My Backlog of Shame: Five Unplayed Games That Call My “Gamer” Status into Question

UM writes: We all have secrets. Some are dark. Some are deep, and full of shame. I trust you, readers, not to judge too harshly, and thus I will share some of my deepest, darkest, most shameful secrets with you here. We’re all friends, after all. Right?

I consider myself a gamer of the old-school variety. The oldest-school, in fact. I started shortly after Nintendo made itself known in the American market, and I’ve been playing steadily ever since. Hell, I still play the same MUD I started when I was twelve. That’s nothing but text, ladies and gents. It’s the step between tabletop games and World of Warcraft. And yet, even I have holes in my gaming history. I’ve missed out on playing some classic titles in the video gaming canon, if there is such a thing. Here are five of the most egregious sins from my (non)gaming past.

[KingWilly105]

I don't think there should be a list of games someone should play to be a gamer.

But then again, their tastes and worldview about gaming could be so radically different that it would be hard to have a conversation with them.

It's still weird to me seeing people that haven't played a Mario game, and boggling at the implications.

[thirtyandnerdy]

I imagine it more-so comes down to feeling a certain "guilt" about not having played some of these titles. It's that same guilt people feel when classic films they haven't seen get brought up in conversation. (I finally watched The Godfather for that very reason, haha). For the sake of conversation, is it more weird to have never played a Mario game or not even know who/what Mario is? The latter, no? Haha.

[GenericNameHere]

Mario is a household name. My mind would be blown a million times over if there's a single person above the age of 3 that do not know Mario.

[dedicatedtogamers]

I agree. Not everyone can play everything, and not every game will be enjoyed by every gamer.

[Tainted Gene]

words of wisdom

[TuxedoMoon]

Exactly, the term gamer has way too many definitions amongst gamers that people THINK you need to do X to be a "real" gamer. By definition, a gamer is someone who plays and love games. There's no list attached to that definition or anything.

"You're not a REAL gamer if you haven't play FF7 or Kotor?"

"You're not a REAL gamer if you don't like COD or Dead Island: Riptide."

When gamers say things like that, it just sounds snobby and obnoxious. So what If I don't like Kotor or COD? It's just an OPINION. Your opinion doesn't make you any less of a gamer as long as you love video games and play them.

Looking at the article another way, I can understand that they might feel bad for not playing it. Going back to play old games is just hard for some people because either the game feels stiff or the graphics aren't very appealing. There are people that will not play something like Xenogears because the game is super pixelated...

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

I myself Have not played Kotor,MGS, or Myst.

[ab5olut10n]

Not sure if kotor would have the same impact since mass effects release (similar game structure of collecting crew/visiting different worlds) but you should still give it a spin if you get the chance, it's hella good.

[Pozzle]

Myst was one of the first games I ever played. Good memories <3

[sloth3395]

played all of those games before but I've been gaming since the Atari 2600

[Angeljuice]

I go back even further, pong clones in the 70's were my first experience of console gaming. Followed by intelevision and then Atari 2600. Played Mario a couple of times on NES and SNES, hated it and haven't touched a Nintendo since.

[reaper24]

I also have never played FF7 or the first MGS. I'm reserving Final Fantasy 7 for a time when I have the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the game. I don't want to rush the game and play when it when I'm stressed.

[Software_Lover]

It's really not all that. It was just a great game at a critical time for gaming. It was the first Final Fantasy for many people. I still remember the commercials for it. I had to have it.

[fracturedrich]

Ime a old school gamer,or just an old gamer i have had it all since the zx80 and i have not played some of these,i thought something of not playing both the dragon ages of not being a true rpg player,i got rightfully told off on oxm forum,it is a time thing these days,i spend a lot of time gaming and i have a lot of fun,having fun is all you need to be a true gamer,have lots of fun and play the games you love.

[Ultraplayerxp]

I could never finish a final fantasy game. When I get close to the end I suddenly get bored and lose any interest I have in finishing it. I have no idea why I do it, and I still haven't finished any ff I've started.

[T2]

Haha thats my confession too except ff7 and tactics .. ff9 I went right to the end and then just quit, weird but ive done that a few other times with other games too.. Right to the end and then just stopped caring.
I have never played sp in any shooter , ever.

[AllThingsShining]

I've been gaming since the days of the Amiga 500 and have lamentably never played through a Mario game. Until the Playstation launch I was brought up on Sega so Sonic was always deemed superior to Mario in my house.

[MWH]

Sara Sara Sara, so you have fooled us all to think you were a true blood.
we took you among us, took care of you, nourished you and defended you with our lives and what did you do? you stepped on our hearts and betrayed us.

and I was starting to fall for you after all this time, but it's my fault for trusting you and not seeing through your treacherous webs..

I'm now forced to do this: "SEIZE HER"... we will deal with you later.

;-)

anyway, you missed on a couple great games there namely FFVII and MGS. though I doubt FFVII will cut it at this age I still believe MGS can still hold itself as a metal-solid game even today, go on and play it. you won't be disappointed (at least story wise).

have a nice day.

[ybadr]

I've played 4 games out of the fifth.
Had n't played FF7! i know it's a shame for a gamer who plays since the 90's, but never had a chance to play it when it was fresh.
I know it's beyond masterpiece for the rpg kind, but whenever i try to play it in the recent years, i just can't bear the graphics.
But, my goodness when i first got in the elevator in metal gear solid 1 ! So sweet memories !!

[LoveOfTheGame]

FF7 is meh, it's really only popular because it was the first FF most people played, especially in America.

If you go through and play the FF games now you will constantly push it down the line from "beyond masterpiece".

[Tommymk2]

I still play me old ps1 games I think for many people its nostalgia , even if you've never played ff7 you should it's when final fantasy games were great

[vikingland1]

I am finally playing Demon's Souls for free with PS+ and I am really getting into it. I tried it when it first came out and didn't enjoy it in the least. My preferences change through the years. Sometimes when I give a game that I didn't like another play I end up liking them.

[StockpileTom]

I'm like that too sometimes I revisit a game and have a completely changed opinion on it.

If you were online within the first few days of PS+ release you may have seen me doing the rounds with Hyper-mode Fire Spray... Gotta punish those who waited so long to try it out!