After the craziness of last fall and the sheer amount of strategy guides my staff and I had to review by the end of November, I’ve been suffering from an incredible dose of gaming apathy. I told myself I was just burned out. I blamed the holidays, and then my pregnancy, as it has made me extremely tired. But it’s been nearly three months now, and I’m still unmotivated to play any games.
This is the perfect time to catch up on my Stack of Shame, too, as I’m not personally reviewing anything until March 19th. I experienced something similar last year, and as such, by this time last year, I had completed six games (yes, I keep records). SIX. Right now, I can barely find the desire to play one for just a couple of hours!
I started Batman Arkham Asylum a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t touched the game since I played it, which was like twice for two hours at a time. Since I have fun playing Halo 4 Spartan Ops missions, I thought maybe it was because Asylum moves too slowly for me right now, whereas Halo 4 is quite fast-paced and action-packed. It’s not that I don’t like Asylum, don’t think that at all; I’m just not feeling the motivation to keep playing at the moment, and I’m trying to piece together why I feel that way.
So, in an effort to find something from my SoS that is more fast-paced, I tried out Borderlands last night. I know there’s a sequel out now, but seriously, if you knew me at all you would know that I rarely play anything out of order (or read or watch). Assassin’s Creed 2 has so far been my lone exception.
Borderlands is a bit quicker-paced than Asylum, that’s for sure, and many snippets of dialogue made me snicker. Yet, I’m still feeling a bit of boredom that I know I wouldn’t normally have. Maybe it’s the fact that the aiming system is going to take a bit of learning (it’s no Halo or Gears), or maybe it’s that I feel like I’m always looking for ammunition (am I that bad of a shot?), but I really didn’t feel that normal happy feeling I get while playing games.
Am I trying the wrong games? Is this just a phase? I really hope it’s the latter, because I’m tired of this funk I’m in. Maybe I just need to replay a game I really liked to get back into the groove? Or should I get back to playing Dragon Age: Origins, since I really, really, REALLY enjoyed that when I was playing?
It’s frustrating, and it sucks to be a little down on a hobby I’ve greatly enjoyed for so many years. Anyone out there have any tips how to get out of the gaming blues?
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