Hare or Tortoise... What sort of gamer are you?

MooSey-UK · 22 May 2007 at 18:34

I find it interesting to read here, the fervor of new games and the rate at which people consume them and then want more.
I also find it Unbelievable when people complain about there being no decent games around.

Thats because of the type of gamer I am.

Im a campaign gamer. My hours are dictated by work and family committments. That means I get about three 2-3hr sessions a week

For that reason I gave up online gaming and became a campaign gamer.
I choose one game, learn about it, tweak it and mod it. I'll then spend ages playing it whilst being part of its fan community. Oblivion is my campaign at the moment and try as I might I just can't manage to play any other game.

Previous to that I was a BF1942/2/2142 nut. They were all I played except for brief forays into good SP shooters like HL2 and CoD2.
I've got FEAR installed but have'nt even fired it up yet!
I want STALKER, but it being a bit open like Oblivion I don't think I'll even manage to start it!

Eventually I'll get bored with Oblivion and choose another "campaign" game.

What bracket do you guys fit into?
A bottomless pit of a gaming stomach that consumes all games, farts then demands more!
A longterm campaigner like me?
A long term Online hardcase?
An addled addicted MMORG whore stealing yer mothers cash to buy more time

Interesting to hear the gaming habits of the community here.

Vai · 22 May 2007 at 19:23

I normally play games for a bit, then get stuck and never play them again.

Game's have to be really good or really addictive to keep me playing them the whole way though. HL2, WoW, Oblivion, FEAR etc I completed, but NFS Carbon, Supreme Commander, the latest Splinter Cell etc I got bored with.

That's why I like MMO's, they are easy games and you don't get stuck in certain places and lose interest.

ins0mn1ac · 22 May 2007 at 20:51

Vai said:
I normally play games for a bit, then get stuck and never play them again.

Game's have to be really good or really addictive to keep me playing them the whole way though. HL2, WoW, Oblivion, FEAR etc I completed, but NFS Carbon, Supreme Commander, the latest Splinter Cell etc I got bored with.

That's why I like MMO's, they are easy games and you don't get stuck in certain places and lose interest.

same here, exactly what I would have said

HangTime · 22 May 2007 at 22:14

Good thread.

I would say that I'm a hare with tortoisal tendencies

I do like focussing hard on games to the finish and then moving on to 'consume' something else. Over the past few years I have made a conscious effort to complete more games - since late 2003 I've completed over 60 games. Whereas in the previous 4 years or so I only completed about 6 or 7 due to my online gaming addiction.

However, while I like beating games I'm actually quite a slow gamer when it comes to the actual playing of them. I tend to attempt all sidequests (assuming they aren't hard), read all diaries lying around, listening to conversations etc and stuff like that. A good example would be Max Payne 2 - I keep reading people saying how short a game it was (10hrs max). But it took me around 2 weeks to complete and I remember spending over an hour on the police station level alone, due to the fantastic humour and little easter eggs. The game has incredible attention to detail which I can't help but think must have gone straight over some people's heads

Like you I never moan about there being no good games available. This is because there are so many good/great games which I did not play at the time of release. Earlier I mentioned having completed over 60 games in about 3.5 years; of those at least 20 were more than a year old when I played them.

As I mentioned earlier while I tend to complete games and never touch them again, I am quite a slow, methodical gamer which is why I haven't really given the following classics I would like to play a proper try yet due to not having the time to give them justice:

Baldurs Gate Compilation
Icewind Dale Compilation
The Elder Scrolls 3 & 4
Neverwinter Nights Deluxe & 2
Dungeon Siege 1 & 2
Vampire the Masquerade (that source engine thingy)
NHL/Madden/Fifa/NBA 2007
C&C3
Starcraft & Broodwar
STALKER
Civilization 4 & Warlords
Richard Burns Rally
Black & White 2
The Movies
Alpha Centurai
Shogun/Medieval Total War 1 & 2
Total Annihilation
X2 & 3

This is one reason why I have not played since completing even some true classics which are renowned for having high replayability such as KOTOR and Deus Ex - there's always another quality game out there craving my attention.

Glaucus · 22 May 2007 at 22:20

A long term Online hardcase, I only really like playing online. I've tried a lot of games but most get chucked back in the box. This is my list of games that haven't been chucked away relatively fast

Syndicate wars (single player)
Red alert 2 / yuris revenge (multiplayer)
Soldier of fortune (multiplayer)
C&C Renegade (multiplayer, my all time fav online game and had several rankings in the top 10, highest was 3rd)
X2 (simgle player)
Call of duty (multiplayer)
Swg (multiplayer)

since then nothing has stuck out and captured my gaming. I usually will play a game I like for over a year. I like BF2 but it's more of a stop gap game till I find a game I can sink my teeth into.

marl · 22 May 2007 at 23:44

I'm not sure what type of gamer you'd call me. I have about 6 X-Box 360 and even more PC Games which I've bought, fully intend to play but just haven't got round to them yet.

MooSey-UK · 22 May 2007 at 23:55

can i have your pc games then?

Ozzie Dave · 23 May 2007 at 00:21

I suppose I'd be a tortoise these days, out of those two options. But really I'd say just a typical casual gamer. Used to be heavily into games when I was younger (if I had the time spare) but now, even if I do have the time I can't be arsed tbh.

I've seen the standards of games drop in a big way over the years and these days I seem to be spending most of my spare time patching up games or hunting down mods that make said games work better/fix shortcomings...sigh. It's enough to drive you insane sometimes.

So a good 'stable' pick up a play game is all I can cope with now...

Deception · 23 May 2007 at 08:30

AcidHell2 said:
A long term Online hardcase, I only really like playing online. I've tried a lot of games but most get chucked back in the box. This is my list of games that haven't been chucked away relatively fast

Syndicate wars (single player)
Red alert 2 / yuris revenge (multiplayer)
Soldier of fortune (multiplayer)
C&C Renegade (multiplayer, my all time fav online game and had several rankings in the top 10, highest was 3rd)
X2 (simgle player)
Call of duty (multiplayer)
Swg (multiplayer)

since then nothing has stuck out and captured my gaming. I usually will play a game I like for over a year. I like BF2 but it's more of a stop gap game till I find a game I can sink my teeth into.

Im about the same, and actually have most of those games give or take a few... never grow bored of them. Plus I like a nice fast paced game for after work, stress relief!

Curunen · 23 May 2007 at 13:02

Rant begin: My god this 'hare' and 'tortoise' analogy really gets to me. What did the poor hare do to deserve such criticism. I know its just a fable, but I like hares. I remember a bugs bunny cartoon, where the tortoise had a jetpack, and in the end bugs won.

Well that was off the point, but anyway, hares can be calm and methodical too, just like anything... :Rant Over

Anyway, back OT. The games I play depends very much so on the subject matter, and the plotline. About 90% of the games out there are not worth bothering with IMO. I don't play MMO's, because I don't like pressure being put on me to have to use the machine, to make the money count.
When I play a game, I really get into it, and squeeze all the juice out of it, with mods or whatever. Eg, I still enjoy Jedi Academy (mainly for MBII and JA+ mods).
I don't limit myself to any particular genre- if the game is enticing, I will play it.
I prefer games such as: fantasy fiction like TES/LOTR etc, Star Wars (any and all), decent FPS's like Halo/FEAR/HL Series/CS/AVP, space Sims like Freelancer/X Series, and occasionally decent RTS's like Homeworld 2/Total War series etc.

Forward the Hares!

DampCat · 23 May 2007 at 13:15

I'm a Hairy Tortoise!

No really. I've been playign WoW since Beta religiously, and i also crave the newest FPS's games i can get. I recently reinstalled D2 and Starcraft, and just last weeked finished playing through Black and White and Black and White 2.

So, i love to play those campaign games that take ages (Baldurs Gate is sitting on my desk at the moment, waiting for me to get home, i will play through all 4 games! (and all 9 CD's!)) but i also, a bit later at night perhaps, fancy blowing up some heads in fast paced online violence.

Maybe im just addicted.

Fraggr · 23 May 2007 at 13:44

I'm a campaign gamer I guess. I only play Football Manager 2007 at the moment, but before used to only play counter strike source. When Left4Dead comes out though, that will change. My gaming time will be split between L4D and FM07/8.

mr.sly · 23 May 2007 at 13:57

I always believe I want a really long epic RPG to play. But when it actually comes down to it I just never have the time to play them. I've been playing Dragon Quest VIII since December, and I still don't think I'm anywhere near the end.

So now I prefer to play games like Half Life 2 and Episode 1. Something I can finish in one or two sittings.

MNuTz · 23 May 2007 at 14:12

Id say i was a hardcore gamer. We are talking easily 30 hours a week, everything from MMORPGS to Online FPS to offline games.

Only problem at the moment is that i havent bought a new game in over 6 months, house has to come first.

It all depends on the game that im playing. Im currently replaying Diablo 2 and always go back to RA2/Generals/Zero hour and a few others. Im currently playing through Devestation. I purchased it shortly after it came out for £3.79 and never played it.

Its the sort of game that i play as quick as i can. Similar games are red faction which took just under 7 hours to finish, latest quake game took around 6 hours.

Company of heroes single player on medium took me just over a day to finish, although i am going back to get all the medals etc.

Im also a sod for playing games like GTA and HAVING to get 100% of everything complete.

Sometimes i wish i could just sell my PC and games and move onto something else, but i think that computers stole my life at an early age. I have other hobbies but none that gets as much time as playing!