GavinTheAlmighty

Damn. OOT3D was my first exposure to the game as I never had an N64, so I heard this griping about the Water Temple for nigh on 16 years. When I finally got around to playing it earlier this year, it was tough, but not the worst thing I'd ever seen in my life. I thought I was a genius - turns out I was just benefiting from better textures.

I'm pretty pleased with my approach to my backlog. I had to be loose about my definitions though. I considered any game that I purchased or put on my wish list to be part of the backlog. I didn't know for the longest time that I could accept Steam gifts into my gift inventory; I thought I could only accept them into my library. So I've got a bunch of stuff that I never asked for just sitting in my account that I have no desire to play. I started 2014 with the following to fire through: 3DS: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Mario Kart 7 Splinter Cell 3D Wii U: Super Mario 3D World Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Splinter Cell: Blacklist PC: Batman: Arkham City The Swapper Mass Effect 1 and 2 Bioshock Infinite Driver: San Francisco The Walking Dead, Season 2 For me, I'm satisfied with writing off a game if I've "played it to my own personal satisfaction". Usually, that means until the story line is complete, but sometimes, I just feel like I'm not invested in a game, so I have to know what the cutoff point is. Of the titles above, I cut out Splinter Cell 3D (for being vastly inferior to its parent title, Chaos Theory), ACIV as I didn't care for the gameplay, and Driver: San Francisco as I had my fun with it but didn't care to move on. Otherwise, I finished the story lines for all those above (MK7, I beat everything including Mirror Mode, but didn't get all of the kart customization options). I did add a bunch of titles as well - Mass Effect 3, Mario Kart 8, The Legend Of Zelda: *.* (Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker HD), Metroid, and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. I fired through all except Wind Waker - I acknowledge it to be a great title, but I just couldn't get invested. I think I have Zelda fatigue. Maybe I'll come back to it in a year or so, once I've had a decent break. I had to just straight-up write off a few titles that I got through various Humble Bundles and Steam sales, about $25 worth. It was a sad acknowledgment that I wasted money, but it was also remarkably liberating. I've long held that the games I buy are meant to be played multiple times. Every time I'd knock one off, another would surface and so I'd have to get to that one before I could justify playing Deus Ex again. I'm so happy that I've effectively cleared up my backlog. I have nothing that I have purchased but haven't played, and it's wonderful. I'm just replaying Metroid Prime right now, and it's glorious. No weight on my shoulders! I can purchase Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker with no guilt when it comes out! Some people really love the huge libraries, and that's totally awesome for them. I can't get down with that though - a small stable of games is all I really need and want. I don't have nearly as much time to play as I would like, so I like just going back to my old familiar friends.

This news really pleases me. King's Quest was what really got me into gaming in the first place - my family would play the games together and try to figure out the ridiculously unintuitive puzzles. Then we'd swear at the game and bust out the hint book, but it was a bonding experience. It may be misguided allegiance to the series that represented gaming genesis for me, but I'm very excited to see what they can come up with.

Howdy do, everyone. Gavin Nettlefold, long-time listener, first-time forum registrant. I was referred to the site/pdcast by a good friend and Kickstarter backer/stylized t-shirt wearer, and have been hooked since. 30, long-time gamer, and Super Metroid is the best game ever created and I'll fight you if you say otherwise.