Gaming in small doses

[MaCaulay]

So Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get any games as gifts, whatever that's fine with me all the gifts I did get we're great, but then Boxing Day came and with it the sales. Oh my god were there sales!!!

Having recently gotten paid I splurged and bought myself 9 new games to play while on holiday from school. These games are...

?Portal 2 and the Peer Review DLC
?Left 4 Dead 2 (full DLC)
?Battlefield 3: Limited Edition
?L.A. Noire (full DLC)
?Halo CE Anniversary (all DLC I could see)
?Mass Effect
?Fallout: New Vegas (full DLC)
?Batman: Arkham City (full DLC)
?Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

As you can see I got some excellent games and a massive amount of DLC (possibly to much DLC) and this has caused a problem for me. I started playing New Vegas and got sucked straight back into what is one of my faviroute series, I then decided that I should try something else so I put in L.A. Noire and started playing only to be drawn into tht aswel. I then got bothered that I wasn't playing any other games so I decided Portal 2 would be a great game to break out of the mould that I created for myself. Having 100% Arkham Asylum I thought that 100% Arkham City would be a good way to pass some time while I got over my victory in Portal 2, a feat which sadly became a grind, do 49 Achievements in I swapped the game to Mass Effect.

I have now played 2 hours of it and I am having a good time but I realised that the games I was enjoying weren't leaving a lasting effect on me because I was busy trying to play multiple other games at the same time. So here is what I want to know, how many games should I be playing at once? How many is too many? What is the largest number of games you have been playing in one go? This is causing a lot of distress and help or tips would be greatly apreciated...

 

[cerealnmuffin]

I would only alternate between two games with very different gameplay. Play an rpg and an action game or a puzzler game and some mindless shooter. This way the experience feels fresh as the games play diametrically opposed to one another. It seems you are the sort who needs to 100% or get achievements and that 'stress' of perfecting each game is making you exhausted.

I only play games once every couple months and usually one at a time, but then again I don't really play games as much as I used to. I do think just sticking with two at a time with vastly contrasting play styles will help you appreciate each. You can save the 100%ing until after you experienced each and only do that for games you really enjoyed.

 

[MaCaulay]

Thanks I really like what you're saying. I do try and get as many achievements as I can on my first play through and it makes sense that it's causing me some added stress on top of the stress of playing multiple games. Trying to get through a game on its hardest difficulty is fun for me and achievements are an added reassurance that I am good at this game. I'll try cutting down on trying to get achievements and just enjoy the game.