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Games that made you quit gaming for a while.

Heavy Rain. I stopped playing games altogether because no other game can ever possibly reach the highs of it. It is the alpha and the omega.
 
Twilight Princess, and Final Fantasy XIII caused gaming breaks for me in the past. I'm currently "recovering" from my latest gaming break, caused by Halo 2/3, and I'm only playing Pokemon and rhythm games for the time being.
 
I don't believe that I've ever experienced this. I know when GTA 3 came out that it was all I played for about a year. Although, right now I am in some sort of thing that I WANT to play a game(or finish games, or start games) but then I eventually say that I just do it later.


I am a big fan of the Fable series and AC series, and I have Fable 3 and Brotherhood on my shelf, unopened. For some reason I just haven't been able to open either of them to play. Maybe it's because of the time I have to spend to beat them. I'm not really into online gaming (CODs and Halos) I did finish Goldeneye Wii the other day though, so that felt good.

I'm looking at my Fable 3 game right now thinking, "after work, I'm going to play at least a good four hours" We'll see how that goes. I'm sure stress from life has a hell of a lot to do with it all.
 
I used to play many RPGs. Once upon a time, I made myself play through a rpg BEFORE allowing myself to move on to another rpg. This created situations like "I have to play Ar Tonelico even though I don't enjoy it right now before I allow myself to play Persona 3" or, back in Dreamcast days "I have to play Grandia 2 even though I would rather play Skies of Arcadia because I'm more interested in that one". These situations led to me not enjoying gaming since it was like "work" (even though I don't think the games I "had to play" were bad, but I was more exited for some other game) and often, I took breaks for several weeks. Break meaning "doing other stuff and only play some arcade-style games for 30 minutes every now and then". Didn't have a COMPLETE break of not playing several months at all happening to me since I started back in the nes days...

So, yeah, rpgs could trigger kind-of gaming breaks for several weeks because of my lack of motivation.

Nowadays, I'm just playing a game as long as I have fun with it, and if I decide after 5 or 15 or 30 hours (30hrs for one single player console game are 1-2 months with my current habits and occupations and work and social life) "No, it's not fun anymore", I just quit.
 
When I got Marvel vs Capcom 3, I was getting my ass whooped when I went online, I went something like 4 wins and 20 losses. I got so pissed I quit playing games... until Pokemon Black and White came out.
 
Gears of War 2. After trying to get a decent online match out of it for a month after release I simply switched off my 360, sold the game and spent the next 3 or 4 months without even going near a game or console anymore.

Went to a lot of parties and concerts during that time though^^
 
Gravijah said:
Yeah, I always questioned why I played video games whenever I played WoW. Horrible disgusting thing.
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Same here... I got sucked into WoW for a few months. It was never all that fun. I enjoyed it a little... the level process and all, but once I got to max level, it was the same grind between the same dungeons. And for what? A shiny piece of new armor or weapon that does a few more DPS? Meh.

Playing that game is more of a chore than anything else and is a huge time sink. The amount of time it takes to do anything is absurd (although this applies to MMOs in general). And all the waiting around waiting for stuff to happen is ridiculous.

Needless to say, I also had the "why do I play games" epiphany, but it was largely focused on un-fun MMOs. I keep my gaming now to stuff I deem fun, and if they aren't, I put them aside. That isn't to say I haven't had more WoW cravings again because as much as I don't want to play that game, it sucks you back in whether you like it or not. It's a bad drug...

TruePrime said:
For me, it was Metal Gear Solid 4.

I am one of the few that thinks MGS 3 is a piece of trash, ever since it's release I had been really disappoitned and when MGS 4 was announced and shown that it would be with Solid Snake, Otacon and Liquid Ocelot as the main cast I got extremely hyped and believed that I would love it just as much as I did MGS 1 and 2.
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I thought I was the only one! I really hated the direction they took the series and how they made everything more complicated. I mean, just look at the controls for MGS games at 3 and 4. That's a game that could use a little refinement in the controls department.

But not only that, MGS stopped being fun after 2. I can still go back to MGS1 and MGS2 and have a blast, but MGS3 killed most of my interest in that series. The only redeeming point of MGS4 for me was the recreation of Shadow Moses, but that's about it.
 
RGG4 (Yakuza 4). Big fan of the series, i import them all and also support them when localized. However, i hated this entry so much, that i rushed to finish it so i could be done with it and shelve the game. But by doing this, i got turned off from the game even more, though when i was done, i didn't play anything for about a whole month.

Dunno if i can contribute it solely to RGG4, but its definitely related to the series. RGG3 itself was disappointing and the sequel even more, so i just got fed up with it, and when my favorite current series gets no love from me anymore, neither does gaming in general xd
 
If I don't have a good RPG lined up ready for when I finish playing a great RPG, that can kill my enthusiasm for some time. This happened with ME2 and DA:O, they're games that make me stay up way too late and have me anticipating the end of the work day so I can get back to them, so when I complete them and immediately move on to shooters and open world games, I find that don't have any drive to play them, and I just long for another RPG.
 
I don't think any game could be that disappointing. There are dozens and dozens of great games I haven't had the time to try yet, if one isn't what I'd hope I just stop playing it and move on.
 
sphinx said:
but do you people mean that WoW was so fucking addictive that you had to quit gaming all together for a while when you gave up on it before being able to enjoy other forms of videogames later on?

is it that bad?

it kinda sounds like.. traumatizing.
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I had to quit WoW because it was consumming my life, like another poster mentioned you get into a routine that you need to follow if you want to stay competitive and that definitely messed me up very badly. At first I tried to rationalize it and told myself that I could replace one addiction with another one but after trying different games I couldnt not take my mind off it and very rapidly will start thinking on how this game is not up to par to WoW and how I was wasting my time with video games all together. These were sad times and I still have not completely recovered from them.

Now every time I start a new game it brings back the memories of WoW and I cant stop making comparisons or soemthing thats worst, trying to convince myself that video games are not a waste of time. I gave away my PS2 and my PS3, now I am trying to get rid of my gaming computer.

My only gaming outlet is GAF and I am perfectly happy just reading about games rather than playing them, or at least thats what I tell myself.
 
No game has made me quit gaming for awihle.

However, Kingdom Hearts 2 turned me off from all RPGs for nearly two years. Thank goodness for the DS to remind me why I liked those kinds of games in the first place.
 
Struggling with the controls with the newly discovered Monster Hunter for the PS2, then (seemingly unlimited) Bullfangos keep spawning... while looking out for that Kut-ku.

Never touched the game until the PSP version came out.
 
someguyinahat said:
TF2. Looking at my backlog and choosing to return to 2fort...it was tough breaking away from that pattern.
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Same, but for Badwater. I just quit recently. I'll likely play here and there still, but I've broken the cycle of addiction...at least for now.

Hooby is funny.
 
I'm thinking Castlevania Bloodlines did it. I got a nomad as my first genesis system when I got out of college and started buying some games that I always wanted as a kid. Played Castlevania: Bloodlines and was really underwhelmed by how inflexible the main characters felt after having played lots of Super Castlevania 4. Not having lots of angles from which to attack really made the simplistic AI stand out...just felt so bland. Add that to the glut of RPGs full of FMVs and I was really thinking that the game industry had little to offer me.

Then, just when I thought I was out, I got sick and stayed home for a couple of weeks, and played Gunstar Heroes on the nomad...it was at that point that I realized that I still liked games, just not the FF7 wannabes.
 
I don't really understand how a game could turn you off gaming altogether, even MMORPGs.

If I ever get frustrated with a particular genre I sometimes won't play that genre for a while, but not long, like a week.
 
This really shouldn't be happening if you manage your priorities right. If you burn yourself out with a game you don't even enjoy, you clearly need to learn about how and when to quit. It's supposed to be a hobby, a source of entertainment, a fun diversion. There are many other aspects in life where you can't always decide the way you would like to, where you have to continue down certain paths even though they're uncomfortable. But that certainly doesn't apply to gaming.
 
Final Fantasy VIII made me quit gaming until about 2003. Which sucks because I missed the Dreamcast and 99 and 00 were mazing years in retrospec.
 
Halo: Reach for me.

After really disliking Halo 3 (no hitscan, vehicles reign supreme, and poor maps), I had high hopes for Reach. Bungie claimed they were going to make it more like the Halo:CE. They said they were gonna bring back the pistol. They said a lot of things. Then they introduce bloom and a faulty shield mechanic that disrupts game flow. They make the pistol a poor weapon choice with a laughably small clip size. And they release the game with the poorest map selection of all the halo games to date.

And while they've introduced even more power weapons to the game, all of which can kill you in one shot, abilities like sprint and armor lock, and normal weapons taking 5-6 shots to kill a person, you can imagine how stupid the balance is between normal weapons and power weapons. Whoring of and camping with the power weapons is more rampant than ever. Pure gun-slinging, which is what I loved about previous halo games is at an all time low.

I gave my copy to a friend and stopped playing for months. I've only restarted playing it because my friend bought his own copy and gave mine back. I'm too broke right now to buy a different game to play and despite the fact that I hate what Bungie did to the game, it's still the closest thing to what I like in a first person shooter. FML
 
Like many Sega fanboys, my game time diminished significantly upon the Dreamcast's death. Especially since most of Sega's good stuff went to the Xbox, the only platform I didn't have last gen.

I never really quit. I had the PS2 and GameCube to fall back on. But my enthusiasm was pretty low for a good while.
 
I've never reached this point even with the games I play the most. Some guys around here clearly just bury themselves in WoW or something engaging and can't control their priorities, if any :P

I've been gaming for 25 years and haven't hit a wall. Games are becoming slightly less creative in certain aspects but in general, the hobby is still viable.
 
Heavenly sword made me stop buying games for a while. I felt that this gen wasn't going to cater to my gaming needs. (mostly extreme combat H&S and fighting games)

NGS was cool, but i was suffering from NGB burnout.

Honestly I only came back because of Devil may cry 4 and the Street fighter 4 announcement.

Then bayonetta happened.

No you coudn't pull my controller from my cold dead hands even if my tastes arent catered to as much as a FPS fan's.

you could imagine my reaction when i found out the company that nearly turned me off gaming for good was working on the series that brought me back last generation.


Im not happy at all at but whatever. Least Ive got the gold dust that Platinum games seem to push out. Ive also developed a real love for sandbox games, long as they have a powerful (crackdown) silly (saints row, just cause) or just cool twist (infamous, prototype, mercenaries)

but no. I think this will be my last console gen. ill still have a portable but this emphasis on 30FPS cinematic games and TPS/FPS's is a big turnoff. I still love fighting games, but I feel their quality is declining, even greats like MVC.

Unless sega does the impossible and keeps making quailty sonic games. Yes i loved colours and sonic 4 - bite me.
 
Nekofrog said:
Final Fantasy 8. Orphanage scene. Dropped the controller and said "i'm out" and stopped for a few months.
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I kind of gave up with FFVIII at that point too...
I sold it as it was 50Hz only and Gamestation were giving stuipd credit for FF games...got more than I paid for it :P

But otherwise, Teris I suppose. I was young and kept losing link-up battle with my brother.
 
I started gaming in the early 70s and stopped around '83. During the "Great Crash" I guess. I wasn't aware of any ecnomic/market factors at the time. It was more like I hit puberty and Saturday morning cartoons, Star Wars actions figures and video games just didn't appeal to me much anymore. Started again in '91 when I bought an SNES as part of a scheme to establish credit after finishing school. Had no intention of getting back into it. F-Zero and Super Mario World pulled me back in hard.

No game has ever caused me to stop gaming in general, but I was a huge FPS player starting with Doom. I played pretty much any and ever FPS you can name from 1993 on, whether it was on PC, Mac or consoles. Then came Turok 2. It was a great game, but finishing it felt like such a ponderous herculean task that it broke me. I just couldn't get into an FPS after that. I bought Quake III, System Shock 2, Perfect Dark... I'd play them for an hour or so but just couldn't go on, I was too burned out. Circa summer 2002 I played Halo and that taught me how to love again.
 
WOW.

I know it's already been said. This game pulls me in, then I rage quit and don't play anything for awhile, then I come slowly crawling back, and the cycle repeats itself.
 
Ninja Gaiden for Xbox. The fucking electric worm bosses did it for me. Actually, I think I had already beaten them but I was so irritated I had to walk away for a while.

Can't remember how long I didn't game for, but I didn't pick that specific game back up for at least another year. Ironically, I seem to recall it being a doddle from that point onwards and I finished it soon after.
 
Kingdom Hearts II. Disastrously paced game, awful cutscene direction and dialogue, some of the worst I've ever seen. Destroyed whatever capability I had for enduring single-player campaigns with lengthy cutscenes. Gravitated toward multiplayer or no gaming at all for awhile after that.
 
Next gen....
Had a ton of PS2 games, but when the price of admission for the new systems was $400, an HDTV, and around $30-$60 for a game couldnt hack it. Got into PC gaming, havent paid more than $30 for a game since.
 
Deputy Moonman said:
Halo: Reach for me.

After really disliking Halo 3 (no hitscan, vehicles reign supreme, and poor maps), I had high hopes for Reach. Bungie claimed they were going to make it more like the Halo:CE. They said they were gonna bring back the pistol. They said a lot of things. Then they introduce bloom and a faulty shield mechanic that disrupts game flow. They make the pistol a poor weapon choice with a laughably small clip size. And they release the game with the poorest map selection of all the halo games to date.

And while they've introduced even more power weapons to the game, all of which can kill you in one shot, abilities like sprint and armor lock, and normal weapons taking 5-6 shots to kill a person, you can imagine how stupid the balance is between normal weapons and power weapons. Whoring of and camping with the power weapons is more rampant than ever. Pure gun-slinging, which is what I loved about previous halo games is at an all time low.

I gave my copy to a friend and stopped playing for months. I've only restarted playing it because my friend bought his own copy and gave mine back. I'm too broke right now to buy a different game to play and despite the fact that I hate what Bungie did to the game, it's still the closest thing to what I like in a first person shooter. FML
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Halo has always been the game series where i spend most of my time and I agree with everything you said, except that i like Halo 3 for the most part. Like You, i still reluctantly play Reach because I can't find another online game to play yet. I just play play games much less in general now since I don't like Reach and the population (and friends playing) in Halo 3 is kind of barren now.
 
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (current gen)

Not because it's a bad game or anything. It's actually pretty good. But when I get a game, I tend to play it for hours on end. I find it hard to pick up a game and just play for a few minutes. Now, some games hold up to hours of gaming, but some will shed their beautifully rendered worlds, and their seams (as it were) will show. Their whole experience will become this absurd thing that's lost all meaning. I'm guessing the more repetitive the game, the worse this problem is.

NFS, for me, turned from a fun, rough and tumble racing game into this thing where for some reason I ram into expensive supercars over and over while doing 200 mph and hold some button combo to take tight hairpins and defy the laws of physics. Over and over and over and over. It turned into this funny mini existential crisis: "what IS this, and what I DOING?" Haha.

There's been a few threads on here about games that are too "gamey." I.e., where a beautifully rendered game world with realistic characters will suddenly seem ridiculous in the face of some simplistic mechanic or situation that's thrown at you. I've been struggling with this for a couple years now, but NFS pushed me over the edge, and now I'm having trouble building up interest in lots of games that I might've been hyped over under normal circumstances.
 
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings of the Lost Ocean

Disc 1: The final boss at the end of that disc pissed the frak out of me cuz he kept casting "death spell" on one of my character over and over and over again. Instant kill! No matter how much i overleveled all of my characters's hp if one dies then the entire party dies cuz i couldn't keep up with is stupid "death spell".

So, I quit in the rage of fit. Haven't looked back until they announce the sequel (prequel) Baten Kaitos: Origins. I went back and try to pick up where i left off. It was 3 yrs that i haven't touch this game.

So, tried it again and i kept getting killed off with that stupid spell. So, i ended up looking on FAQs to find what the hell i went wrong with it. All i need was that "death resistance card" to block that casting spell. So, i used it and whooped his ass hard as i can and defeated him.



***
It made me feel so dumb knowingly that i had that card in my possession all that time and never used it or let alone not understand what it was.
 
I had spent the last few weeks being an achievement whore and having just finished Dead Space 2, the only thing I'm playing now is Pokemon Black. Haven't touched anything in two weeks besides it.
 
Gaming in general. I tend to play games whatever I wanted and whenever on my own lazy terms. But when some of the games are getting harder to play due to the deterioration of physical media everywhere, I hit the old classics hard. I went through the xbox, dreamcast, saturn, gba, and the gcn like a mad man and finished those neglected backlogs on those and sold the games along with the systems for it.

Man I couldn't believe how much I've missed and yet how much of a waste it was for some. But yet because I experienced so much varied forced gaming in a short amount of time, my motivation to play more and by the system went pretty high that I decided to continue this path til I burn myself out on this method. I still haven't because beating those backlogs and selling them after was increasingly satisfying enough. I still have 5 platforms to go and 140 games left to go.
 
I wouldn't say "made me quit" but Final Fantasy XII is frustrating me with it's complexity. Some bosses are just too hard for me......
 
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