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I couldn't help but notice a trend in games lately. It's getting a lot easier to lose yourself in a game for eighty-plus hours at a time. It used to be that a game could be completed in forty hours and still have done a majority of the side quests. Now we're lucky if we can beat a game in forty hours without the side quests.
Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time. A player can easily become lost in this game. The world is so huge and there are no real shortcuts to go from town to town, which makes traveling long and tedious sometimes. But aside from long journeys, there is always the item creation to get lost in. Now, granted, I never really understood the concept of wasting all my hard earned money on trying to make an item and end up with something I didn't want. The urge to collect battle trophies in this game can warrant several playthroughs in different difficulty levels, making completing the game take longer than it really should.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht. This game is long. Most of the player's time is spent watching cut scenes that make the game seem more like an interactive anime. If you were to skip all the cut scenes, it would cut out sixty percent of the time it takes to play the game. If I hadn't enjoyed the story for this game, I probably would have never finished it because of its length.
Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana. I don't know about everyone else, but this game took me about eighty-six hours. A good portion of it was spent synthesizing items and collecting ingredients for more synthesizing. I also visited shops quite often so I could continue the side plots for each of the shopkeepers. I am doubtful that the game would have taken me much more than forty hours if I hadn't been so addicted to the shop synthesis.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey Of The Cursed King. While I haven't had the pleasure to play this game yet, I know it is taking a good sixty to eighty hours to complete and even more if you're rushing through the game without leveling or purchasing adequate equipment. I am also told that it is easy to get lost in the world just because of the sheer beauty of the scenery. I guess I'll have to wait two weeks yet until I can see this gem for myself.
So is this ongoing trend of spending so many hours in games a good one? I suppose it could go either way. On one hand, you're getting more game play for your money. However, there is a very good possibility that you can get sick of a game after so many hours that the drive to finish it dissipates. I haven't had that happen yet, but with my recent game slump, the possibility is very real.
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