Did your pile become less of a mountain? - 2011 in review

I'm throwing in the towel on PA Adventures. I don't often regret buying games, but I regret buying these, even if they were on sale. I've tried to play the first one 3 times now, and each time I get incredibly bored before I'm even out of the first area, and considering I've got amazing games on my list like Bayonetta and Valkyria Chronicles, these two are getting the axe.

I'll be buying Magicka, and likely Dead Space 2, tomorrow. I added Magicka to the list.

Still playing DA:O, now 37hrs in. I'd guess about 1/4 of the content. I've done the origin, Ostagar, Lothering, most of Redcliffe, and I was going to start the Circle next, but tonight I'll play the Stone Prisoner.

Joining the cause a little late, I have 7 days to go to complete month one.
Games in my collection I want to finish/watch the credits roll.
PS3
3D Dot Game Hero*
Batman: AA*
Bayonetta*
Brutal Legend^
Devil May Cry 4 ☺
Fallout 3 ☺
Fallout: New Vegas^
Heavenly Sword
Heavy Rain*
[Prototype] ☺
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Resistance 2^
Resonance of Fate*
W.E.T.^

PSN
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Ep1
Shank^
Hamsterball*
Pixeljunk Eden^
Pixeljunk Shooter ☺
Auditorium
TerRover^
Greed Corp*
Mushroom Wars*
Critter Crunch ☺
Elefunk^
Joe Danger^
Sonic: the Hedgehog Episode 4*
Death Spank ☺
Death Spank: Thongs of Virtue
Castle Crashers ☺
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 1*
Everyday Shooter^
Shatter^
Magic Orbz ☺

PSN Minis
Angry Birds*
VectorTD
Freakscape: Escape from Hell*
Breakquest*
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess*
Age of Zombies*

PC
Torchlight^
Peggle ☺

* = Barely in Progress
^ = In Progress
☺ = Nearly Complete

2011 Releases I will be purchasing - list of notables
DC Universe Online (PS3) - Already Purchased
Little Big Planet 2 (PS3) - Already Purchased
Bulletstorm (PS3) - Pre-ordered
Brink (PS3) - Day 1
Portal 2 (PS3 & PC [by proxy]) - Day 1
Rage (PS3) - Probably Day 1
Resistance 3 (PS3) - Relative to the completion of 2
The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3) - same month
The Last Guardian (PS3) - Day 1 likely
Sorcery (PS3) - If I warm up to the MOVE more
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (PS3) - wait for the reviews, not too worried, but...
Motorstorm Apocalypse (PS3) - a month or two late
Twisted Metal (PS3) - this year
Pixeljunk Shooter 2 (PSN) - Day 1
Rayman Origins (PSN) - Day 1
Journey (PSN) - Day 1
Oddworld Stranger's Wraith (PSN) - First week, likely
Echochome II (PSN) - Eventually
Nintendo 3DS - Eventually, probably, maybe
---
I expect I'll buy quite a few costume packs for LBP 2 this year, other DLC is yet unknown...

2010 and Prior Releases I will be purchasing and at what price - list of releases
Enslaved: Odyssey To the West (PS3): under $30
Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions (PS3): under $20
Vanquish (PS3): under $30
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3): no excuse
Costume Quest (PSN): under $10
Eat Them (PSN): under $5
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (PSN): under $5

Side Goals
Borderlands (PS3) - Complete final DLC
Plants vs Zombies (PC) - Complete again, all previous save data is lost

I, Eldon_of_Azure, solemnly pledge to take part in the Pile of Shame monthly threads. Even if it is just for one game, I will put forth effort to clear my ever-growing pile, one game at a time.

I also pledge to do everything within my ability to restrict my game purchases to those that I've listed, and, if I should falter, will shamefully add them to the pile in full sight of this support group.

Alright, alright, I'll post my stuff, since this thread doesn't want to go away and keeps reminding me of my pile!

My pile doesn't seem quite so large as a lot of you guys, which makes me feel good...but this past December has made it creep up more than I'd like. Time to shed some holiday pounds! (of games).

Of course, that will be made even more difficult by what is shaping up to be an incredible 2011 lineup, which is more than welcome after my disappointment 2010. Realistically, I'll get to about half my pile and most of the new games I want to buy - though I hope that the fact that I'm almost done 100%ing MTG will help with that.

Games in my collection I want to finish/watch the credits roll.
Super Meat Boy *
Battlefield - Bad Company 2 *
Final Fantasy 13 *
Spectromancer *

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Metro 2033
Gish
Greed Corp
GTA Episodes from Libery City
Devil May Cry 4
Fallout: New Vegas
Arcanum
Syberia
Time Gentlemen, Please
Freedom Force
GTA San Andreas
Monkey Island 2
God of War 2
Final Fantasy 12
Loom

* = In Progress

Side Goals
Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition - Replay and beat a bunch of the DLC and Awakenings
Elemental - Give it another shot in a few months when it's all beefed up
Thief: Deadly Shadows - Try it out
Deus Ex: Invisible War - Try it out
Magic: The Gathering - Get 100%

2011 Releases I will be purchasing - list of notables
Magicka (PC) - Release Day
Dragon Age 2 (PC) - Likely Release Day
Portal 2 (PC) - Likely Release Day
The Witcher 2 (PC) - Release Day
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC) - Likely Release Day
Mass Effect 3 (PC) - Likely Release Day
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (PC): Release Day
Uncharted 3 (PS3): Likely Release Day
The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3) - At some point in 2011
The Last Guardian (PS3) - Likely Release Day
Rage (PC) - At some point in 2011
Homefront (PC) - Depending on Reviews/Impressions

2010 and Prior Releases I might purchase
God of War 3
Demon's Souls
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time HD Remake

I'm selling Splinter Cell Conviction after an hour or two of completely meh gameplay. Sure, it may get better later on, but being able to recoup costs on a game I was hoping to really enjoy, well, I'm okay with that. Lynch me if you will, but if I'm not excited about it now, I'm fine with letting it go to someone that wants it.

Hmmm... that's one game off my list

Did some housekeeping. I'm not sure what the plan was with 2011 purchases, but I scratched Dead Space 2 off that list and added it to my pile list. I did the same with the WP7 game I bought and my 2010 purchases list.

In some ways, Dead Space 2 is the first game to go on my pile this year. I'm completely caught up in Deadly Premonition and can't be bothered tearing myself away from it for a new game. Even when I do, I don't know that I'll be in the mood for Dead Space. But I'm safe from needless pile bloat because I paid for Dead Space last March, so it's technically a 2010 purchase, right?

*sigh* Friggin' enablers.

Add Mafia 2 and Just Cause 2 to my pile. (What? It was $15 for the pair! How is a guy supposed to resist that?)

But at least to counteract my impulse purchases: Assassin's Creed 2 is done! Woohoo!

Welcome Eldon_of_Azure and Dysplastic. I've dropped your titles into the spreadsheet, and will go through this weekend and do that final cleanup I posted about earlier on in the thread.

I've only managed to knock one off my own list this month, but that's what I get for trying to complete DA:O in the same timeframe...

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Did some housekeeping. I'm not sure what the plan was with 2011 purchases, but I scratched Dead Space 2 off that list and added it to my pile list. I did the same with the WP7 game I bought and my 2010 purchases list.

In some ways, Dead Space 2 is the first game to go on my pile this year. I'm completely caught up in Deadly Premonition and can't be bothered tearing myself away from it for a new game. Even when I do, I don't know that I'll be in the mood for Dead Space. But I'm safe from needless pile bloat because I paid for Dead Space last March, so it's technically a 2010 purchase, right?

I can get behind that kind of justification, but I have almost 100 games in my 360 pile alone, so I may not be the best person to comment

iaintgotnopants in pile thread wrote:

I'm calling Just Cause 2 done. It gets f*ckin' terrible toward the end and clearing random villages got pretty boring a while ago.

The next 2-3 months are going to be really busy for me so I'm not sure how much progress is going to be made on my pile. I'm probably going to avoid starting big games for the time being. I think Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Super Meat Boy and some Telltale episodes are going to be only targets for February.

I finished up Professor Layton and the Curious Village, making my total for the month a decent three titles finished. Really enjoyed Layton. The puzzles are always fun, but this had the best sense of place and a somber, heartfelt story (something I was not expecting). I'll have a to find a new before-bed game now...

Lots of progress in the thread, too! Hooray for pile-slaying!

Started Costume Quest last night, should have that finished very soon.

BFBC2 is done - at least on single player. I think it's going to replace LFD2 on my MP slot though, for the time being.

Unfortunately, I'm hooked on Magicka right now...such a fun little game.

Dragon Age Origins is done. Credits hath rolled. Going to ponder my next victim.

Okay, I'm finally making my pledge -- end of January's not too late to commit to something that, for these forums, amounts to a New Year's Resolution, right? Either way, I think I'm going to have a bit of a modified perspective, if only because I know myself well enough to not get too wrapped up in matching everyone else's pledges -- I'm going to pledge what I know I can accomplish, even if my goal is aiming lower than everyone else...

I'm going to also restrict myself, largely, to the 360 as a platform. It's where I do most of my gaming, even if I'll occasionally/stupidly buy on the PC, but I also know that the 360 is where most of it's going to be. Basically, unless I state, assume otherwise.

I'm also going to use a modified version of trueheart's pledge, as per the thread trend, with elements to the pledge that are particular bugaboos for my ever-growing pile.

Games in my collection I want to finish/watch the credits roll.

Alpha Protocol **
Batman: Arkham Asylum **
Borderlands (essentially game of the year, but as DLC; include that here, too) **
Brutal Legend **
Darksiders *
Dead Space **
Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening/DLC ("Witch Hunt" and "Golems...") **
Enslaved: Journey to the West *
Fable III -- January 29, 2011
Fallout: New Vegas **
Far Cry 2 **
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin *
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned/The Ballad of Gay Tony **
Just Cause 2 **
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men *
Kane and Lynch: Dog Days *
Left 4 Dead */Left 4 Dead 2 (Single-player run-through of all missions, really.)
Plants vs. Zombies/Peggle *
Prototype *
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 *
Red Dead Redemption **
Red Faction: Guerrilla *
Saints Row 2 * (The DLC, really/final missions.)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed *
X-Men Origins: Wolverine *

Braid *
Comic Jumper *
Costume Quest *
DeathSpank: The Thong of Virtue *
Limbo *
Monkey Island 2: SE *
Penny Arcade Episode 1/Episode 2 *
Sam & Max: Save the World *
Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space
Splosion Man *
Wallace & Gromit # 1 *, # 2, # 3, # 4

Games in my collection I want to finish/watch the credits roll, but acknowledge they'll suck up an inordinate amount of time so it may be foolhardy, but I'll give them some hours this year.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion **
Final Fantasy XIII **

Burnout: Paradise *
Split/Second *

* = In Progress
* * = In Progress, purchased strategy guide
/ = Abandoned to the bottom of the pile
/ = Finished / Completed

2011 Releases I will be purchasing (likely at full -- or close to -- full price).
Auditorium (XBLA)
Batman: Arkham City -- Release Day Purchase
Beyond Good and Evil HD (XBLA)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dragon Age 2 -- Release Day Purchase/Already Pre-ordered
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
LA Noire -- Release Day Purchase
Mass Effect 3
Portal 2
Torchlight (XBLA)
X-COM

2011 Releases I am curious about but will resist/add price restrictions to/wait 'til 2012
Brink
Bulletstorm
de Blob 2
Duke Nukem: Forever
Earth Defence Force: Insect Armageddon
Fez
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Homefront
Hunted: The Demon's Forge
Rage
X-Men: Destiny

2011 Releases I will not be purchasing until I finish the previous iteration on the pile.
Dead Space 2
F.E.A.R. 3
Gears of War 3
Ms. Splosion Man
Red Faction: Armageddon

2010 and Prior Releases I will be purchasing and at what price/condition. - list of releases
These are the games I will restrict myself to when the buying urge comes upon me, and for lower prices than I normally would purchase (unless digital). I will not necessarily buy all of these games.
Aliens vs. Predator -- $10 or less.
Army of Two: The 40th Day -- $15 or less, but only if I can manage two copies in order to co-op with my dad.
Blur -- $20 or less, and if Burnout: Paradise or Split Second make it off the pile, for whatever reason.
Mafia 2 -- $25 or less; though with the caveat that I don't want another open-world game in the pile actively going; or, at least, another crime-based open world game.
Rock Band 3 -- $30 or less; need more progress in Rock Band 2, and I'm not stating it above, either.
Singularity -- $20 or less.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions -- $25 or less.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 -- $15 or less, and when the pile grows way, way smaller.
Vanquish -- $15 or less.

Side Goals
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood -- Possibly get a 100% cheevo percentage (or, at least, single-player; multiplayer's an issue.)
Assassin's Creed II -- Possibly get a 100% cheevo percentage.
Fable 3 -- Possibly get a 100% cheevo percentage.
Fallout 3 -- Possibly get a 100% cheevo percentage.

I, RSPaulette, solemnly pledge to take part in the Pile of Shame monthly threads. Even if it is just for one game, I will put forth effort to clear my ever-growing pile, one game at a time.

I acknowledge that the above list is woefully incomplete, and if I distract myself from an item on the list with an item not on the list, I will add it to the list. I also reserve the right to add games from the pile to the list as I complete games from the list.

I also pledge to not buy any sequels unless stated above unless I have completed a reasonable amount of story/saw the credits roll/abandoned to the dregs of the pile of stated original iterations.

I also pledge to do everything within my ability to restrict my game purchases to those that I've listed, and, if I should falter, will shamefully add them to the pile in full sight of this support group.

This thread is so reassuring. It's nice to know I'm not alone dealing with that looming, teetering pile of INCOMPLETE.

Games in my collection I want to finish/watch the credits roll.

360
Final Fantasy XIII
Fallout 3
Bioshock
Mass Effect 1
Mass Effect 2
Assassin's Creed II
Saint's Row 1
Lost Odyssey
Oblivion (I live in hope)
Alan Wake

PS2
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy IX
Persona 4
Dragon Quest VIII

DS
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Dragon Quest IX
Pokemon Heartgold
Advance Wars
GTA: Chinatown Wars

Wii
The Thousand Year Door
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Future Games I Want to Purchase
Torchlight (XBLA)--will grab this first day. My computer couldn't run it, and it was dark day when I finally admitted that fact to myself.

And that's it. I really want to clear this backlog before I add anything else. My wife strongly agrees on this point.

Wrapped up Costume Quest and got 200 pts for it, some day I may buy the DLC and snag the extra 50.

Things have been pretty busy with work, so I haven't had that much time to play for the past couple of weeks, but I just 100%ed Undead Nightmare, so I can say that I finished the month like I started (I also updated the doc). Now I just need to figure out what games to put in the queue for February. I managed to go through January without buying any games, but February has Marvel vs. Capcom 3 from my initial list, and I'm tempted to add Bulletstorm, Torchlight, BGE:HD and Hard Corps. Of course, despite having a pretty decent month clearing some older games out, the full pile still looks daunting.

What's the protocol with the spreadsheet? I noticed trueheart has some totals at the top of our columns to count goals, so I didn't want to mess that up editing myself. Are we just crossing out things and then changing the number or what?

Nevermind, I see the strikethrough button and what a couple other people did. Updated my columns with below:

NCAA 11 is done on the "to finish" list for me. Played through almost 4 seasons of dynasty mode, even managed to go undefeated and win it all in 2012-13. Think that's good enough for "complete" status on that game. I'm sure I'll dabble around with it, but I feel I got my $30 worth at this point for sure.

And also Batman AA is done on my "side goals." I actually started the PS3 version I had picked up instead of replaying the PC one but it was amazingly fun again, so well worth a couple days investment to beat the game again and finish all the challenges this time.

And coming in just under the wire for January, Red Faction: Guerrilla falls. I was getting really annoyed at the way their save points worked by the end of the game (do I have to respawn completely on the opposite side of the map from the mission I'm trying to complete), there were a few wtf? moments in the plot (So I shoot my way through the entire marauder camp, killing dozens of them and destroying half the camp in order to reach their leader and suddenly I have someone with me and they are suddenly willing to talk to me? And suddenly the marauders (who until this point have been at best a cross between sandpeople and something out of The Road Warrior) are high-tech engineers who can repair and operate a mass driver?) and the big bad that has been threatening almost the entire game is defeated in a cutscene.

So yeah. Fun but I can't see myself revisiting it anytime soon.

de Blob Revolution is done and ilomilo is moved from my purchase list to my pile. I've also finally passed the halfway point in Deadly Premonition with the majority of the side quests complete and half of the main storyline tucked away. I should be able to wrap that one up in February.

Currently battling through Scott Pilgrim (XBLA) and while I'm glad I got it on sale, I'm also very glad I dropped the 2 bucks to play as Knives — she just makes the most sense for me, cuz, well, she's awesome!

Don't get me wrong, I like the other characters, but I really like Knives in a beat-em-up

I'm making a goal of finishing Ratchet & Clank - Tools of Destruction before Marvel vs. Capcom 3 comes out. The pile shall at least remain the same size!

Well, Goozex is adding games to my pile I forgot to add before. I added Super Mario Sunshine, while I have X-Men Origins: Wolverine inbound and Donkey Kong Country Returns just got delivered 30 mins ago.

Thanks everyone. This thread will be getting some serious attention tonight. Been a little distracted with my sudden onset of zero hearing in my right ear for the last two weeks. Still waiting to see a specialist. It's frustrating as all hell, and depressing to boot.

I'll add in all the completed for those that haven't, add in those mountaineers I am yet to get to, and update the initial post to include the names of those embarking on the pile journey. That way, if I've missed anyone, it will be easier to see.

Thanks Stele. You guessed right. No ninja skills here in terms of spreadsheets, so it's just a matter of hitting the strike through button in the correct cell, and changing the progress total 'manually' as we go. In terms of protocol for changing/adding information, if you feel comfortable, make the changes to the doc yourself. If not, I'll go through (moving forward) everytime I see the thread has updated, and mark off accordingly. I usually cross reference back to Hemidal's monthly thread as well, just to make sure I've got them all.

I do a "save as excell spread sheet" to my hard drive locally everytime I go in and add anything major, so if anyone accidentally makes a monumental error, just PM me, and I'll restore from the backup file. /nerd

On a personal note, well done everyone on a great start to the ascent of pile mountain!

Crackdown 2 is done, just under the wire for the January thread. I'll go back and do side missions, and just jump around the city at some point, I'm sure, but for now, it's off the list. Probably going to tackle Dead Space 2 next; not sure what after that.

@m0nk3yboy, I forgot to say before, shame about your ear. Hope you feel better, and that whatever treatment the specialist prescribes is effective, quick and inexpensive.

Watching the credits roll on Scott Pilgrim XBLA. Man, Knives is awesome

trueheart78 wrote:

Watching the credits roll on Scott Pilgrim XBLA. Man, Knives is awesome :)

I heard this was a really hard single player game. Did knives make it easier than standard, or are you a retro-side-scrolling-ninja?

m0nk3yboy wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

Watching the credits roll on Scott Pilgrim XBLA. Man, Knives is awesome :)

I heard this was a really hard single player game. Did knives make it easier than standard, or are you a retro-side-scrolling-ninja?

It wasn't as hard as I feared, really. Aside from it freezing on me right before Roxie and again about 80% of the way through Gideon's level, if you know how to spend your money, the "Regular Joe" difficulty wasn't bad at all.

I'm weak. Resident Evil 4 was on sale for $9.99, and I wanted it for my collection. However, I needed to pad that order up a bit to get free shipping, so I bought Resident Evil 5, too. I've already played RE4, but RE5 goes on the pile. It's a sad day for pandas.