Couldn't think of a better title.

I was thinking about an interesting situation I've been in a couple times.  Normally I'd get a new (used) game, play it for a bit to make sure it worked, then shelf it until I had time to play it properly so I could fully enjoy it later.  This was common because I had a lot of games coming in when I was collecting and didn't have the time to play them, not to mention work and an eBay side job to fund the hobby.  Well every once in awhile there would be a random game which I didn't know anything about, but the story or gameplay or something suddenly struck me as amazing and that this is a hidden gem of the console and I should play it 100%.

That game for me was Black on PS2.  I got it in a random lot, tried it out and loved everything about it.  Great graphics, interesting story, action, just the right kind of fun I was looking for.  I marked it to play 100% later after I got done doing all the other game stuff I had backlogged.  This was around 2012.  So now comes 2017 and I'm finally able to get to this game, remembering the maybe 15 minutes I played it.  Game is fun yeah, but not as fun as I remember it being.  Either it was because the graphics weren't as good as modern consoles which I had been playing lately, or the controls didn't have options that newer games have, or something.  I was still into the genre and wanted to play something of that style which is why I finally picked it up.

It is strange because if I played this back in 2012 when I first got it, I'm sure I would have beat it 100% and considered it a must have for the system.  Instead I held off for years due to other gaming obligations and lost out on a good game.  Another example that happened was Timesplitters 2.  I loved the first stage and played it all the way through.  I held off on the other stages due to the same reason, gaming backlog, work, want to save it to enjoy later, etc.  Come back later and now Timesplitters 2 isn't that great.  Don't get me wrong the first stage is still amazing as it always was.  However in this case though I think either the style or feel of the game changed after the first stage.  Stage 1 really brought about a feel of Goldeneye N64 which I played a lot, and this game was almost like a spiritual successor.  But it was only the first stage.  By the time I got to stage 2 and 3 and 4 it really didn't seem like that at all.  Maybe the game is like that and I should have played longer to figure it out.  But there's still the feeling that if I played it right then and there it might have been a great gaming experience I missed out on.

Recently I've been trying to keep my list of games short, so that way I don't miss out on anything like that again.  Any similar experiences?

Kinda similar, I would have looooved Parasite Eve 2 back in the day. The tank controls would have been comfortable due to all the Resident Evil I played. In fact I "only" played Parasite Eve 1 so I could get to 2.

Ended up loving the first game and was completely turned off immediately by the controls of the sequel, to the point that I've not gone back yet - decided to give it some time.

This has happened to me for sure. It can be somewhat positive if it's a classic game and has appreciated in value during the time it was forgotten. However, it's usually a newer game for me. By the time I remember setting it aside, it's value is way down and if it isn't a keeper... oops.

I never got into the Half Life series. Years later I picked up the Orange Box in order to play Portal. Since it included Half Life 2, and I knew the series was so popular, I figured I would try it out, but I also wanted to start at the beginning. I played through about 70% of the original Half Life on PS2, but I just couldn't get into it. I also played a few hours of Half Life 2 from the Orange Box collection and felt the same way. It was weird playing it because I had this feeling that if I had played the game back when it came out, I would have loved it. It reminded me of a lot of the PC FPS games that I played when I was younger. But unfortunately, playing it for the first time now just didn't work for me.

I had the same problem with Alien vs. Predator on the Atari Jaguar. Back when that game was out, it was pretty well know that the Atari Jaguar wasn't a great system, but many people said that it was worth buying just for AvP. When playing it for the first time about 4 or 5 years ago, I got board pretty fast. The level design is pretty repetitive and there isn't that much to do. However, I'm certain that if I played that game when it was knew, I would have enjoyed it. It was a really cool idea at that time and the repetitive level design would have bothered me as much when I was younger. I wish I could have played that game when it was new.

One more example and it's another FPS. Powerstone. I played it for the first time on the Saturn a few years ago, and I bought the PS1 version this year. Same as above. I'm certain that I would have loved this game back when it first came out, but playing it for the first time within the past year is just meh.

I find myself in the opposite situation lately. I go back to my backlog of games from the early 2010's and I'm blown away that they're complete, no annoying carved out DLC, no loot boxes, no always online server dependent functionality.

It's like the last bastion of gaming before it became the plaything of the golddigging corporate world.

None, I don't buy so many games where I need to set them aside.

^^^This.

I've played some very enjoyable PS3 games lately, and the fact that most of those games aren't trying to nickel and dime you to death is part of the appeal.


 

What games from the PS3 era have you played recently that you never played before?  I'm curious since the PS3 is probably my second favorite system to buy for (especially now with current prices).  

Not quite the same situation but close enough... I always wanted a Dreamcast... I bought one a few years ago but the laser was shot and I ended up returning it and just left it at that. One such game I wanted to play was Shenmue. I never got to play it since it was exclusive to the Dreamcast. But most of the other games I wanted that were on Dreamcast were available on PS2 or GameCube so aside from that one stint in getting a broken DC I never pursued the system any further, plus I really don't need yet another console to add to my collection. So the Shenmue HD collection finally comes out and I play it and....wow I am so underwhelmed by this game it's ridiculous. I think had I played it in 2000 I would've LOVED it. But today it feels so slow and excrutiatingly boring. I can tell it's the type of game I would've liked back then. Now, even, if some changes to the pacing were made, but some games need to be played when they are new and don't age well.

Not sure I'll ever get around to Final Fantasy XV or not

I've never found that problem, per se. It's mostly the problem with me outgrowing styles and genres I used to enjoy. 3D platformers for example, they just don't do it for me like they used to. I would have a hard time getting into Banjo and Kazooie these day, I've just played so many 3d platformers. Even Mario Odyssey with all it's cool things to do just kinda felt meh, like I've done this before.

I just got Motorstorm Pacific Rift and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for PS3, and I'm loving them. Fun arcady racers, with great graphics even now.