Staff Blog: Help! My Pile of Shame and You.

Help! My Pile of Shame and You.

On 06/30/2012 at 02:21 AM by Julian Titus

I have come to realize that I have a problem. A big problem. A problem that many of you reading this also have. I’m talking, of course, of the Pile of Shame. It’s something that I just have to deal with as a collector, but recently I’ve started to think that I need help with my personal backlog.

To be fair, when it comes to big releases that I’m excited for, I typically finish those off in a week or so and they go back on the shelf. The pile of shame exists mainly from bargain hunting or impulse purchases. So in the past couple of years I’ve accrued a ton of games that I bought because A.) I found a great deal, B.) I wanted to pick up a title before it becomes impossible to find at retail, or C.) Just for the hell of it. Sometimes, it’s all of the above.

The point is, I need help. It’s occurred to me lately that I spend almost all of my free time doing stuff for PixlBit, whether it be reviews, previews, recording and editing the podcast, or other tasks. That’s all well and good, but I need some me time, and by “me” I mean “gaming”. When I sat down to marathon the last 14 hours of Mass Effect 3 recently that was the first non-review gaming I had done in almost three months.

Since reviews are trickling now (I’m working on a quick PC title at the moment), I have time to try and knock out some backlog games. The next game I plan on purchasing is Transformers: Fall of Cybertron in August, so I can totally play some of these. But I need your help. I want to narrow down my pile to about 5 games that I should tackle first. So here it is: my Pile of Shame.

First off are the games that I either haven't played or played less than an hour. Some of these games are still in the shrink wrap...

Next are the games that I've put a good amount of time into. Some of these games are 50% complete or higher...

And last but not least, games that I want to replay. Most of these have DLC that I haven't experienced, or they are re-releases that I haven't played since their original release.

This isn't all of the Pile of Shame, mind you. I have some GBA and PC games that I haven't played as well, but I figured I'd keep it (relatively) current. So, help me out! Which of these games should I tackle first?

Nick DiMola Director

06/30/2012 at 02:11 PM

3D Dot Game Heroes! That game is great. I watched Chessa play it and I think I'm going to dive into it myself once I finish my A Link to the Past replay.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2012 at 11:50 AM

I've been itching to get into a JRPG lately, but the time commitment on them is daunting. 3D Dot Game Heroes might fit the bill.

Aboboisdaman

02/24/2013 at 08:08 PM

3D Dot Game Heroes is great! I loved it since I'm a big fan of Zelda and Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game. You can't go wrong with Final Fantasy 4 or Bioshock 2 though. I actually liked the second Bioshock more than the first one. I know I'm in the minority but the combat felt a lot better. Plus you play as a Big Daddy which is pretty bad ass. I wouldn't feel so bad about your backlog Julian. Mine is utterly ridiculous. Probly more than a 100 games lol. Most of which are NES so it's gonna take me forever to finish them. Some of those games are brutally hard.

Joaquim Mira Media Manager

06/30/2012 at 04:04 PM

I would suggest that you, Julian, should first play the games that don't require a lot of time put into them i.e. that Wii Batman game, Uncharted, X-Men, etc.

I'm playing my backlog by alphabetical order.

3D Dot Game Heroes is great, but it also has a couple of flaws that can aggravate you. I'm not going to say what they are. Play the game, and find out... or not.

07/01/2012 at 11:47 AM

Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious from this stack that my RPG eyes are way bigger than my RPG stomach!

Michael117

06/30/2012 at 07:34 PM

Starting with the xbox games you've put the least time into: Play Dark Souls. The PS3 games you've put the least time into: Play Uncharted. For the games you're deeper into: Play Vanquish. For the ones you want to replay: Play Dragon Age Origins. That's a balanced list so that you won't get too worn out on any particular genre. My list contains 5 games, meeting the criteria you set. Plus my list spices up the variety and gameplay a little bit but it still favors the RPG since there are two great ones on there (dark souls and dragon age).

Dark Souls (rpg)

Uncharted (action adventure)

Vanquish (tps)

Dragon Age Origins (rpg)

We are going to all get through this together lol.

07/01/2012 at 11:48 AM

That's a good list! I've got two votes for Uncharted so far, so I think that's first up. Besides, my PS3 hasn't gotten any love in months.

07/01/2012 at 09:25 PM

I hope you've been updating your PS3 at least...

07/01/2012 at 09:58 PM

I'm used to it taking forever to play games at this point, what with the mandatory title updates and installs.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

07/01/2012 at 12:32 PM

I have similar piles that I keep meaning to photograph... perhaps I shall now that you've started a local trend.

I'd knock out something you're already half way through. I have a lot of affection for Vanquish for all the wrong reasons, so I vote for that.

07/04/2012 at 09:51 PM

Yeah, I enjoyed what I played of it. I may start that one over, just because the mechanics are intense, and I know it's short.

Jesse Miller Staff Writer

07/02/2012 at 09:33 AM

Looking through your pile - and my, what a pile it is - I'd reccommend getting through the quick games first. You could breeze through Uncharted, Vanquish, Bulletstorm, Wet and Batman and put a decent dent in your backlog that way. I'm in a similar boat, I'm afraid, so I feel your pain.

Anonymous

01/11/2013 at 11:44 AM

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Justin Matkowski Staff Alumnus

02/24/2013 at 06:19 PM

I'd agree with Jesse - Knock out the shorter games first. Fallout 3 is fantastic, but my sweet lord it is massssiivveee, especially with the DLC. You might want to save that one for last, and it will be an awesome way to close out your backlog!

02/24/2013 at 08:00 PM

In the end, I decided to tackle it though a lottery. I would look at my shelf and be paralyzed by choice, and wouldn't play anything. So I put all of the games into a cup and drew three. They are, in order: Splatterhouse, Sacred 2, and Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction.

So I'll be working on those in order between reviews. Playing Metal Gear Rising right now, then it's back to Splatterhouse unless I get assigned Tomb Raider.

Beerfan

02/24/2013 at 08:15 PM

Nice backlog. At least there are a lot of fun games there. I am glad I started calling my backlog a collection. Now instead of being ashamed, I can feel proud.

02/24/2013 at 08:49 PM

That works for all of the unplayed PS2 games I have, but the current gen stuff feels more like a burden than part of the collection at the moment. That'll change as I chip away at it and the new systems come out, because I'll probably start seeking out games that I know will be hard to find soon.

DarkdaemonPK2

02/24/2013 at 09:00 PM

Tackle first the games you can finish before going to the next games to avoid backlogs.

-DarkdaemonPK2

SanAndreas

02/24/2013 at 09:06 PM

You call that a pile of shame?! That's a little stack of shame compared to what I've got going on! LOL!

Personally, though, I'm trying to stick with what I've got rather than buy more games.

02/24/2013 at 10:26 PM

Oh, that's not all of it by a longshot. These are just the more recent games I have a chance of getting to before I move on to new machines.

brighat

02/24/2013 at 09:33 PM

I'd start playing Valkyria Chronicles. Defintely one of the best JRPGs of this generation.

02/24/2013 at 10:02 PM

I'll second that.

PixlBit

Help! My Pile of Shame and You.

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