game after a long haitus, and that was largely due to unemployment. Whatever stopped me the first time is sure to make me quit again.

Funny you should ask - I pulled Red Dead Redemption out last night (17% total completion, the stats tell me - last played in Feb 2011), and actually ended up doing both. I started a new game to re-familiarize myself with the backstory and controls and then loaded my old game after the first few missions. Didn't want to get caught in a gunfight and not know what the hell I was doing.

However, I answered the poll D. My unfinished game pile is intimidating, but they refuse to stop putting out new ones! Oh well, it makes the small percentage of games I do finish seem more special.

I finish most of my games, but if it's been a while, I'll just start over -- especially if it's story-driven.

Not that big of a deal because we're talking under 10 hours, usually. If I'm halfway done or more in a game, I typically finish it.

Pick up where I left off, I am close to the end of quite a few games right now and I will be damned if I start them over when I go back to them, especially 3D Dot Game Heroes.

I almost always stop playing halfway through a game so I have this problem a lot.

Usually I will just pick up where I left off, though if I can restart the chapter then I will do that.

Also, if I know I am only a few hours into the game I will just restart it.

Restart, rarely do I have the save of a game I played a long time ago. Even if I did, I cannot stand starting something up (unless it lacks any form of story) mid-way after a long time without playing it.

Depends on the type of game. Some games I can do that in however in RPG's that doesn't ever happen. The context of what you were doing and why is completly lost on you both from a story perspective and just from a character and inventory management perspective.

I always restart it. I get a lot of flack over this from my friends but I just tell them that I gots the OCD. Even though I don't. I don't think.

I'll also restart games if I mess up on a choice or something. I remember starting Mass Effect 2 when I was in a compromised state and tried to make Shepard look like Bruce Willis. I played it for a good 4 hours or so... stopped... passed out... and the next day I couldn't look at the horrible creation I made. It didn't look a thing like Bruce Willis. I restarted.

Depends on the game, usually restart