Experience Points: Too Many RPGs Such Little Time

I guess that most of us are playing Mass Effect 3 now. The game itself is a large, expansive and time consuming experience to top it all off. Some fans have been arguing that the game and its endings are far from stellar. But that is more about fanboy rage than anything.

This is the kind of rage which may not be quelled so easily. However, I think it’s important that we don’t forget the other RPGs which have been recently released mainly Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning and Final Fantasy XIII-2. Some gamers are still playing Skyrim, myself included, and the longevity of most Western and Eastern RPGs is a sight to behold.

The reality is that this time of year has been a hotbed of RPG releases which have begun to stack up. I’ve already found that I’m stuck between Kingdoms Of Amalur, Skyrim and now Mass Effect 3 (which is awesome, by the way). The backlog is exceptional and so there comes a point when you have to decide what to play, and what not to play. This is the truth for RPGs when I start playing them.

On top of this, the nature of most releases from Western developers, as is the case for most RPGs this season, is that the games are generally open world. Kingdoms Of Amalur is an open world RPG and Mass Effect 3 has elements of an open world RPG within it. Final Fantasy XIII-2′s game world is just as expansive as the aforementioned games. People still wonder why I haven’t finished Skyrim yet.

So how do you deal with playing so many RPGs at the same time? I think that when it comes down to RPGs there’s no point in rushing through them at the expense of sullying the overall experience of the game. Playing so many RPGs simultaneously dilutes the experience of the game’s story, and makes appreciation for the game harder. Changing between many different in-depth RPGs with specific control schemes, skill trees, magic systems, combat systems and general approaches to the RPG genre is quite daunting. This can be an altogether overbearing experience.

What I think is important is that as a gamer you make a concise choice about what RPG you want to play. In my case, I took off one week and played through the whole of Mass Effect 2. Now I’ve moved on to Mass Effect 3. I still have to complete Skyrim, Kingdoms Of Amalur and even Deus X Human Revolution. Yes, I am that behind. Problematically, I feel that RPG fans tend to give into the hype of an RPG release and have that urge (like any good game) to buy it on the spot. But by buying a lengthy RPG you’re already pushing other good games to the bottom of the pile.

RPG addiction is one of the worst conditions to have because by its very nature RPGs are the most lengthy and time consuming of games. Add to this, DLC which most of the game’s mentioned in this column are receiving, and you realise that your days of sleep are over. The picture is not pretty at all.

With the Witcher 2 out for Xbox 360 sometime soon the list has become longer again. In response, I suggest copious amounts of coffee, sweets saturated with sugar and plenty of KFC. You’re going to need it. Remember, in the world of RPGs no one gets left behind. So fatigue is your worst enemy. I know this because Commander Shepard taught me well.