I've lost my mojo!

[Jaynestown]

I'm not sure why but over the last month or so I've really lost interest in gaming

I haven't joined in on a games night for over a month now, partly because I've not been well and have felt quite tired, but mainly because you've all been playing Bad Company 2 or Left 4 Dead 2 and I just can't bring myself to spend £40 of my hard earned money on games I'm really not going to enjoy (even with a £25 gift voucher from GAME burning a whole in my pocket). I wandered around GAME yesterday for half an hour trying to decide what to buy and the only thing that took my fancy was the GOTY edition of Batman: AA, and then I thought how stupid it would be to spend £35 on a game I've already completed once just for new achievements.

I really am not very good at first person shooters, I've been trying to do the special ops missions on MW2 to try and get some practice in but I really suck, I just get frustrated and start yelling at the screen. I tried playing Bioshock and found it really dull, and found Borderlands just too difficult as I just kept dying and running out of ammo!

I've got so many games I've either not completed (Bioshock, Oblivion, Dragon Age: Origins, Aliens Vs Predator, Borderlands, G-Force, Call Of Duty 2 and 3, Forza 3, Assassin's Creed, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, The Orange Box, Prototype, Burnout Paradise, Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary) or have outstanding achievements that I want to try and get (Ghostbusters, Modern Warfare 2, Wet, Call Of Duty 4, Tekken 6, PGR4, FIFA 10, Need For Speed: Shift, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Gears Of War 2 (the co-op achievements)) yet I just don't seem to have the enthusiasm to play any of them. The only game I've enjoyed playing lately is Mass Effect 2 and now I've tried starting a playthrough on Insane and found it's too hard

If it's a choice now between Xbox and TV the TV is winning every time. I've been catching up on episodes of Battlestar Galactica that I haven't watched despite owning the DVD box sets for over a year, and been watching episodes of Friends with my wife.

I'm suspecting my general crapness at gaming is a contributing factor, but have I lost my gaming mojo, or is this just a temporary quirk?

Answers on a postcard to...

[GamerMan316]

It's temporary mate, don't worry about it, get on Gears on Friday and everything will be set right and with Gears 3 now officially announced, it's time to get excited about gaming again. 

[RedMaster11]

JT, I've been through this a few times before. I think everyone has at some point. A break is probably what you need, then in time you will get your mojo back. I'm the same with FPS's, it's pretty much only Gears 2 I play with you guys, and even then I only really enjoy Horde. You've got a lot of games, and it can be overwhelming, I used to be like that but I got ruthless and traded a load in. Now I'm taking a break from whoring and finishing all the games I own, games that I actually enjoy. Give Borderlands another go. I struggled at the start as well, but as you build up your character and get more money it becomes easier and a lot of fun. And if you can get into Oblivion, that's a game you can lose yourself in. Don't worry mate.

[Jaynestown]

Cheers guys.

I really like the look and feel of Borderlands, I've even bought two of the three DLC, but I'm just really struggling with it. I just find I run out of ammo really easily and keep dying and hence lose money becuase of the cost of regeneration.

I just haven't been able to get in to Oblivion, I know I'll like it once I can get in to it, it's just getting there in the first place. I was playing Dragon Age: Origins for a while and getting in to that but was struggling with the crappy combat system and eventually got bored

As for Gears 3, I will most definitely be looking forward to that, just can't believe we've got to wait a whole year

[GamerMan316]

A full year for us to reach Level 100 on Gears 2 though mate 

[Jaynestown]

A full year for us to reach Level 100 on Gears 2 though mate  

That's a good point. We need some quadruple XP events though to help us  

BTW How easy/hard is Battlefield: Bad Company 2? I don't like missing out on the Friday gaming when you guys play it but if it's as hard as MW2 I really don't want to waste £40 on it.

[RedMaster11]

I really like the look and feel of Borderlands, I've even bought two of the three DLC, but I'm just really struggling with it. I just find I run out of ammo really easily and keep dying and hence lose money becuase of the cost of regeneration.

Me and Kuddles have been playing a bit of co-op lately. If you want I can jump in your game sometime to help you level up a bit?

[nCogNeato]

JT,

If you're gaming habits are anything like mine, it is probably a temporary phase.  I tend to get "burned out" on videogames about twice a year.  I'll go a couple of months and not play a single videogame, then the "urge" will hit me out of the blue and I'm back in the game.

Taking a look at my Game History I found the following periods I decided to quit playing videogames:

June 2007 - September 2007
September 2007 - December 2007
January 2008 - April 2008
April 2008 - July 2008
February 2009 - April 2009
October 2009 - December 2009

As far as skill (or lack of), don't sweat it.  There's nothing wrong with playing a game on Easy.  At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you're having fun.  If you're not having fun, try playing a different type of game.  It's easy to get burned out if you play the same genre repeatedly.

If that doesnt help, there's also nothing wrong with turning it off for a few weeks and enjoy some other hobbies.  "Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder" right?    We'll still be here when you return.  

[nCogNeato]

I really like the look and feel of Borderlands, I've even bought two of the three DLC, but I'm just really struggling with it. I just find I run out of ammo really easily and keep dying and hence lose money becuase of the cost of regeneration.

Me and Kuddles have been playing a bit of co-op lately. If you want I can jump in your game sometime to help you level up a bit?

Ditto.  I'm a Level 40-something Siren.  The game is much easier when you have bodyguards.   

[sambo]

JT.
I suffer from this a lot mate. I look into my games cupboard and see 10-15 games I've started and just have not got round to finishing, And every time I look to play them I realise I've forgotton the controlls or the story line, Just taking a quick look in their now I see 4 games I have not even opened.
What I do when I seem uninterested in gaming is Don't game. Catch up on some Movies I have not seen. Or I try and play something completely different to what I had been playing, Sometimes after too many FPS they all seem to merge into one game, And you don't see the joy in that game, So I stay away from them for a while. Playing a game like an Arcade shooter or a puzzle game can be a good break I find sometimes. But If I need to stay away from games for a while I do.

  If you are looking Someone who is equally as poor at MW2 Spec-Ops, then give me a shout. A problem shared is double the failure but at least we will have a blast while failing......

[DFUSIONITE]

A full year for us to reach Level 100 on Gears 2 though mate  

That's a good point. We need some quadruple XP events though to help us  

BTW How easy/hard is Battlefield: Bad Company 2? I don't like missing out on the Friday gaming when you guys play it but if it's as hard as MW2 I really don't want to waste £40 on it.

The single player is great fun i play it on normal and don't have too many problems but there is an easy setting. playing on easy won't affect the cheeves. the mp is hard to get into at first but once you start unlocking new weapons and red dot sights etc it becomes easier and alot more enjoyable. there are no cheaters that i have seen or heard of and no mp glitches either. I was pretty bad at it at first as my skill level on shooters is normally not that great (as you know) but i been playing a couple of weeks now and i am getting better and better, my kill death ratio has crept up to 0.65 and it goes up a little everytime i play so i must be improving. It's also a great laugh if there is a squad of four of us. I would say if you are still unsure give it a rental first and give the mp a good week or so before giving up on it if ya like it you can then take the plunge and buy it. personally i much prefer the online multiplayer to gears 2 now, it's cetainly alot fairer. Hope this helps mate and i hope you get you mojo back soon, been missing you  

[KoreRupt]

The game is alot easier online than MW2 I'd say.  But the game is ALL about teamwork.  If your team sucks you do bad.  Vice versa.

One of the best feelings I had on the game was taking a Helo down with a Tank.. Twice in one match.. oh yeah.. you'd have thought they would learn after first time

[TaraJayne]

I just can't stop playing Final Fantasy. I don't even want to play any other game right now.
I go through phases like this but only online. I never get bored of gaming but sometimes I get bored with online gaming. Although recently its been a time issue for me.

[Failed]

i have no idea how to fix this, i'll let you know if i ever fall out of love with gaming

[Jaynestown]

A full year for us to reach Level 100 on Gears 2 though mate  

That's a good point. We need some quadruple XP events though to help us  

BTW How easy/hard is Battlefield: Bad Company 2? I don't like missing out on the Friday gaming when you guys play it but if it's as hard as MW2 I really don't want to waste £40 on it.

The single player is great fun i play it on normal and don't have too many problems but there is an easy setting. playing on easy won't affect the cheeves. the mp is hard to get into at first but once you start unlocking new weapons and red dot sights etc it becomes easier and alot more enjoyable. there are no cheaters that i have seen or heard of and no mp glitches either. I was pretty bad at it at first as my skill level on shooters is normally not that great (as you know) but i been playing a couple of weeks now and i am getting better and better, my kill death ratio has crept up to 0.65 and it goes up a little everytime i play so i must be improving. It's also a great laugh if there is a squad of four of us. I would say if you are still unsure give it a rental first and give the mp a good week or so before giving up on it if ya like it you can then take the plunge and buy it. personally i much prefer the online multiplayer to gears 2 now, it's cetainly alot fairer. Hope this helps mate and i hope you get you mojo back soon, been missing you  

If the MP is more team based I think I'll enjoy it, one of the thing's that annoys me with MW2 is the "run around shooting anything that moves" aspect of it, there's no tactics at all involved. I really like the tactics involved with Gears 2 (when we're not playing with randoms), especially Guardian, and if it's easier than MW2 then I'm sure I'll enjoy it more. My main concern is the difficultness (is that a word?) of it but if you're finding it fairly easy to play hopefully I'll do the same (I know we're of similar skill levels when it comes to shooters - no offence)