Games Abandoned thread

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:58 pm

There has been too much time wasted on games we no longer enjoy. But I have an honorable compromise: just walk away.

Abandoning a game before you've finished it is a healthy and legitimate way to reduce your gaming backlog. So post the games in this thread that you'll never likely post in the Games Finished thread--the ones that you are wisely giving up on. Include a little blurb on how far you got and why you've decided to just walk away.

Some suggested etiquette: If you want to trade, sell, or give away your abandoned games, please don't use this thread to do that. Use the Trade Forum instead. Conversely, please don't ask people who post here whether you can have their games!

_______

My abandons:

Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel: This game could have been, should have been so great. The combat is a lot of fun at times. But getting to the combat and managing your team and inventory are major chores. I don't like the mazelike maps and the dull story. And instead of paring down the SPECIAL system to logically fit the strategy game, they expanded it to an imbalanced, nonsensical mess. I played about a third of the campaign.

Infinite Space: This is a Nintendo DS space RPG. I love that genre, so I thought this game would be for me. But its one-dimensional, rock-scissors-paper space combat is uninteresting and sometimes too difficult. I enjoy the story, but at 40 hours in (maybe halfway or 2/3 of the way through the game). I've had it with the combat. I'm watching the Something Awful Let's Play thread hoping that I can get the rest of the story from it.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:13 am

Hipolito wrote:Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel: This game could have been, should have been so great. The combat is a lot of fun at times. But getting to the combat and managing your team and inventory are major chores. I don't like the mazelike maps and the dull story. And instead of paring down the SPECIAL system to logically fit the strategy game, they expanded it to an imbalanced, nonsensical mess. I played about a third of the campaign.

Hey! Me too!! I didn't abandon it in 2012, though - I bailed way back in 2001 when it came out. The best thing I got out of it was a Collector's Edition camouflage shoulder satchel with the game's logo printed on it. It's really handy - just the right size for my networking toolkit. The game itself was a huge disappointment, though. Not fun at all.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:51 am

I'm not sure the forum can handle that many characters to list all the games I've walked away from.

Probably the most recent one was Fallout:New Vegas. I loved its predecessor and by all accounts should have loved this one, but it just didn't grab me. I never could get immersed in it, possibly just due to burnout.

I've been getting a lot better about finishing games, though. I used to buy everything that caught my eye, leading to huge backlogs of stuff. Now, with gaming time so limited, I tend to only buy games I know I'm really, really going to enjoy, and tend to not get burned out since I'm only playing them an hour a night or so.

Boudreaux · Post by **Boudreaux** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:20 pm

I recently gave up on trying to get through Metro 2033. I loved the descriptions of the atmosphere, I loved the premise, and everything about it seemed great. In the game, though, there's something about the movement and control scheme that just doesn't work for me. I find myself completely unable to aim properly, and I get mauled because of it. Very frustrating, and even though I can see a good game in there I ultimately decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:42 am

Boudreaux wrote:I recently gave up on trying to get through Metro 2033. I loved the descriptions of the atmosphere, I loved the premise, and everything about it seemed great. In the game, though, there's something about the movement and control scheme that just doesn't work for me. I find myself completely unable to aim properly, and I get mauled because of it. Very frustrating, and even though I can see a good game in there I ultimately decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

The entire physics component of that game, as well as a number of the animations, are completely terrible. What about the (?nosalises? what a terrible name. The upright dog monster things)? Those guys were a trainwreck and huge pain to kill not through deliberate design, but inadvertently.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:52 pm

STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl. -It got to a point where it would crash every time I played it. Finally just uninstalled it. It was lot of fun though except for the crashes.
Resident Evil V: The controls drove me crazy on a PC. You could tell it was a console port.

purge · Post by **purge** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:01 pm

If I can't get Mass Effect 1 working on my PC, I'm going to call that one.

I'm also close to walking away from Dragon Age. Really close.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:42 am

I haven't officially abandoned Duke Nukem forever, but I'm pretty close. I got to a point that was just too damn hard about a month ago and haven't touched it since. I don't even remember where I am, just that I got frustrated with it and didn't feel like playing anymore.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:48 am

Odin wrote:I haven't officially abandoned Duke Nukem forever, but I'm pretty close. I got to a point that was just too damn hard about a month ago and haven't touched it since. I don't even remember where I am, just that I got frustrated with it and didn't feel like playing anymore.

I'm very close also. But the adolescent in me says at least make it to the strip bar before quitting!

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:28 pm

I never walk away from a game. I just take a break. Sometimes years worth of break.

I have given Bioshock 1 good attempt and another smaller attempt picking up where I left off. I still plan on getting back to it. I did the exact same thing with Half life 2. I think it was 3 years after I bought it before I played all the way through.

There are plenty of games that I take a break from that I never make it back to, but I almost always intend to return.

It would feel like defeat if I listed games that I've started but stopped playing for one reason or another. I have no idea why.

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:47 pm

I've given up on Star Wars: The Old Republic

It's not a BAD game. It's fairly stable and the voice acting is well done. But the combat is so terribly dull and the loot drops so meaningless once you get Orange armor that the entire game feels like work.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:07 pm

Lassr wrote:
Odin wrote:I haven't officially abandoned Duke Nukem forever, but I'm pretty close. I got to a point that was just too damn hard about a month ago and haven't touched it since. I don't even remember where I am, just that I got frustrated with it and didn't feel like playing anymore.
I'm very close also. But the adolescent in me says at least make it to the strip bar before quitting!

I got past that, though I can't recall how far.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:30 am

Odin wrote:
Lassr wrote:
Odin wrote:I haven't officially abandoned Duke Nukem forever, but I'm pretty close. I got to a point that was just too damn hard about a month ago and haven't touched it since. I don't even remember where I am, just that I got frustrated with it and didn't feel like playing anymore.
I'm very close also. But the adolescent in me says at least make it to the strip bar before quitting!
I got past that, though I can't recall how far.

just made it past the strippers last night. One thing about this game is it gives me a bad case of motion sickness, more so than other games, or it's just the game itself that is making me ill.

Not sure how much more I can take.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:01 pm

Lassr wrote:STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl. -It got to a point where it would crash every time I played it. Finally just uninstalled it. It was lot of fun though except for the crashes.
Resident Evil V: The controls drove me crazy on a PC. You could tell it was a console port.

Duke Nukem Forever- I Couldn't handle it for the week I've been playing much less forever.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:58 am

Odin wrote:
Lassr wrote:
Odin wrote:I haven't officially abandoned Duke Nukem forever, but I'm pretty close. I got to a point that was just too damn hard about a month ago and haven't touched it since. I don't even remember where I am, just that I got frustrated with it and didn't feel like playing anymore.
I'm very close also. But the adolescent in me says at least make it to the strip bar before quitting!
I got past that, though I can't recall how far.

The game actually gets better after that point in my opinion. Not a lot better mind you but goes from one of the worst games I’ve played to merely bad. I played the whole game on the easiest mode with 4 weapons enabled though and was able to finish the whole thing in just over 4 hours.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:19 am

Lordnine wrote:
Odin wrote:
Lassr wrote:
Odin wrote:I haven't officially abandoned Duke Nukem forever, but I'm pretty close. I got to a point that was just too damn hard about a month ago and haven't touched it since. I don't even remember where I am, just that I got frustrated with it and didn't feel like playing anymore.
I'm very close also. But the adolescent in me says at least make it to the strip bar before quitting!
I got past that, though I can't recall how far.
The game actually gets better after that point in my opinion. Not a lot better mind you but goes from one of the worst games I’ve played to merely bad. I played the whole game on the easiest mode with 4 weapons enabled though and was able to finish the whole thing in just over 4 hours.

I started the game on hard mode and decided I was causing myself needless frustration. After playing maybe a quarter of it, I started over with the difficulty knocked down to medium. I had enabled 4 weapons the whole time for sure. I like weapons. Saw no reason to needlessly deny myself.

I'm currently playing through the two Riddick games and enjoying them well enough. I'll probably give Duke another try after that since I've totally forgotten where/why/how I was stuck.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:13 am

Does forcing myself to stop playing Skyrim count as abandoning? I "finished" all the major storylines but there's some leftover stuff I'm not going to do.

So it counts as both finished and abandoned in my book.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:58 pm

I'm done. Duke Nukem Forever can kiss my ass. I'm stuck at the part where you're underwater and have to kill a crapload of octobrains. I get how it's supposed to work, I just can't seem to manage to stay on an air-bubble thingy, keep myself from getting sucked into the turbine, and hit those fast-moving little fuckers before they kill me. Apparently there are no cheat codes until you've already beaten the game, so I'm done. Close enough - I think I'm three chapters from the end. I wasn't really enjoying it all that much anyway, so it's not breaking my heart a fraction as much as it's pissing me off. At least now I'll have a record of why I quit playing it in case I'm ever curious.

purge · Post by **purge** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:43 pm

I'm thinking that I'm not going to finish Shank2. Fucking annoying.

I think Shank may actually be related to the dwarves in 8-Bit theater...

Spoiler:

AKA: Dear god, why is everything I love combustible?

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:02 am

Hitman: Blood Money is annoying as hell. I've played "sneak" games in the past, though I'll confess that I usually do more killing than is optimal in those games. I guess I'm just not a good assassin. I managed to make my way through the first couple of levels, but now it's just pissing me off. Every single damn thing I try to do, no matter how sneaky, I get caught. And the game seems to be working against me - I try to quietly take somebody out with my bare hands, and suddenly I have their gun. Which would be great, except two seconds later there's 50 guys charging at me, guns a-blazin'. Likewise, I press the 1 key to activate my bare hands/garrotte, and the stupid game insists on randomly putting a poison/sedative syringe in my hands. WTF?? I may try one more time on Rookie mode just to try to get some value out of this goddamn game, but it wants me to replay the previous level, which I don't really feel like doing. Gah.

Edit to add: okay, I went back and replayed through the necessary level on "rookie" difficulty. This seems to be accommodating enough for me that I can get away with being a bit more bloodthirsty than the game would prefer. Definitely never going to be very high on my "replay" list, though. I tried to play the original Hitman game, but the graphics and controls were just terrible and I couldn't get past the first five minutes.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 11:19 pm

Well after sitting on my shelf for years I finally loaded Making History, The Calm and The Storm.

Tried to get into it but it just wasn't what I was looking for in a war game. I don't want to worry with upgrading my food to feed my workers to run my industry, to make my arms to fight my war. Too much micro-management for me.

I'll pull out the other war game that's been sitting around for while and try it: Strategic Command 2.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:05 pm

Radiant Historia: This Nintendo DS game received tons of raves as one of the best JRPGs out there, but if you thought it was that type, don't believe the hype. It's boring. If I only cared about JRPG mechanics, I'd like this game. But I'm looking for a good story and characters as well, and this game doesn't deliver them. At 40 hours in, it's probably foolish to walk away now, but I feel like an even bigger fool playing it for another minute. My fuller thoughts here.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:38 pm

Arcadia

After fighting with the limited options on two separate occasions to get a working control scheme either on keyboard or gamepad, I'm giving up on it. I don't really enjoy this type of game anymore anyway. So Arcadia joins Everquest on my Steam Library Abandoned folder.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:10 pm

GreenGoo wrote: I have given Bioshock 1 good attempt and another smaller attempt picking up where I left off. I still plan on getting back to it.

Yeah, same here. Not sure if I've completely abandoned Bioshock, but I can't seem to really get into it. It has high production values and I love the Art-Deco look, but that's about it as I can't really get into the setting. I generally dislike horror, even in games, and the killing in this seems rather visceral and it really stands out. Not to mention that my PC can't handle the game very well and I'm missing more than I'm hitting and running out of ammo quickly, which is just not making the game very fun for me. It pains me because I've heard so much about it and I really want to like it, but the game just leaves me feeling cold.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:59 am

Rumpy wrote:
GreenGoo wrote: I have given Bioshock 1 good attempt and another smaller attempt picking up where I left off. I still plan on getting back to it.

Yeah, same here. Not sure if I've completely abandoned Bioshock, but I can't seem to really get into it. It has high production values and I love the Art-Deco look, but that's about it as I can't really get into the setting. I generally dislike horror, even in games, and the killing in this seems rather visceral and it really stands out. Not to mention that my PC can't handle the game very well and I'm missing more than I'm hitting and running out of ammo quickly, which is just not making the game very fun for me. It pains me because I've heard so much about it and I really want to like it, but the game just leaves me feeling cold.

It took me two tries to get into Bioshock. I tried it, got through the intro cutscenes and such (which seemed to take about 15 minutes), and then didn't touch it again for a year. Once I got into it, though, I was really glad I did. It's a fantastic game in terms of gameplay, story, and look.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 2:15 pm

Odin wrote:
Rumpy wrote:
GreenGoo wrote: I have given Bioshock 1 good attempt and another smaller attempt picking up where I left off. I still plan on getting back to it.

Yeah, same here. Not sure if I've completely abandoned Bioshock, but I can't seem to really get into it. It has high production values and I love the Art-Deco look, but that's about it as I can't really get into the setting. I generally dislike horror, even in games, and the killing in this seems rather visceral and it really stands out. Not to mention that my PC can't handle the game very well and I'm missing more than I'm hitting and running out of ammo quickly, which is just not making the game very fun for me. It pains me because I've heard so much about it and I really want to like it, but the game just leaves me feeling cold.
It took me two tries to get into Bioshock. I tried it, got through the intro cutscenes and such (which seemed to take about 15 minutes), and then didn't touch it again for a year. Once I got into it, though, I was really glad I did. It's a fantastic game in terms of gameplay, story, and look.

Yeah, like I said, I love the look. It's the gameplay that leaves me feeling cold. Part of it has something to do with the macabre tone of the game, constantly having me kill shrieking zombies, a sound I don't particularly enjoy hearing as their laugh is rather shrill, all the while hoping it gets better, but after killing the upteenth zombie, it gets me feeling rather down. So much so that I wish there wasn't a macabre tone to it, but a clean Art-Deco look throughout with a different storyline. I loved Fallout 3, which also had an Art-Deco look, but there was also a lot of different stuff to do, and it was almost cheerful in comparison. But here, it's like it doesn't let up, so in the end, it leads me to not caring very much where to story goes.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 10:41 pm

Bit.Trip Beat is being abandoned. I can't handle the visuals, and playing a weaker version of Breakout just isn't for me.

Also joining the club is Audiosurf. Gaming with my music as part of it is just not something I enjoy, along with the mechanic. I'd rather play Stun Runner or something similar than something with the driving mechanic of that and the scoring mechanic of Klax.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:13 pm

Super Laser Racer, au revoir. You're just not what I was expecting. I don't feel that the level of effort I would have to expend to get reasonably good would result in enough fun to warrant the time spent. Into the folder you go.

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:58 pm

LA Noire - got this one on release night for the 360. My mind was awash with the story telling possibilities. However, after a few great cases I quickly realized that the open world map of LA was complete fluff and didn't add anything to the game and the interview system was frustrating and a huge step backwards in game design. When I guessed wrong on a interview response it played that fail tone and I instantly wanted to restart the case. Failing responses didn't result in new and interesting story variations. Just a poor score at the end of the case. After a while I just could not continue. The game conflicted with itself and wasn't fun. After a while I didn't care about the story even though I really wanted to finish it and start again but I've officially decided to abandon the game.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:47 pm

Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition: This game is supposed to be a classic. It's a competent shooter, but that's all it is. At twenty hours in, I've reached level 4-2 and I don't see a reason to continue this drawn-out, boring game. One thing I'll say for it is that it does make you feel the pressure of running low on ammo and healing items.

I kind of feel bad that I'll never save the girl, and I'll miss the creepy weapons dealer. If you tell me there's a scene in which the dealer talks to the girl, and then she kicks him in the nuts, I'll keep playing just to see that.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:28 pm

This might get me lynched, but The Witcher. Got it for $10 on GOG since I'd heard a lot about it. I think what might be the best thing about this game is the atmosphere, the cutscenes and dialogue. Some of it, I could imagine being on an HBO show. But the combat leaves a lot to be desired. Half the time, I'm fighting not with the enemies, but the combat system itself. Ugh. I'd really like to continue playing, but the area I'm in now has gotten impossibly hard due to the combat system. When you're getting gangbanged by enemies left and right, it's not a good thing to be struggling with the interface. And this is on easy difficulty. This is one of those combat systems I figure works much better on a console.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:34 am

Rumpy wrote:This might get me lynched, but The Witcher. Got it for $10 on GOG since I'd heard a lot about it. I think what might be the best thing about this game is the atmosphere, the cutscenes and dialogue. Some of it, I could imagine being on an HBO show. But the combat leaves a lot to be desired. Half the time, I'm fighting not with the enemies, but the combat system itself. Ugh. I'd really like to continue playing, but the area I'm in now has gotten impossibly hard due to the combat system. When you're getting gangbanged by enemies left and right, it's not a good thing to be struggling with the interface. And this is on easy difficulty. This is one of those combat systems I figure works much better on a console.

I can see that. The combat system is all about timing and using the right sword for the right enemy. If you don't hit your combos you aren't going to do much damage in the late game.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:29 pm

Archinerd wrote:
Rumpy wrote:This might get me lynched, but The Witcher. Got it for $10 on GOG since I'd heard a lot about it. I think what might be the best thing about this game is the atmosphere, the cutscenes and dialogue. Some of it, I could imagine being on an HBO show. But the combat leaves a lot to be desired. Half the time, I'm fighting not with the enemies, but the combat system itself. Ugh. I'd really like to continue playing, but the area I'm in now has gotten impossibly hard due to the combat system. When you're getting gangbanged by enemies left and right, it's not a good thing to be struggling with the interface. And this is on easy difficulty. This is one of those combat systems I figure works much better on a console.
I can see that. The combat system is all about timing and using the right sword for the right enemy. If you don't hit your combos you aren't going to do much damage in the late game.

Yeah, my big problem with it is that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and I can't quite figure out what triggers what, so it becomes a game of chance of wether I hit something or not. It's incredibly frustrating, not to mention that my game gets very laggy at times making it even harder. I'm in the swamp trying to escort the guy to his shrine, and while the drowners have become easy, what lays near the shrine makes it nearly impossible for me to continue. I'd have loved a more traditional combat system, but the difficulty of this game makes Gothic feel like child's play.

Nightwish · Post by **Nightwish** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:31 pm

Yeah, I think I had some problems there, but I'm not a very good gamer and didn't have much of an issue with the combat. I did have an issue with having to fight or run away and ignore endless waves of those low level goons later on. Yuck.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 6:53 am

I thought there was a visual clue (sword looking like it was on fire) as to when to swing... Unless you're playing on hard and then I think it was an audio cue

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:44 am

Yeah, I think there is, although since my computer isn't the greatest, there's a bit of lag between when I see that flaming sword and when I hit.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 4:45 pm

I couldn't get into the combat either. It's not that I could't get the timing down I could... I just hated the system entirely.

Sarkus · Post by **Sarkus** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:05 pm

I have a couple of recent games that are potentially going to be abandoned.

The first is the recent Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. I think it's a pretty good game, all things considered, and they are about to release a new patch that should improve some things further. But for whatever reason I played it a lot, got very near the end, and put it aside. Haven't had any interest in going back since. That being said, as much as I love Jagged Alliance 2 and have played it many times, I never technically finished that game either. At a certain point in those kinds of games the difficulty reaches a point where it doesn't seem worth the effort to continue. Fallout Tactics, to reference the OP, was the same.

My other recent game that is in danger of being abandoned is Legend of Grimrock. I've had fun with it, but my pace through it has been pretty slow. I'm only about half way done, and now I'm about to go out of town for a week on vacation. I suspect my interest when I come back will be in different gaming directions, so Grimrock may get pushed aside for a good long time.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:22 am

Octavious wrote:I couldn't get into the combat either. It's not that I could't get the timing down I could... I just hated the system entirely.

Yeah, that too. I hated flailing around.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 8:06 pm

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP: I don't agree with the praise this game gets. I'm not charmed by the chunky art or the throwaway writing. The music's fine, but it could be in any other, better game. I reached the part where I'm supposed to use a new magic spell to fish sprites out of three bodies of water. I can't figure out how to do it. Instead of looking for a hint, I'll just look for something else to play.

Uplink: Great atmosphere and music, but seems esoteric and arbitrarily difficult. The sweaty thrill of hacking wears thin when you have to do it over and over again without really knowing whether you're on the right track.

Sound Shapes: Purportedly a musical platformer but, aside from the Beck levels, the game does little for me musically or platformally. Full thoughts here.