Starting out
the new year gamer-style
By Mike David
Gaming resolutions for 2010
GameZone
readers far and wide, come listen to my tale, for it is a long one. A story of
bravery and evil, of chivalry and of deceit … a story rife with weapons of all
sorts spewing forth necessary (and unnecessary) violence, a tale of human
ingenuity at its apex, of feats of tremendous athleticism and heroics, and of
genius level guile. This is the greatest story you have ever been witness to,
because the story is about you!
You heard me
– you.
You see
every year, I always tell myself that I am going to beat at least 12 games a
year … every year I have been a game reviewer, that is. And since I started
reviewing games in the year 2000, I should be able to boast an impressive
completion rate of 120 completed games. The sad part is that I have probably
beaten 40. Why, you may ask? Well, it’s because I don’t get to play games for
pleasure as much as I used to. Every time I really get into a great game, I
undoubtedly receive another game to review and that steals away my precious
time. Not that I am complaining; I do get to play a lot of games, it is just
that I don’t get to always play, to their end, the ones that really excite me.
So I am
throwing down the gauntlet in 2010 and making my shameful secret everyone’s
business. I am going to complete 12 games this year and come hell or high water
I am going to post an article about each game that I complete.
Now while I
want to do this I think it’s high time we all picked a goal and stuck to it.
Twelve may seem like a lot to some of you and it may seem like a tiny amount to
others, so I challenge you, GameZone readers, to pick a game completion number,
announce it loud and proudly, and then stick to your guns. If you play your
cards right, chances are you will discover more secrets in the city of Rapture,
win the Superbowl, run around with Chocobos, unleash Hell with the God of War
and even stop a serial killer.
Now like
many of you, I have several systems, and I can’t promise that I will beat a game
on every system, but I will be playing most of my completed titles on the 360,
PS3, PC and most likely the DSi. Yeah, there are a couple of games I would like
to check out on the Wii, but I have a difficult time finding titles that really
make me want to game on that platform, although the new Super Mario Bros. does
look good.
Oh, and
another thing, I may be playing games that are older; in fact I have a laundry
list of games I always wanted to go back and complete but never did. I encourage
you to do the same. Just because it was started in 2005, doesn’t mean it can’t
be completed in 2010. The simple fact is that games are not cheap and I
encourage you to beat that copy of Kameo that you shelled out $60 for all those
years back.
Here are
some rules I am going to adhere to:
-
It can’t
be a game I have completed before. In the ’90’s I discovered that you can beat
the game Myst really quickly once you have discovered all the tricks. This
can’t happen; I may have started a game previously and will be able to pick up
where I left off, but with the games I am thinking of, I am nowhere near the
end. If I end up doing this, it will still require some fortitude. -
I will
accept no help from anyone, this includes my child prodigy game-playing
nine-year old who beat Halo 3 and Halo ODST on legendary before I ever fired
the game up. Doing something on your own is exactly that – do this for your
own sense of self accomplishment. -
This
includes cheat books or PR guides; I get bonus peripherals all the time when I
review games but I never use them, because it’s info most people aren’t privy
to. -
No playing
games that "require" having more than one person; games like Rockband and
Shadowrun are games designed to be played by many, so they will not be
included – and this includes all MMO games. -
No playing
’til you get everything. Playing Fallout 3 and finding "everything" would
simply be impossible. Nope, once the game has been beaten whether or not you
found Lincoln’s rifle (or whatever) you can call it a victory. I know some of
you achievement junkies may not share my philosophy and that’s fine – make
those achievements part of your goal.
Now I am
sure that other rules will crop up as I go and I will post them, but I think we
all get the gist of what is expected.
Go get em!
