Comments on: #Listmas2014: It’s not the (game) size that counts…

By: cary

cary — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:44:04 +0000

What’s really great about Bayonetta is that you can make it a long or short game. If you try to go after all the medals (i.e. achievements) in every level, it’ll only add to the story, but the game will be longer. If you just speed through the main activities, the story is just as rich and layered in a shorter period. As long as you can deal with or overlook some of the game’s ridiculousness (bordering on embarrassing at a few points), it’s just a plain ol’ fun time!

Thanks for the nice comments about the list itself. As much fun as it is to really get immersed in a long game, when time’s short, there are lots of short games out there than can just as easily pass the time. Good to know that about J&D: The Precursor Legacy. I’m in the process of rebuilding our PS2 library, and Jax and Daxter is high on the list.

By: duckofindeed

duckofindeed — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 16:06:01 +0000

My favorite short game is Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. I once got in a major mood to play it again and managed to finish it over the course of a single morning, and while I like my games at least 20 hours, it’s kind of nice being able to play a game I really love without having to make a big commitment. The game is short, but every bit of it is spent having fun. There’s no wasted time, which can happen in longer games. This was a good idea for a list.

And I keep hearing about Bayonetta lately, and now I’m wondering if I should check it out.

By: cary

cary — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 02:29:00 +0000

Yeah, and I’m not sure a game has gotten it right yet. (Mass Effect 2 came close, at points.)

By: Relistmas 2014! | United We Game

Relistmas 2014! | United We Game — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:01:41 +0000

[…] /2014/12/25/listmas2014-its-not-the-game-size-that-counts/ […]

By: #Listmas2014 MERRY RELISTMAS EVERYONE | Murf Versus

#Listmas2014 MERRY RELISTMAS EVERYONE | Murf Versus — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:00:55 +0000

[…] One of Cary’s mention excellent lists. […]

By: C. T. Murphy

C. T. Murphy — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 16:45:53 +0000

I think it begins to feel inorganic too. Not talking DA specifically, but when sidequests literally feel like sidequests, I start to lose track of my character’s mission and the game becomes more like a game than a self-driven narrative about saving the world.

Very tough balance to strike!

By: cary

cary — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:34:57 +0000

Oh absolutely. If the first game I ever played was a massive, open-world game, I might have just called it quits. Spur-of-the-moment games like Super Mario Bros. and Pac-Man were easily accessible and didn’t require much effort to play. And it was only natural to eventually graduate from them. There was once a time when I had time to invest in large games in succession, but those days are long over.

The initial time I put into Xenoblade went by really fast. Its story really is quite something, very intense with plenty of action. I would love to sink my teeth back into it someday, and I’m sure you will enjoy it!

By: cary

cary — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:24:44 +0000

I heartily concur! While I’m loving DA: Inquisition, boy oh boy is it easy to get lost in its myriad of sidequests. Not that they aren’t fun, but it’s all I can do to stay on track with the main story.

By: cary

cary — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:22:25 +0000

Just added Transistor the other day on Steam — such a gorgeous game. I can’t wait to get round to it!

By: veryverygaming

veryverygaming — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 12:06:59 +0000

Wow, 60+ hours… it’s an intimidating number, I think what will clinch it (or not) is how gripping the game is. Persona 4 took me 50 hours and it really FELT like 50 hours, whereas despite 80 hours with Dragon Quest VIII it felt like a much shorter game than Persona. But I can’t play long games like that back-to-back, it’s just too big an investment (mental as well as time-wise). Sometimes I need those lighter experiences that, in my case, are what got me into gaming in the first place.