Poll: How long should a game be?

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Ocelot GT

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Oct 29, 2009
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15+ hours for the average gamer for SP at leasssst, with some form of replayability, IE skirmish mode etc
 

Nihilism_Is_Bliss

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Oct 27, 2009
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if its a game i reeeaallly love a lot, then the longer the better. if it's just a good game, around 30 hours is probably enough
 

IamQ

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Mar 29, 2009
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15-30 hours is good for me, but if it is to go any longer it can't go foir any genre.

I can't see a CoD campaign going for 45 hours, Nor can I see Uncharted 3 being that long unless it's at least free-world, though I'd probably still be bored to death by the time I reach 30 hours, when they drag out the chase scene to 4 hours.
 

GundamSentinel

The leading man, who else?
Aug 23, 2009
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Short games are generally my favorites. Between 10-15 hours is very much ok for me, though I have outings to over 100 hour games.
 

brunothepig

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May 18, 2009
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I don't hate good games for being short, and some need to be. Portal was a perfect length. Any longer and it would have repeated itself. what I do like to see, is an epic and preferably long, usually, story mode. Then, a ton of bonus content, side missions, challenges etc. Advance wars DS displays this perfectly. :D everyone should get that game. :p
 

Woem

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May 28, 2009
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For me a game should be at least 50 hours, including replayability of course. Take for instance Baldur's Gate 2 which has a replayability worth of about 200 hours, and I spent much, much more time on it.
 

ByJingo

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Sep 12, 2007
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Well Rez takes about an hour to play through but between the dreamcast and XBLA i'm close to 70 hours on it.

Similarly trials hd is maybe 45 minutes but I'm well past 20 hours with that.

Length is irrelevant really. Replayability is the most important thing when it comes to value.

For me, I only rent most new big games as they are short and typically devoid of replay value. Simply not worth the money. Its because they're all more interested in telling stories and stories have to come to an end. Chasing a high score can last forever.
 

Roadface

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Nov 10, 2009
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30-50 hours seems to me as the magic number. Obviously some people out there enjoy shorter games that don't drag on but I believe the masses want as much content without it getting tiresome. And it's my personal philosophy that games should be a weekly thing. Have it last for about that long if the person was to play it casually.
 
Mar 28, 2009
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I love alot of very short games, however a special place is held in my heart for Kingdom Hearts, which took me something over 100 hours before I'd finished it 100% (keep in mind this was one of my first games). I think a shorter game can't really make you feel emotion the way a longer game can.
 

TitsMcGee1804

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Dec 24, 2008
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optimal length is entirely subjective and changes with other factors

WoW, esentially endless (if you like that sort of thing) but it should be because you pay a subscription etc...

portal...lasts less than 4 hours, but the amount of gameplay and fun packed into those hours is insane, so its well worth the money (which was cheaper)

I played dark messiah, might and magic, and that game lasted me about 15 hours...but it was the sort of game that should have been finished in 7, therefore it was far too long for me

If you ask me, those popcorn games you get for ps3 and play over the weekend, like uncharted, they should be around 8 hours, finish em over the weekend and move on

but games like fallout, or other rpg's anything above 50hrs is enough for me
 

Arkhangelsk

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Mar 1, 2009
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What really matters in that case is the enjoyment density. If the length is long, you need a large enjoyment density to keep on playing. It's hard to make a game that lasts for so long, so it's hard to rely on a long game being that good. Although there are few games that pulled it off. Like FFVII. Although when the game is incredibly short, but the enjoyment density is high, it can still be awesome (like Portal).
 

Ultress

Volcano Girl
Feb 5, 2009
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For shooters and action title around 15-20 hours.

RPGs should at least hit the 30-40 hour mark or around the point where you're levels are hitting the high 50's low 60's without a massive amount of grind.
 

suhlEap

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Apr 14, 2009
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5-30. i'd say 5 to 15 for most games because i tend to get bored easily, but if the game is good then up to 30 works.
 

Eagle Est1986

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Nov 21, 2007
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It really doesn't matter, I think as long as it's over about 6 hours but I don't want them adding a bunch of boring filler to make up the time. Look at Portal, took no time to complete but it's one of the most fun I've had with a game.
 

gxs

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Apr 16, 2009
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Immersive games need to be at least 15 hours long. I have finished MOHAA in three hours. The game was really immersive but ultra short. It's not great to make an interesting game and only make it last for three hours.
 

Evil Tim

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Apr 18, 2009
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s001911 said:
As long as it *needs* to be. Keyword, NEEDS. Padding is gay. Portal is, arguably, One if the best games of all time, its official game time is 2hrs. It has no padding whatsoever.
Pfft. Half the game is wasted on easy, redundant tutorial rooms. By the time you get to the actual challenges and more free-form puzzles with multiple solutions, the game is almost over.
 

Summerstorm

Elite Member
Sep 19, 2008
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Depends: With solid and enjoyable multiplayer... the singleplayer doesn't has to be long or even existant (Team Fortress 2).

If it is repeatable (either as sport (higher difficulty), or different story & characters (bioware games) it should be at least 10 hours per session.)

If it is a story-game. Which you can play ONCE then maybe once again in a year or so it should be at least 25 hours.

Of course if it comes cheaper it doesn't have to be that long. I was pretty happy paying 10? for Max Payne II... which is about 6 hours. (And had mod potential)
 

Admiral Stukov

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Jul 1, 2009
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First off, I haven't played MW2 so I can't really say anything about that. I have played CoD4 tho and I imagine that there are similarities, and CoD4 had a great but short campaign. But well rpg's with 50+ hours of gameplay is my absolute favorite, Dragon Age Origins is amazing!
 

sokka14

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Mar 4, 2009
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my choice would be 10-50 hours. anywhere in that time-frame is a decent length for a game. i voted 30-50 simply because i like RPGs the most. though i do generally think the longer the better, 50+ hours is only good if the effort has been put into the game. a few games feel like they are desperately trying to string out a 30 hour game over 50. less than 10 is too short, and as the OP puts it, it's pretty much a waste of money.

nowadays i'm seeing much less effort being put into a long and enjoyable well-balanced story. sandbox games need to die.