Games you like starting, but hate finishing

[TorchofThanatos]

Dragon Age: Origins!
Some really fun origins to play through but after the first hour the same is the exact same for each character. Also the really boring combat doesn't help either. I have beat the game once and that took me a long time and I just can't push my self to finish with a different character. I really like the Awakenings DLC after the game finishes but i just can't get a character there. I could start with a new one for that campaign but I just don't care that much.

 

[Jhooud]

Pretty much any fighting game where the final boss is either a) completely cheap (think Shao Kahn - which now that I'm typing it looks like it really should be Khan. Weird. Or that crazy clone lady thing in DoA - Alpha 152 if wikipedia is to be believed) or b) so totally different from what you've faced before that you need to learn a whole new set of attacks/skills that really only apply to that fight (Galaticus in UMvC 3 comes to mind).

 

[Pink Gregory]

Rome Total War. At the beginning things are usually quite intense. It's interesting to see who become the major powers, who takes over where. Sometimes there some surprises, like in my last game with Dacia becoming a major power house, then being taken over by Scythia who were in turn taken by Thrace.

But by the end of the long campaigns the game just becomes a mop up job. There's little to no challenge and things just becomes annoying instead of fun and interesting.

I found that the other Roman families just sweep over most of the world map, leave tiny garrisons in each town and spread themselves far too thin. Or maybe that was just that one campaign, seemed unlikely just to be a random chance, though. So basically you end up only facing 3-4 different kingdoms (if you're shite at Total War, like me) and then other Romans.

Might apply just to me, though.

 

[TheLastTatlFan]

Every Final Fantasy I've played (4-7 and X, although I didn't actually like X that much) and Chrono Trigger. Of that list, I've only ever finished 4, once.

 

[zidine100]

Persona 4 i always seem to get distracted near the end, i mean seriously.... every single time.

tempted to buy the golden to rectify this one, but ive played it so many times im not sure i want to....

well time for round 4 i guess, if i ever find the time.

 

[Monkey_Warfare]

Civilization series, Total war games etc. The most challenging part is usually the early game. Towards the end you generally have pulled ahead of your rivals by killing/crippling the strongest and have better units so you can just roll any threat and are left with a tedious grind through the final stages.
Also Diablo III, first 20-30 levels were great unlocking new skills which were fun to play with to find cominations. After that you ended up using the same combinations over and over and once you hit nightmare and just had to redo everything it became monotonous.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

I thought id love skyward sword until whats her face in the sword came along. Fuck. That. Shit. Hand holding was so intense i couldnt finish the game. After the dousing took all the fun out of a simple game of hide and seek (plus the sword lady reiterated at least twice what hide and seek was AFTER another character explained it. Its fucking HIDE AND SEEK the NAME explains it why are you treating me like im brain dead). I was so patronised i didnt play again.

 

[Best of the 3]

Rome Total War. At the beginning things are usually quite intense. It's interesting to see who become the major powers, who takes over where. Sometimes there some surprises, like in my last game with Dacia becoming a major power house, then being taken over by Scythia who were in turn taken by Thrace.

But by the end of the long campaigns the game just becomes a mop up job. There's little to no challenge and things just becomes annoying instead of fun and interesting.

I found that the other Roman families just sweep over most of the world map, leave tiny garrisons in each town and spread themselves far too thin. Or maybe that was just that one campaign, seemed unlikely just to be a random chance, though. So basically you end up only facing 3-4 different kingdoms (if you're shite at Total War, like me) and then other Romans.

Might apply just to me, though.

I found that the more you expand, the Roman families do also. Also they'll focus on one faction at at time. Which was weird in one of my games, where the Brutii were in deep war against the Greeks, but made sure to clear out all of Dacia before even turning to face the Greek.

I've also found that at medium/medium difficulty, they'll leave all their cities with few troops, and move about 4-5 entirely stacked armies in one group. This usually makes stabbing the other families in the back a breeze since Scipii's armies usually end up either in Spain or Egypt, while Brutii are busy in deserts or way too far up North the help their capital.

 

[Frostbite3789]

Dragon Age: Origins. Two words. The Fade. I dread getting to that part every time, because just...get outta here kid. Nobody likes you.

 

[TheCommanders]

I feel kind of unoriginal, but the two I thought of off the top of my head have already been mentioned, but I'll say them anyway.

Mount and Blade: Warband - The combat is a hell of a lot of fun, but the questing and kingdom building are adventures in micromanagement and disappointment. I hope that they'll improve that in the upcoming sequel.

Rome: Total War - Oh god, the overpopulation problem. Seriously, after a certain number of turns, your empire's best cities will start to destroy themselves and there's nothing you can do about it (I seem to remember the earliest culprits of this were alexandria and carthage). Frustrating as hell. Soooo glad they addressed this issue in later titles in the Total War franchise.

 

[Tarkand]

In all the Civilization games I found the first part the most fun, until about 1000 AD.

My thoughts exactly. Then again I suppose that negates the tactical aspect of the game, but to be honest that's always been a bit lacking.

To be honest I think I've only once played a game of Civ to completion. And I LOVE Civ...

To be fair to Civilization the _strategic_ aspect improves in the later game, especially after 1900 when there is a lot of unit dynamics to take into account. It feels a lot more like a traditional strategy game than an economic game.

(Yes I know the creators of Civ5 talked about making it more 'tactical', which makes me facepalm when considering the scale)

They always used the "One more turn" slogan for the series. I often think "Just one more game", because when a game is finally over I get to the fun bit of starting all over again.
There is a certain excitement when I get 1 warrior, 1 settler and a huge unexplored map. It's almost like opening presents for christmas.

That's how I feel about most strategy games. The beginning of most (grand)strategy/4X games, where you have to carve out your little niche in the grand, open world is the most interesting.
Then in the mid-game you get big enough to take on the heavyweights in big, epic battles that decide the fate of entire nations.
This is followed by the "mop-up" phase, where you simply pump out gigantic armies with your superior economy and crush every enemy under your boots. *yawn*.

Yup, throwing my hat alongside you guys. Love early game Civ... but late game, not only does turn take longer and longer (which is annoying in and out of itself) but it's often all about dealing the killing blow to already crippled ennemy who hang on just to piss you off.

 

[Offworlder_v1legacy]

Mass Effect 1.

The first mission is exciting, tonnes of plot building, then you move onto gathering the squad and learning about them, and then I just hit a hump and feel like I'm just wading through sludge from this point on. Though this is probably due to the endless Mako missions I end up going on and ignoring the main quest. Luckily I have the interactive comic thing so I don't have to go through it anymore.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Oblivion and Civ 4

those games get dull after a while but the opening levels/turns are so fun.

 

[omicron1]

Ah, so many games. Sometimes all it takes is 30 minutes past demo length for me to be done.
Devs never seem to realize how important the exploratory/survival stage is to their games. It's always focused on the combat or the combo system or the bosses or the level scores. And all I want is to stop and smell the hidden loot caches.

 

[gLoveofLove]

When I was a kid, that would be every single game I played. Now that I'm older and have a better attention span, the game I do this to the most is Diablo II. I would always get to the second area, the desert and then quit and then years or months later start a new character. In the beginning of the game you are constantly leveling up, learning new skills, and finding new better gear. but as you progress, all that stuff slows down along with the gratification that I get from playing.

 

[Fijiman]

The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games. I've put hundreds of hours into the four most recent games, but I can never seem to bring myself to ever complete the main quest in any of them.

 

[Krustosaurus]

For some unfathomable reason, I keep finding myself starting the first Mass Effect, playing a 3-hour sitting, then never touching that character again.

It's a shame, because ME1 has a brilliant conclusion. Guess the Citadel part just bogs me down.

I've done the exact same thing (assuming you're talking about the first visit to the Citadel). I played through Mass Effect 2 in no time and absolutely loved it then my friend lent me Mass Effect 1. I got to the Citadel, did a few missions there and just stopped. I don't know why but I just couldn't bring myself to continue.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Agreed on the Kingdom Hearts games. They're pretty cheerful and light-hearted until you reach the last couple of worlds... and then if you feel like revisiting the previous worlds, you realize how boring and empty they are because there's no plot developing in any of them. Just enemies spawning over and over while you sweep through them with your overpowered party. And of course, there's the fact that the tone becomes pretty somber and, uh, climactic. I think in the case of the first game, the game is at its most fun when you're teleported blind into Traverse Town and Night of Fate is still playing. That's the last time you ever hear Night of Fate in the whole game, which depresses me. It's like the magic's over.

On a less heartfelt note, I love the beginning of Resident Evil 4, but it starts going downhill when Ashley is introduced, and it definitely loses color once you leave the village and enter the castle.

Hmmm ICO comes to mind too. Once you part ways with Yorda the game's over for me. And in Shadow of the Colossus, the last 4 or 3 colossi I always fight wearily, because I hate the game's ending and the dreary atmosphere gets me.

 

[norashepard]

Oblivion. I haven't ever gotten to level 20 in that game because I always start over.

Other notables: Dragon Age: Origins, Bioshock, The Sims.

 

[Wilbot666]

inFamous 2.

I love starting the game and playing the first 2/3rds but hate that it finishes so quickly once you get the meatier superpowers.