Lusipurr.com – Presenting the Sundry Opinions of Lusipurr and Friends

Hello again, my fellow Lusi-sprites. An early Happy New Year to you, and may the Great Potato bless you with a bounty of butter, bacon bits, and cheddar cheese. It has been quite a year, full of new games and new friends and even a new blog site, yay! As this is New Year’s Eve, I thought it would only be right and proper if I wrote about my gaming resolutions here.

Last year I was in much the same position I am in today. Mountains of games on my shelf, a mile-long list of games I would like to own, and the sad knowledge that I would complete few if any of these titles because my attention span for games is dreadful. In almost every other facet of my life I am focused, responsible, and practical. When it comes to games, I suddenly develop acute Autism with a dash of ADHD. I bounce from game to game, like NATE LILES bounces from hot girl to hot girl. So I made a promise to myself, a New Year’s resolution. I decided that when I would shift my focus to another game, I would resume playing it from my last save (if I had one, which I usually do). I would not, under any circumstances, restart the game. The only exception was Super Paper Mario, because I genuinely could not figure out where I was or what I was doing.

I was moderately successful with this resolution. Although I did manage to finish only one game last year, I made considerable progress in about a dozen other games, all because I resisted the urge to delete my save and start over. I love the beginning of games, replaying them is warm and comfortable for me, and when I long to replay an old favourite, it is the opening areas that I crave. I am very proud of myself for resisting.

As I said, though, I was still only moderately successful when it came to finishing more games, which really was the point of the resolution. Unfortunately I just have so many games that even if I do not backtrack and restart existing games, my divided attention between dozens of games is enough to prevent me from completing them. Therefore, this year I will begin Phase 2 of operation “Ginia Has to Finish More Stuff”. Not only will I not abort existing save files, but I will focus on small numbers of games at a time. Here, then, is a rough list of the games I wish to finish, and the order in which they will be played. Of course it does not count MMOs like WoW or Diablo 3, or casual wastes of time like The Sims.

1. Torchlight – I am almost finished with it anyway, and as it is the game I am currently playing, it only makes sense.
2. Disgaea 2 – I enjoyed the first game so much that I know I will be extremely eager to play the sequel when it eventually, someday, possibly arrives in the mail. (Damn you, Canada Post. Where’s mah Prinny and game?)
3. Vagrant Story – No, I have never finished this game. In fact, I have hardly touched it. I do not think that I even have a save state for it. I am eager to play this, as I have been told that I will enjoy it very much. It was also given to me by Lusipurr, I think it is his copy, so of course it is also only polite of me to begin playing it within 5 years of being given it (I think he gave it to me 2 years ago).
4. Final Fantasy XII – Sigh. I have to level. And hunt. And look crap up in a FAQ. I am nearly finished, though. Hopefully by the time I get around to this one, I will be more eager to play and therefore more willing to do this extra work.
5. Skies of Arcadia: Legends – My Wii is too neglected. If I do not own Valkyria Chronicles by this point, I will finish SoAL.

With my track record, this may be enough to carry me through the next decade, not the next year. We shall see.

In addition to this gaming resolution, I am also resolving to give up my addiction to Pepsi (it would have been funnier if I drank Coke, right?). I also want to exercise more. I own 3 iPods, and live across the street from the Trans-Canada Trail. There is no good reason for me to not go jogging when the weather is nice.

Do you guys have any resolutions, gaming or otherwise, for the coming year? Please be warned that this post will come back to haunt you in 12 months.