Time to pick up the pace.

When I started this journey I hoped that I’d complete one game a week in order to stay on target. I’m in the 21st week and I’ve now finished 19 games. That’s not too bad, especially considering that Christmas and New Year ate into my gaming time a lot more than I had originally envisaged. I didn’t complete any games, or even really play much of anything for nearly three weeks, a shocking lapse. So now is the time to really start ramping it up in terms of effort and dedication. I did that by finishing off game number 19, Max Payne 3.

This game was pretty much the same the whole way through. Take cover and shoot some guys. Enter slow motion and shoot a bunch of guys. Jump forwards through the air in slow motion and shoot loads of guys. If you really wanted to switch it up you could jump sideways though the air and shoot up some guys... in slow motion!

But you know what? This game was fantastic. It just goes to show what presentation and polish can really do for a game. The grim tone, maudlin narration, excellent cut-scenes, and the driving, pulsing soundtrack made this an entertaining and immersive affair, one whose repetition could be overlooked in favour of the experience as a whole. Besides, the shooting was so tight and so much fun that it didn’t really matter that that’s all there was. Rather than being a Jack-of-all-trades, it was a master of one. I loved it. I wanted to restart on a higher difficulty level as soon as I’d finished it. But that’s strictly against the rules. There's too many other games sitting there unfinished.

So then, what do I do about that pile of shame? It’s going down, but it’s still pretty intimidating. I was looking at the games that I’ve completed so far. Some, like Skyrim, were ones that I knew would take a fair amount of time to get through, so it’s good to have that one out of the way. I look at Dark Souls, sitting there barely touched and I know that that one is going to require a massive investment.

I think the best thing to do is to commit to one longer game, while trying to get through shorter, lighter fare at the same time. I can chip away at something like Dark Souls or The Witcher 2, and then jump into something a bit less challenging and involved, such as Halo or Super Mario 64. Hopefully that will keep the pile of shame decreasing, and the pile of pride steadily increasing.

19 down, 31 to go. Stay on target.