Weekend Confirmed 146 - 2013 begins, Dishonored, next-gen predictions

Re: Garnett's Finishing Move question - I don't play anywhere near as many games as many of the gamers I know. I'm fairly selective in what I choose to play, but what I play I will play repeatedly. The original Deus Ex I've played through completely at least 5 times, probably closer to 7 or 8. Over the holiday's I replayed Half-Life 2 and the episodes (probably 4th or 5th time for HL2 proper). I'm currently working through another run with Alan Wake. I played Dishonored 3 times last year.

Why? For many of the same reasons I rewatch a movie or re-read a book. One, it is a known quantity. I tried, for example, to play Max Payne 3 (I've played Max Payne 2 at least 3 times) but for whatever reason that game failed to hold my interest. It just didn't feel like a Max Payne game to me. But when I pick up Half-Life 2 I know exactly what I'm going to get.

Two, it is a familiar world, characters, and story. Sure, new experiences, like Dishonored, can be great. But if there isn't anything out that meets my somewhat limited gaming interest, I like revisiting old friends and stories. My like why, when I get together with old high school friends, the same stories keep getting re-told. Remembering where you came from can help you understand where you are.

Third, I tend to be a game finisher. I don't like to start a game and not finish it; unless I've already beaten that game. So over the holidays, if something had come up and I didn't get to finish my replay of Half-Life 2, not that big a deal. On the other hand, had I picked up some title I'd not played before I would have been much more driven to finish it.

I get that I may be missing what others would consider great games, but I would rather spend my time (sometimes, at least) with a game I know I will enjoy playing. As for the objection that this is different than a movie, I agree. Movies are much shorter (typically) and therefore less of a time investment. If I watch a new movie and it is bad I have given up a couple of hours. If I play a new game I could spend 10+ hours with it hoping it gets better. Therefore, replaying a game, for me, makes more sense than rewatching a movie (though I do that too).

But it seems to me that I'm odd in this regard, based on gamers I know. Very few replay games at all and the few that do are mainly doing so for achievements. So I suspect Garnett is in the majority but I also suspect as gaming tech stabilizes (lots of people do not replay Deus Ex because of dated graphics, etc.) more people will replay older games.