Games you like starting, but hate finishing

[strumbore]

I agree with OP about FFXIII.
I really haven't enjoyed a
Final Fantasy game since VIII.

I didn't want to finish any of the Uncharted games--

BECAUSE THEY'RE AWESOME!
I didn't want them to end.
Luckily, they're pretty long
games. Just when you think
you're closing in on the end,
it get's better! Any other
games would have outlasted
their welcome.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Prototype - by the time you get 80% into the game it's basically impossible to get across the map without earning the ire of the military, and even more difficult to feed and regain health in piece. This means that every time you need to do a mission you need to go and eat some people, then run away from a helicopter for 5 minutes, and then go and repeat that again because the helicopter shot you while you were running away. The entire last part of the game is a huge slog and you wish that you were still at the half way point.

Uncharted - I've played Uncharted 2 and 3 and in both games the last level tends to be completely infuriating because the new enemies you have to fight are bullet-sponging cock-bags. The "supernatural" enemies aren't fun to fight, they're just a massive pain in the ass.

 

[Clobersaurus15]

Uncharted - Mostly the original, round about when the crazy zombies show up is when the regular enemies seem to need even more bullets to kill.

Resistance 1 and 2 - The last few levels are just a slog through an insane amount of cheap enemies.

Halo 3 - Right about when the Flood turn up, that's the fun out of the window right there.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Zelda Skyward sword. The game has so much potential but falls flat in the controls department. I find myself going back to it every 4 months since it's release but I just can't bring myself to finishing it

This. The controls in Skyward Sword just hate me...I have to re-calibrate every few minutes and the lack of an alternate control scheme really puts me off of the game as a whole. I haven't beaten it and don't think I ever will...Luckily Twilight Princess is on the Gamecube in addition to the Wii...guess which of the two I got with THAT one!?

---

Final Fantasy 13, it was cool going in, you had a great cutscene, some cool gadgets used in those cutscenes and the combat system looked fun and I assumed it would get better down the line.

I never finished it, I forced myself through so much of it and after reaching Orphans Cradle, I just couldn't be bothered to keep going.

Same here...I made it to Chapter 11 where the game is promised to get good and got stuck at yet another boss that I couldn't get past. There wasn't a level cap but I couldn't get to a high enough level to pass that bastard...I just couldn't figure it out, the FAQs said it was an easy boss (just like the other bosses I ended up getting stuck on) and I have just had more than enough...I think I still have that save data though so I can always go back to it...

---

I like going through the first few levels of Halo: Combat Evolved but once The Flood are introduced I check out. Absolutely hate The Flood...

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Dragon Age: Origins!
Some really fun origins to play through but after the first hour the same is the exact same for each character. Also the really boring combat doesn't help either. I have beat the game once and that took me a long time and I just can't push my self to finish with a different character. I really like the Awakenings DLC after the game finishes but i just can't get a character there. I could start with a new one for that campaign but I just don't care that much.

 

[Jhooud]

Pretty much any fighting game where the final boss is either a) completely cheap (think Shao Kahn - which now that I'm typing it looks like it really should be Khan. Weird. Or that crazy clone lady thing in DoA - Alpha 152 if wikipedia is to be believed) or b) so totally different from what you've faced before that you need to learn a whole new set of attacks/skills that really only apply to that fight (Galaticus in UMvC 3 comes to mind).

 

[Pink Gregory]

Rome Total War. At the beginning things are usually quite intense. It's interesting to see who become the major powers, who takes over where. Sometimes there some surprises, like in my last game with Dacia becoming a major power house, then being taken over by Scythia who were in turn taken by Thrace.

But by the end of the long campaigns the game just becomes a mop up job. There's little to no challenge and things just becomes annoying instead of fun and interesting.

I found that the other Roman families just sweep over most of the world map, leave tiny garrisons in each town and spread themselves far too thin. Or maybe that was just that one campaign, seemed unlikely just to be a random chance, though. So basically you end up only facing 3-4 different kingdoms (if you're shite at Total War, like me) and then other Romans.

Might apply just to me, though.

 

[TheLastTatlFan]

Every Final Fantasy I've played (4-7 and X, although I didn't actually like X that much) and Chrono Trigger. Of that list, I've only ever finished 4, once.

 

[zidine100]

Persona 4 i always seem to get distracted near the end, i mean seriously.... every single time.

tempted to buy the golden to rectify this one, but ive played it so many times im not sure i want to....

well time for round 4 i guess, if i ever find the time.

 

[Monkey_Warfare]

Civilization series, Total war games etc. The most challenging part is usually the early game. Towards the end you generally have pulled ahead of your rivals by killing/crippling the strongest and have better units so you can just roll any threat and are left with a tedious grind through the final stages.
Also Diablo III, first 20-30 levels were great unlocking new skills which were fun to play with to find cominations. After that you ended up using the same combinations over and over and once you hit nightmare and just had to redo everything it became monotonous.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

I thought id love skyward sword until whats her face in the sword came along. Fuck. That. Shit. Hand holding was so intense i couldnt finish the game. After the dousing took all the fun out of a simple game of hide and seek (plus the sword lady reiterated at least twice what hide and seek was AFTER another character explained it. Its fucking HIDE AND SEEK the NAME explains it why are you treating me like im brain dead). I was so patronised i didnt play again.

 

[Best of the 3]

Rome Total War. At the beginning things are usually quite intense. It's interesting to see who become the major powers, who takes over where. Sometimes there some surprises, like in my last game with Dacia becoming a major power house, then being taken over by Scythia who were in turn taken by Thrace.

But by the end of the long campaigns the game just becomes a mop up job. There's little to no challenge and things just becomes annoying instead of fun and interesting.

I found that the other Roman families just sweep over most of the world map, leave tiny garrisons in each town and spread themselves far too thin. Or maybe that was just that one campaign, seemed unlikely just to be a random chance, though. So basically you end up only facing 3-4 different kingdoms (if you're shite at Total War, like me) and then other Romans.

Might apply just to me, though.

I found that the more you expand, the Roman families do also. Also they'll focus on one faction at at time. Which was weird in one of my games, where the Brutii were in deep war against the Greeks, but made sure to clear out all of Dacia before even turning to face the Greek.

I've also found that at medium/medium difficulty, they'll leave all their cities with few troops, and move about 4-5 entirely stacked armies in one group. This usually makes stabbing the other families in the back a breeze since Scipii's armies usually end up either in Spain or Egypt, while Brutii are busy in deserts or way too far up North the help their capital.

 

[Frostbite3789]

Dragon Age: Origins. Two words. The Fade. I dread getting to that part every time, because just...get outta here kid. Nobody likes you.

 

[TheCommanders]

I feel kind of unoriginal, but the two I thought of off the top of my head have already been mentioned, but I'll say them anyway.

Mount and Blade: Warband - The combat is a hell of a lot of fun, but the questing and kingdom building are adventures in micromanagement and disappointment. I hope that they'll improve that in the upcoming sequel.

Rome: Total War - Oh god, the overpopulation problem. Seriously, after a certain number of turns, your empire's best cities will start to destroy themselves and there's nothing you can do about it (I seem to remember the earliest culprits of this were alexandria and carthage). Frustrating as hell. Soooo glad they addressed this issue in later titles in the Total War franchise.

 

[Tarkand]

In all the Civilization games I found the first part the most fun, until about 1000 AD.

My thoughts exactly. Then again I suppose that negates the tactical aspect of the game, but to be honest that's always been a bit lacking.

To be honest I think I've only once played a game of Civ to completion. And I LOVE Civ...

To be fair to Civilization the _strategic_ aspect improves in the later game, especially after 1900 when there is a lot of unit dynamics to take into account. It feels a lot more like a traditional strategy game than an economic game.

(Yes I know the creators of Civ5 talked about making it more 'tactical', which makes me facepalm when considering the scale)

They always used the "One more turn" slogan for the series. I often think "Just one more game", because when a game is finally over I get to the fun bit of starting all over again.
There is a certain excitement when I get 1 warrior, 1 settler and a huge unexplored map. It's almost like opening presents for christmas.

That's how I feel about most strategy games. The beginning of most (grand)strategy/4X games, where you have to carve out your little niche in the grand, open world is the most interesting.
Then in the mid-game you get big enough to take on the heavyweights in big, epic battles that decide the fate of entire nations.
This is followed by the "mop-up" phase, where you simply pump out gigantic armies with your superior economy and crush every enemy under your boots. *yawn*.

Yup, throwing my hat alongside you guys. Love early game Civ... but late game, not only does turn take longer and longer (which is annoying in and out of itself) but it's often all about dealing the killing blow to already crippled ennemy who hang on just to piss you off.

 

[Offworlder_v1legacy]

Mass Effect 1.

The first mission is exciting, tonnes of plot building, then you move onto gathering the squad and learning about them, and then I just hit a hump and feel like I'm just wading through sludge from this point on. Though this is probably due to the endless Mako missions I end up going on and ignoring the main quest. Luckily I have the interactive comic thing so I don't have to go through it anymore.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Oblivion and Civ 4

those games get dull after a while but the opening levels/turns are so fun.

 

[omicron1]

Ah, so many games. Sometimes all it takes is 30 minutes past demo length for me to be done.
Devs never seem to realize how important the exploratory/survival stage is to their games. It's always focused on the combat or the combo system or the bosses or the level scores. And all I want is to stop and smell the hidden loot caches.

 

[gLoveofLove]

When I was a kid, that would be every single game I played. Now that I'm older and have a better attention span, the game I do this to the most is Diablo II. I would always get to the second area, the desert and then quit and then years or months later start a new character. In the beginning of the game you are constantly leveling up, learning new skills, and finding new better gear. but as you progress, all that stuff slows down along with the gratification that I get from playing.