Games I Have Somehow Never Played…

Well, this is embarrassing.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has played video game for more than a few years that you just can’t play them all. No matter how hard you have tried, you can’t fit in each video game that releases in a year into your play rotation. Video games aren’t like movies: they can’t be seen and completed in a few short hours (at least most of them). They aren’t as easy to come by in some instances. And sometimes they simply don’t fit into your budget.

For this reason or that, we all have games that we’ve never gotten around to playing. Triple A games, too. The games that may have defined a generation. The games that people are still talking about to this day. The games that you kind of have to just shake your head at when others are discussing around you because you have no idea what is going on.

These are those games. Below you will find the shame of my gaming expertise. These are the games I’ve never played. At least as of yet.

Yep. I have never dabbled in the apparent awesomeness that is Solid Snake. Like many games you’ll find on this list, it’s not for lack of ownership: I actually have copies of MGS I – IV, including the PS1 bonus game VR Missions. I’ve just never gotten around to playing any of them. And now there are way more games out in the series, spanning plenty of PlayStation platforms. Maybe some day…

Even though I adored and loved The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion AND I own a copy of Skyrim, I have still never played it. I’m honestly kind of afraid to start the game, because I know it’ll eat up the following month or two of my gaming life. And there are always new games coming out that I (hopefully) get to play.

I hesitate to include the two Half-Life games and their bonus episodes because I actually have played them, albeit in a truncated fashion. I dabbled in the first game for just under an hour, then I ended up demoing Half-Life 2 on the Oculus Rift back in January. So technically I’ve played them… I just haven’t played them beyond the intro. Certainly haven’t beaten them. And so many consider Half-Life 2 one of the best games ever. Hmmm…

Alright, here comes two big ones in a row. For this reason or that, Twilight Princess on both the GameCube and Wii has alluded me. I remember being really pumped for this game to release, because it was essentially the sequel to Ocarina of Time so many of us wanted, with a darker setting and adult link. And then I never played it. What’s sad is I actually own two copies of the game: one for the Wii and one for the ‘Cube. That GameCube version though is still sealed, so it looks like Link’ll be a righty if I ever play the game…

I would say not having played Skyward Sword is a bit more forgiven than missing out on Twilight Princess simply due to the timeframe after release, but still. So many consider this to be not only one of the finest in the series, but also one of the best games on the Wii period! And again, I have the game! Maybe the real issue here is just asking for too many games during holiday season, because that’s exactly the reason I get these great games and they just sit on the shelf. But they look pretty still wrapped in plastic!

There are plenty of Mario games I haven’t gotten around to yet, but none of them stick out like the two Super Mario Galaxy games for the Wii. They are some of the plumber’s highest rated games of all time, and not to mention among the Wii’s best as well. With fans still clamoring for a third installment, it looks like Galaxy will be on my to-do list of relevant games for some time.

I’m not nearly as ashamed for having skipped out on the series that made Rockstar Games famous, but I do have to admit to not having played any of them with the exception of a few hours of Vice City. Though popular, these games are just not for me at all. Also worth nothing, I do not own these games. With other games on the list (like Skyrim and The Legend of Zelda) I own them and haven’t played them, but with GTA I don’t plan on doing either.

With plenty of big name franchises under their belt, it’s likely that near every gamer has a few excellent Nintendo games they haven’t played. Super Metroid is mine. I believe I’ve played literally every other games in the franchise sans Pinball and Other M, but somehow missed what some call the greatest on the SNES. There’s that Wii U port I could grab, but maybe I’m just holding out for an enhanced remake or something…

Something about Minecraft has never really appealed to me. I am not sure if it’s the visuals, the gameplay, or the sim aspect of it, but I have never really had much of thought about playing this one. Millions of gamers will likely tell me otherwise, but like Grand Theft Auto, it’s just not my type of game.

Here’s one I’m kind of sad about. The entire Prince of Persia series (at least the PS2 titles) have been on my collecting radar for a long time. I acquired all of them some time ago, but even though they’re regarded as some of the best the PS2 has to offer, I’ve still not dabbled in the time manipulation the game offers. I did, however, see the Disney movie. It was… alright…

The SNES classic EarthBound has never graced the console of Jsick. Ness and Lucas are familiar names thanks to the Super Smash Bros. series, which I would assume is how many gamers know of the psychic duo. There has always been a big debate about how Nintendo needs to bring Mother 3 to the States (or even the first game for that matter), but I have yet to play this so called gem to justify playing any of the others.

Kind of like Half-Life above, I’ve dabbled with the PS2 masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus but never really got that into it. I think I killed one Colossus, but I’m not positive of that. This is the one game that my girlfriend can hold over me for playing that I haven’t. Again, it’s just not my type of game, but it is so often regarded as amazing that I feel like I owe it to myself to see it to completion.

Lara Croft is a fairly popular name when it comes to recognizable video game characters. Somehow she’s even starred in two live action movies. And on top of that, she has recently resurfaced as a gritty treasure hunter on the newer consoles. But that hasn’t convinced me to play the Tomb Raider games. From PS1 to PS4, I’ve never played one of Ms. Croft’s adventures, for better or for worse.

The Dreamcast’s epic was lost on me. Perhaps it was my child mind that couldn’t wrap itself around the grandiose idea that was Shenmue’s open world, or maybe it was the fact that it felt like I played it for four hours but didn’t do anything that steered me away from the rest of the game. I feel like this one isn’t as remarkable a missed play as others on the list, but being a Dreamcast collector, it’s almost expected to love and cherish this “masterpiece”.

Seeing as I don’t play games on my phone, it’s understandable to not have played Angry Birds. I remember being interested in the Star Wars Angry Birds games, but I never got around to those either. If you look at my phone you’ll see a few social networking apps, a handful of card games, and that’s pretty much it. When I game on the go, I take my 3DS. Coincidentally there’s an Angry Birds port on that system, but I haven’t played that either!

Though he has a special place in my heart as being one of the characters on the PS1 that actually made me want to play Sony’s console, I have still yet to play the original Crash Bandicoot game. I’ve played and greatly enjoyed the third installment, Warped, also on the PS1, but nothing more. No previous games, not latter games, just that third one (sans Crash Team Racing, of course). I’ve heard number three is the best, but I still owe it to myself to play the rest, right?

Yes, I admit it, I have not played the above games. Some of them are more excusable than others, but a certain few are downright bananas for not having played.

What about you? What are some games that you’ve never managed to get the time to play?

Laters,
Jsick