My backlog is looking pretty intimidating.

[Lazy]

Right now I've got a pretty big backlog of games I need to complete, but I'm having a hard time deciding where to start. That's where you come in. You know, if you want. These are my options:

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
MDK
Thief
Two Worlds
Disciples II
Metro 2033
Borderlands 2
Max Payne (the first one)
Psychonauts
Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX and XIII
Earthworm Jim HD
Rock of Ages
Dead Space
Munch's Oddysee HD
Devil May Cry 3 (I have the HD collection but have little interest in the first two games)
Okami HD

I... think that's it. As you can see, I went on quite the spending spree this past December. Keep in mind, I kind of want to get to the newer and/or shorter games first.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Metro 2033 probably won't take you very long, and it's excellent. I would start there. I would also play Psychonauts, even though it's not that new or short, just so you can have played one of the most unique and funny games out there.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Uh DMC3 is pretty good, I would recommend it if you have any intention of playing the new DMC reboot. DMC3 does suffer from, in my opinion annoying level design and uninspired enemy designs but the story, combat and style of the game is really good.

The relationship between Dante and Vergil makes DMC3 worth playing on that alone.

I am really enjoying Borderlands 2. It is a long game if you go for all the sidequests it has interesting quest lines, even more interesting characters, shitloads of 1337 loot swag and you can ruin all of that by inviting the one friend who plays fucking dubstep over the mic into the game. Also check out the Mechromancer. Such a great class, featuring the best robot EVER!

Oh what am I saying? Okami. Play Okami. It is so good. You play as the Goddess of the Sun in the form of a white wolf. They even manage to make you feel godlike for example plants grow around your feet and when you reach maximum running speed there's a trail of flowers left behind you. It's freaking cool.

The story is really good by the way. Even when the main character can't speak because she's a dog XD

 

[DoPo]

Heh, that's your intimidating backlog? Mine has...let's say a bit more than those. If 20-ish intimidates you, I don't want to think what mine would do to you. Pray you don't reach that point.

Anyway, leave DMC3 for later, I say, you'd probably want to replay it on a different difficulty and with Vergil (although he's just replaying Dante's levels with his own playstyle) so it would take longer. Unless you just want the story, in which case a run through on Easy is quite fast.

Disciples 2 (excellent choice, by the way) is slow. I'd suggest you turn off attack animations after you get sick of them - units do this fancy twirling and chanting and sweeping and stuff that takes several seconds. For each attack they make. Each unit. Several times per combat. It's interesting to see but it extends some battles by several times (the easy ones). Even then, it's not that fast - four campaigns, each with several maps, even if you don't completely restart or reload too much, it still takes a while. And then there is the expansions - the Light/Dark ones add in roughly 50-60% more campaign time, I've yet to play the one with the elves (I suppose you have it, though).

MDK I haven't played but I've played MDK 2 - if that's anything to go by, move it towards the top of the list - it's quite fun and relaxing game, not terribly long but quite enjoyable.

Rock of Ages I sort of assumed isn't really long, so probably toward the top of the list is fine for it.

Thief and Witcher I think you can put roughly towards the middle.

 

[Windcaler]

Right now I've got a pretty big backlog of games I need to complete, but I'm having a hard time deciding where to start. That's where you come in. You know, if you want. These are my options:

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
MDK
Thief
Two Worlds
Disciples II
Metro 2033
Borderlands 2
Max Payne (the first one)
Psychonauts
Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX and XIII
Earthworm Jim HD
Rock of Ages
Dead Space
Munch's Oddysee HD
Devil May Cry 3 (I have the HD collection but have little interest in the first two games)
Okami HD

I... think that's it. As you can see, I went on quite the spending spree this past December. Keep in mind, I kind of want to get to the newer and/or shorter games first.

Metro 2033 is probably the most interesting of those games. I would play that first and follow it up with theif, Psychonauts, and Two worlds.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

I'd start with whichever game is oldest, and continue playing the games from old to new.

It won't make the shift in graphics, mechanics, or controls as jarring - and the older games are the ones that are most likely to become incompatible with hardware soonest (a valid concern if it takes a particularly long time to work through a backlog).

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Maybe you could draw straws! That's what I do anyway.

Leave longer games, especially RPGs, later until you have the time to finish them without interruption. In my experience as soon as you drop an RPG, you tend to need restarting the game to grasp the mechanic again. (why have I saved all this money? What was I going to upgrade? Where should I assign all these skills?)

 

[Kef10]

I usually go through it from oldest to newest, Removing RPGS entirely until I played through a bunch of games or completely done with the backlog.. But then I ended up with 3 mass effect games to play because I didn't start on the first until 2-3 months after ME3 release.

 

[Valagetti]

Metro 2033 has to be one of the most badass games of all time for me. If you haven't played it and actually have it, fate has most certainly not given you a hand here. Just play it if you like FPS/horror, makes F.E.A.R. look like a joke.

 

[Woiminkle]

I'd give the witcher a miss for now if I was you, I'm about half way through it and I quite like the style, the world and the story but I can't motivate myself to go back to it because of the combat. You can hack away at an enemy forever without him going down if you are not using the correct fighting stance, so you can see your sword hit him and cut him over and over but because you used group style instead of strong or whatever the other one is he's magically impervious. What really annoys me about this is that the same guy in a group of others will go down in two or three hits of the group style as long as there is more than one but when he's the last one standing suddenly you seem to have a trout in your hands not a sword. And the interface is quite clunky and unintuitive so when you do go to play it I strongly suggest you read the manual cover to cover because nothing is explained very well in game.

Play the first max payne, it's really an awesome game. Apart from that one level that I think pretty much everybody hates, (you'll know it when you get there), but thankfully is fairly short.

Just my 2 cents

EDIT Just went back to watch Yahtzee's "first impressions" of it and I have to agree with most of what he said and it's just bloody entertaining and worth a watch anyway. There is stuff to be enjoyed in the game it just seems to be buried underneath of a lot of unnecessary complications.

 

[Rblade]

I've always been a big fan of max payne, for no clear reasons really. I just kinda like the vibe the game has going on.

 

[Reaper195]

I'd avoid Munches Odyssey. The first two Oddworld games are fantastic, but the fully 3D environment in Munch made the game feel less....Oddworld. But then again, each to their own.

 

[Luca72]

Well.. what exactly do you want out of those games right now? I mean what type of game are you in the mood to play? When I have a big backlog I tend to start with the "popcorn" games first - the ones that are fun, can be played incrementally (level-based, as opposed to an RPG or open world game), and that I'm not totally invested in. Play through some of those until you want something of more substance, than dive into it. The reason I say this is because I've had times where I really wanted to see a game through, but didn't enjoy it that much because I was trying to hammer through it so I could get to the next item on my list.

I mean... it's 2013... as much as I loved FFVII, I can admit that if you're not fully invested in it it's gonna be a huge drag. I feel like Thief and Psychonauts are also games that deserve your FULL attention. But on the other hand, I can't imagine a gamer who can't enjoy a bit of DMC3.

 

[Norrdicus]

I usually go through it from oldest to newest, Removing RPGS entirely until I played through a bunch of games or completely done with the backlog.. But then I ended up with 3 mass effect games to play because I didn't start on the first until 2-3 months after ME3 release.

Aagh, I know how it feels to have many RPGs (or otherwise long games) in your backlog

"Oh boy, Neverwinter Nights 2 Complete Edition just came on GOG.com!"

*buys it*

"Wait, I still need to finish Dungeon Siege 2... and Bard's Tale, it's shorter but with annoying combat... then Icewind Dale 2, so damn long, complex and intense... oh, I never finished Divine Divinity... and Frozen Synapse just keeps staring at me... It'd be a tragedy not to finish my current playthrough of Morrowind too... and the 1,5 playthroughs of Fallout New Vegas I have planned for a while"

I wish I could split myself into multiple people (and computers) so I could some day keep that backlog tidy

 

[Twilight_guy]

Psychonauts

Why haven't you played this yet? Are you afraid of good games and fun?

Also, I feel the need to write #FirstWorldProblems and I don't know why.

 

[Pat8u]

Well I have morrowind on my backlog so Im pretty much screwed (82 hours in and only level 6 and just up to the sixth house quest)

The witcher 2 is on my list as well as Borderlands 2, the majesty games (Basically a nostalgia trip for me),Braid(been avoiding since it seems a tad prentenious and the Creator seems to be an Arse),Lone survivor, ALL the total war games, Dragon age awakening (I blame me not saving enough and the game crashing for this one) and the golems expansion, Magicka , The 3rd penny arcade game,Sonic Generations , And the second half of psychonauts

And those are only the games on my steam list
EDIT: DAMM YOU SEGA PACK

 

[AgentLampshade]

Devil May Cry 3 is something you should play, if only to experience the best the genre has to offer.

The best.