Forum Challenge - Abolishing the Backlog

[Larraque]

I'll need to go home to make a 100% list, but I'd like to make a challenge to you all.

Abolish your gaming backlog.

Right now, in my backlog I have:

[PS2]Ratchet and Clank 3
[PS2]Ratchet: Deadlocked
[PS2]Okami
[PS2]Shadow of the Colossus
[PS2]Final Fantasy 12
[PS2]God of War 2
[PS2]Jak 2

[XBox]Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
[XBox]Forgotten Realms: Demonstone
[XBox]Jade Empire

[X360]Dead Rising
[X360]Lego Star Wars II
[X360]Viva Pinata
[X360]Prey (In Progress; Sucks. Losing interest...)
[X360]Mass Effect

I've got more to add; So many games that I just can't remember.

How to properly abolish your gaming backlog: Finish, get bored of, reach a goal (in the case of a sports game), or reach the point where you no longer consider a game 'something you want to play' (IE: It sucks. I'm never playing this crap again). Post a status next to the game when it's finished or in progress: Game Completed (reason).

Set a goal for yourself. Personally, I plan to finish FIVE games before I allow myself to buy a new one. I also plan to e-bay at least 4 of every 5 games I complete.

[wonderpug]

(Backlog listing incomplete)

Okami
Shadow of the Colossus
God of War 1
Rogue Galaxy
Final Fantasy XII
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Paper Mario
Dead Rising
Crackdown
Halo 2
Gears of War
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Lunar Knights
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode 1
Half-Life 2: Episode 2
Mass Effect

Completed in 2008: 1
Purchased in 2008: 0
Current Ratio: 1:#DIV/0!

[Calvin]

I am in, and will post my list and the order which I am going to play (made a doc the other day to send to someone when I was bored at work). I will not, however, be limiting my buying based on the backlog-rather I will be limiting my buying to games I think do not suck

[Knightshade Dragon]

Abolish your gaming backlog.

Completely and entirely impossible for me.  I have access to too many games.  I have been going back and at least trying out ones that passed me by though. 

[Misguided]

*fingers in ears*
Na na na not listening!

By the way, DF, Oscuro and I have been back in Paragon City for a few weeks.

[greeneggsnham]

[PS2]Jak 2

Finishing this will just make you go out and grab Jak 3. 2/3 are much more cohesive than 1/the rest. Great games; the series is some of the best action/adventure to be had on the ps2, IMO. Announcement of the next title in the series will probably be what eventually makes me get a ps3.

[CeeKay]

I actually ended up saying screw it and wiping out alot of my backlog.  Right now I only have in my backlog:

The Darkness (360)
Uncharted (PS3)

That's it for console games.  I do have a few other games sitting around but at this point I've come to terms that I will never get back to them.

[Teggy]

This is definitely a goal of mine.  I have been trying to eBay off games I know I am never going to finish so I can pare down the backlog.  I will have to look at home for a complete list, but this is a lot of it (console only - pc I have a box full I will probably never play)

update 2/12 - beat Crackdown!  I also am leaning towards ditching on the Devil May Cry games as I was having a lot of trouble getting past the first boss in the first title.

update 2/23 - beat CoD2 a little bit ago, basically finished Metroid Prime, getting rid of all DMC and CoD: Finest Hour.

update 4/12 - haven't updated this in a while.  I got rid of Gurumin and finished SOCOM on the PSP. Finished Kameo a little while back. Unfortunately I have also added to the backlog and this list isn't comprehensive yet.

XBOX
I-Ninja
Star Wars: KOTOR
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Psi-Ops
Simpson's Hit & Run
Fable: The Lost Chapters
Splinter Cell: Double Agent

XBOX 360
Oblivion

PS2
Okami

GCN
Eternal Darkness
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Wii
Super Paper Mario
Resident Evil 4 Wii edition

Virtual Console
Super Metroid
Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Super Mario World

GBA
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

PSP

DS
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Yoshi's Island DS

[Purge]

My backlog is now controlled by Ron, and he's no limp-wristed taskmaster. (well, maybe a LITTLE limp-wristed )

I have WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008 (Wii) to play when my Wii gets back from the repair shop (dead DVD drive). I am playing KUF:Circle of Doom (360) when I'm not absorbed with playing Rock Band.

I have the following on my own to work on:

[360]
Rock Band
Call of Duty 4, CoD4 MP
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (rental for review)
Crackdown coop, racing and finishing my orb hunt

[Wii]
Super Mario Galaxy
SvsR 2008 (for review)

[PC]
F.E.A.R.
Quake 4
Black & White 2
Fable: the lost chapters
Titan Quest

[ATB]

Ahh. The greatness of my backlog purge is still in effect though the list has grown somewhat.

Here's my current backlog-

Games in blue are ones I'd just assume get rid of than finish so they don't actually count in my mind.

Games in green are ones I'm actively playing right now.

PS2:

Metal Gear Solid 3 (I'd say I'm about 1/3 way through)
Killer 7 (I think I'm on the last level, but, man, I haven't played it in months)
DragonWarrior VIII (1/4 of the way through it, but I don't know that I'll ever turn it on again, so I'm not sure it counts)
Chrono Cross: untouched.
Resident Evil 4: untouched.
God of War 2 : untouched.

DS:

New Super Mario Bros. Played it alot when it came out. Haven't touched it since
Trauma Center: On the last level, but the game is hardly compelling
Phoenix Wright 2: Just doesn't click for me like the first
Fire Emblem2: Good game for sure. Need to get back to it.
LoZ:PH: Almost done!
Panzer Tactics: This is a long game. It will take months to finish
Advance Wars2: Almost to the end.

360:

Mass Effect
Rock Band
Orange Box (finished portal, 1/2 through Half-Life 2)[/color]
Stranglehold
The Outfit ($8.00- may have paid too much)
Viva Pinata (Not sure how far I am if it can be measured...)
Battlestations Midway
Call of Duty 3 (freebie with COD4, so it doesn't count).

So of 21 titles: Only 8 total titles that are true backlog, 7 that I may just sell and get rid of and 6 that I'm currently working on.  Not bad.

Good news is there's nothing I'm really excited about on the horizon (other than Day 1 Puchase of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin), so the list won't be growing.

Bad news is right now I'm only playing COD4 and I don't see that changing.

[Larraque]

*fingers in ears*
Na na na not listening!

By the way, DF, Oscuro and I have been back in Paragon City for a few weeks.

I think you have me confused with someone else. Probably with "DarkFyre" from the old Gone Gold days.(Does he still post anywhere?) I've never played City of Heroes. (I had to google paragon city to figure out what it was)

Completely and entirely impossible for me.  I have access to too many games.  I have been going back and at least trying out ones that passed me by though.

So limit your backlog? Say to yourself: 'How have I never played: "Final Fantasy 12"?  I want to play it!' Make a list like that?

For the past year or so, I've been grabbing up XBox and PS2 games that I want to play (possibly a second time) and am worried I'll have trouble finding in the future.

BTW - I'm not making any 'rules' for how this is going to work for anyone! For me, cleaning up the two long shelves of video games (plus a shoe-box somewhere) will make my wife happy, make me feel like less of a glutton, and just be good in general. Plus, seeing a list of everything I have to play will undoubtedly make me choose not to invest in any games in the near future.

Brian

[unbreakable]

I think I tried this a year ago, and didn't even dent it.  But it would probably help if I didn't join in whenever someone wants to replay FF7 or something... or if I didn't spend 70% of my gaming time playing WoW.

[El-Producto]

Darkfyre can be found at BC.

[kronovan]

Well guess I'm in since I'm partly responsible for the start of this thread.

[PS2]
Devil May Cry
God of War 2
Onimusha 3
Final Fantasy X-2 (Not sure about this yet)
The Red Star

[XBox]
Fable
Halo 2 (75% of the way there on Co-op)

[X360]
Half Life 2 (replay)
Half Life 2 Ep.1 (replay)
Half Life 2 Ep.2
Forza 2
R6V
King Kong

[Wii]
Zak & Wiki
Ghost Squad (successful ranking on all stages in all missions)
LoZ:LttP (VC)
Breath of Fire II (VC)
Sin & Punishment (VC)

[Laner]

Abolish your gaming backlog.

Completely and entirely impossible for me.  I have access to too many games. 

++

[Purge]

My backlog is now controlled by Ron, and he's no limp-wristed taskmaster. (well, maybe a LITTLE limp-wristed )

I have WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008 (Wii) to play when my Wii gets back from the repair shop (dead DVD drive). I am playing KUF:Circle of Doom (360) when I'm not absorbed with playing Rock Band.

I have the following on my own to work on:

[360]
Rock Band
Call of Duty 4, CoD4 MP
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (rental for review)
Crackdown coop, racing and finishing my orb hunt
Orange Box: HL2 (replay) Just entered Ravenholm.
                 Ep1
                 Ep2
                 Portal - I think I'm half-way through.

[Wii]
Super Mario Galaxy
SvsR 2008 (for review)

[PC]
F.E.A.R.
Quake 4
Black & White 2
Fable: the lost chapters
Titan Quest
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic
HL Ep1

Bolded text added. Never completed Ep1.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Cool.

I'm in, but there is no way I can finish my entire backlog. Just writing the list down would take forever.

But I'll start by trying to sell, give away, trade, throw out, finish, or reach a goal (in "neverending" games) in ten games.

First on the list, and currently playing:
Final Fantasy IV (GBA)
Pokemon Emerald (GBA)
Orcs and Elves (DS)

[Graham]

Completely and entirely impossible for me.  I have access to too many games.  I have been going back and at least trying out ones that passed me by though.

So limit your backlog? Say to yourself: 'How have I never played: "Final Fantasy 12"?  I want to play it!' Make a list like that?

I'm in the same boat as Ron.  You have no idea how many games I haven't finished or even opened because I'd be ready to play some game and then a new batch of games to review comes in.  Oct-Dec are just killer.  Being a completist doesn't help either.  My wife complains about the living room looking like a Gamestop, but she knew about my hobby early when we started dating.

[Laner]

Yeah... I guess I could make a list of backlogged games that I *really* want to finish and work from there.  But that in itself is a chore

My wife complains about the living room looking like a Gamestop, but she knew about my hobby early when we started dating.

Reminds me of the first time I let my GF (now wife) into the bedroom of my apartment where I kept all my games, both old and new (I have a few hundred games, stretching back to the 2600 days).  I knew I was in when she didn't run screaming out of the apartment

[somoflange]

BACKLOG? What's a backlog?

Those are my unfinished trophies of shame and they will stay in their dusty corner where they belong thank you very much.

[Graham]

Reminds me of the first time I let my GF (now wife) into the bedroom of my apartment where I kept all my games, both old and new (I have a few hundred games, stretching back to the 2600 days).  I knew I was in when she didn't run screaming out of the apartment

For my wife, she got to see my DVD, game, and CD collection in my living room, along with all of the Transformers scattered along the edges of the room.  My Best Man said that I was my own person and if I'm excited about something I'll let people know, and it will show.

Since we movied, my games and movies are pretty much on display, but some of the other things are now relegated into a closet she put shelves in.  Take a wild guess what went into there.

[Caine]

hell, my backlog weighs more than i do.  how can one man make a dent in such a stack of gaming?

in all seriousness, i think i've reached a point where hours needed > hours left in my lifetime. 

i plan on finishing up a number of games this year as my budget for new hotness is still recovering from 2007q4.

[Soulchilde]

My current backlog:

PC:

Half-Life Episode 2.   Near the end...just need to start playing it

360:

Overlord
Assassin's Creed

PSP:

Jeanne D"Arc
GTA: Vice City Stories

[CeeKay]

Darkfyre can be found at BC.

and IRC where he tries to get people to go all emo.

[whiteboyskim]

PC:

X360:

PS2:
Primal

Wii
Metroid Prime 3

That's right, boys and girls. Over the course of the last two years I have pared down my backlog to that. Since deciding to focus on the backlog in 2006 I've completed 60 games total, all of which were just sitting around waiting to be played. This is all that is left.

[warning]

I'll post mine a bit later but... it's big.

Okay... here's a start.  These are games I own, want to finish but have *not* finished.

Xbox 360
Prey
Puzzle Quest
Perfect Dark
Burnout Revenge
Kameo
Project Gotham Racing 3
Viva Pinata
Lego Star Wars 2
Blue Dragon
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Bioshock

Xbox
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
GTA: San Andreas
Shenmue II
The Suffering
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

PSP
Valkyrie Profile
Jeanne D'Arc
Final Fantasy Tactics
Disgaea

DS/GBA
Etrian Odyssey
Advance Wars DS
Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones
Final Fantasy IV

PS2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Substistence
Sly Cooper 1
Sly Cooper 2
Sly Cooper 3
Ratchet & Clank 1
Ratchet & Clank Up Your Arsenal
Ratchet Deadlocked
Xenosaga II
Xenosaga III
Final Fantasy XII
Dark Cloud 2
Grandia 2
Grandia 3
Bard's Tale
Star Ocean Till the End of Time
Jak & Daxter: The Precurser Legacy
Steambot Chronicles
Rogue Galaxy
Dragon Quest VIII
Persona 3
Digital Devil Saga 2
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Grim Grimoire
Tales of Legendia

Gamecube
Chibi-Robo
Gladius
Baten Kaitos 1
Baten Kaitos 2
Pikmin 2
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 VC)

PC
Arcanum
Wahammer: Dark Crusade
Fallout 2
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark Expansion - Game completed (gave up due to boredom)
Neverwinter Nights 2
Space Rangers 2
Star Wars: KOTOR 2
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Arx Fatalis
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Painkiller
Painkiller Battle out of Hell
Morrowind: Bloodmoon Expansion
Psychonauts
STALKER
Titan Quest
Titan Quest Immortal Throne
Children of the Nile
Star Wars: Empire at War



And I've got about 25 PS1 RPG's I'm planning on finishing eventually.

So around 100 games total.

 

[CeeKay]

I'll post mine a bit later but... it's big.

that's what every guy says.

[wonderpug]

After spending my entire evening playing Rock Band...I have no idea how I'm going to whittle my backlog down if I keep playing the same game.

[Misguided]

I think you have me confused with someone else. Probably with "DarkFyre" from the old Gone Gold days.(Does he still post anywhere?) I've never played City of Heroes. (I had to google paragon city to figure out what it was)

Oh, apologies. There was indeed a member of the Wanderers back in the day
that had a Blaster in City of Heroes named Dragonfyre.
Don't remember his account name, sorry for the confusion

[Gratch]

Backlog is somewhat of a foreign concept to me, as I typically don't feel any sort of burning desire to finish every game I buy.  I'll play games until I get bored with them or something else catches my eye, then move on.   Sometimes I come back to them, sometimes I don't.  If I had fun with a game, I feel I got my money's worth, which may or may not mean that I 'beat' it.

[Xmann]

well i have a backlog as well, but don't know if i'll ever get it down.   i have the 3 out subscription from Gamefly and just as soon as i get involved in something, another great game comes along.   i also recently got a DS for Christmas and that has made things even more challenging to finish off games.

so, here is what i'm working on....

DS
-Pokemon Pearl
-Lunar Knights
-Puzzle Quest
-Mario Luigi Partners in Time
Children of Mana
-Elite Beat Agents
-Star Wars the Complete Saga
-Ace Attorney

PS3
-Eye of Judgment
-Resistance
-NBA 2K8
-All Pro Football 2K8

PS2
-MLB Power Pros

Wii
-nothing right now

360
-nothing right now


Now, with alot of games releasing the next couple months for all these systems, i'll never even come close to getting caught up.   My first goal is to complete Resistance, then some DS games (Lunar Knights, EBA's, Puzzle Quest).

[Godzilla Blitz]

Ok. I've finally got a plan. A Simple Plan. This year I'm going to try and reduce my backlog. I'll post here games I've added to my collection and games I've subtracted. The goal is to somehow turn this into a negative number, so that I've got less games to finish than I did at the beginning of the year.

Time to put together a list of games I've picked up this year so far. That damn Circuit City clearance sale didn't help at all...

Games Added in 2008
Math Play (DS)
Spiderman 2 (DS)
Shrek Smash & Crash Racing (DS)
Endless Ocean (Wii)
Battalion Wars 2 (Wii)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
GoldenEye (DS)
Children of Mana (DS)
Tak The Great Juju Challenge (DS)
Eragon (DS)
Digimon World Dawn (DS)
World Wide Soccer Manager (PC)
Enemy Territory Quake Wars (PC)

Games Finished or Otherwise Removed from My Collection in 2008
Math Play (DS): Tried, didn't like, sold

Total to Date: +12, game increase

Adventure to Date: Resounding Failure

[biggercup]

Tracking down and killing the backlog was actually idea I had it for while and wanted to do it for long time.
I finally found the box of old PC games that I put away in storage room.

Here are some of games that I already installed on my PC to play very soon.

Aliens vs. Predator 2
Enter the Matrix
Gunman Chronicles
Soldier of Fortune
Unreal
Red Faction
Longest Journey
Broken Sword

I know some games are not AAA titles and even looks very dated now. However, I never got to finished them and somehow I just love "kinda" crappy titles. (Yes, I finished and enjoyed Daikatana)

Old game back-log plus current-Gen games to play, it's going to be, I hope, best year of gaming for me.

[hitbyambulance]

my backlog goes to sometime in the mid-'80s. currently working on The Legend of Zelda and The Adventures of Lolo [NES]. it's too late for me. save yourselves!!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Boo yah!

Math Play (DS) wasn't for me or my kids, and I just sold it. Down to +12 after one day. I rock.

Now if I can just stay away from the Circuit City $19.99 PC games for $9.99 deal this week, I might even end up breaking even this week (bought Endless Ocean for the Wii yesterday).

[Tebunker]

I'll see if I can cobble a list of some sorts together, I have an interest in getting rid of unplayed games, I just traded in 8 games, but I stupidly replaced them with 6 more... Still I am ahead 2.

[wonderpug]

I should just throw in the towel right now.  I'm having a very hard time resisting the urge to pick up No More Heroes.

[Starshifter]

I've learned a long time ago to just accept the fact they I complete few games.  I could probably count on both hands the total number of games I completed in my lifetime (not including PC).

With that being said I am itching to finish off the following games, which I have had for quite some time now:

Dead Rising (X360) - the mission gathering 5 bombs under the mall is impossible & caused me to shelve the game - for now.
Enchanted Arms (X360) - fantastic & enjoyable story but oh those random encounters every 8 seconds!
Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Wii) - no reason here just need to finish it.
Pokemon Pearl (DS) - gosh darn it I'm gonna catch 'em all!
Lego Star Wars Original Trilogy (X360) - it's Star Wars after all!

I honestly cannot see how someone finishes a game within a week or even days.  I would love to try an experiment and sit down with one of my fellow GT folk and start a game at the same time.  I bet that after just 2 hours of game play you would be at Level 18, on the 7th mission with fully upgraded weapons.  I on the other hand would be at Level 1, just starting mission 2 and with one additional weapon.  I'm currently well over 30+ hours into Mass Effect with 129 saves, a level 23 Infiltrator and as far as the story goes I only completed the first segment where you find Liara!  I just landed on Noveria!

I guess it's because when I play I move at a snails pace, soaking in every little nuance and I often repeat segments or conversations because it feels normal to do that.  I never skip cutscenes.  I never make my character run when he shouldn't be running.  I often stop to admire the scenery (in character), especially in Mass Effect.  In Mass Effect I walk around the ship talking to everyone after every away mission, no matter how minor it is.  Why?  Because that is what I envision the captain of a starship would do after a mission.

Strange am I. 

[kronovan]

Tracking down and killing the backlog was actually idea I had it for while and wanted to do it for long time.
I finally found the box of old PC games that I put away in storage room.

Here are some of games that I already installed on my PC to play very soon.

Aliens vs. Predator 2
Enter the Matrix
Gunman Chronicles
Soldier of Fortune
Unreal
Red Faction
Longest Journey
Broken Sword

I know some games are not AAA titles and even looks very dated now. However, I never got to finished them and somehow I just love "kinda" crappy titles. (Yes, I finished and enjoyed Daikatana)

Old game back-log plus current-Gen games to play, it's going to be, I hope, best year of gaming for me.

The Longest Journey and Broken Sword  still stand up well today because they're isn't many adventure games like them currently being made. At a minimum you should play those 2 games as they're both excellent.

[unbreakable]

Will update this later (my backlog spreadsheet [!!!] is at home).  I wanted to just start on it.

[DS]
Dementium
* Etrian Odyssey (finished, just need to beat the post-ending boss)
Final Fantasy III
Lunar Knights