I've just got back into gaming with the purchase of an xbox and a PS3. I've played Bioshock, Half Life 2 and FEAR. I read the reviews of these games and they'll say that a game, like HL2 Ep 1 or 2, is a 4 hour gaming experience. Well, that usually means 12-16 hours for me. Why the heck does it take me so long compared to the reviews and others on this board? Is there a secret gaming karma that I haven't tapped into? Or maybe it's my reflexes now that I'm over 40 . . . Anyone else feel like chopped liver compared to how long it is supposed to take to play a game on normal difficulty?

Be glad that video games take you 12-16 hours! :) That's a good thing! I think video games are like anything you do: Practice and time make you "better". But just because you've been away from video gaming for a while, it doesn't mean you can't still have fun with them. Even if you feel like it takes you longer to get through something. Just push start and enjoy the ride!

Oh, by the way, I would say 12-16 hours for games these days is right about where the norm is. So don't sweat it.

Sadly (for them) most video game reviewer’s rush through games so fast now that they really don't even enjoy them. They just hammer through them to hurry up and get to the next one in the stack on their desk.

I would just ignore the play times from most gaming sites and instead go to forums and find out how long it took for a "normal" person to play through that actually takes the time to "enjoy" the game (if your worried about longevity and not getting your "monies worth")

I feel sad for anyone that rushed through a masterpiece like Bioshock with out taking the time to enjoy it and all the subtle touches and extras that went into it. I played it for easily 30 hours and I could go back and play it again for another 20 or so.

If you play video games for fun why does it matter how long it takes really? I say ignore the critics and take your time. If you ask me there should be no such thing as "how long a game should take to play" it takes as long as it takes! Everyone is different so enjoy yourself and don't forget why you’re playing in the first place.

Cheers
Calvin

Those aren't real times. For starters, like mentioned above, the reviewers rush through them as fast as possible. Secondly, they only mention the game play time to gloat so they can feel superior for having beat it in as little time as possible.

While I'm not quite 40, I find that I take more time to play through as well. I often stop in various places to take in the scenery, and stop to appreciate the work the developers have done.

I've put in over 700 hours with oblivion with my two characters.. i never get tired of it!:D

Heh, I put 2,300 hours into Guild Wars (finally grew tired of it :)).

Part of the problem is that when a reviewer says a game takes "4-6 hours" to beat, that refers to only the time played that didn't end with a death. Most in-game timers work this way also (as in Uncharted). They don't count the time from a play that ended in a death. For many games, play time is counted as an ideal that assumes you never died.

Games that incorporate death into the regular course of the game (like the GTA games, Bioshock, or WoW) do include those dead-end plays in their totals. It's really kind of a confusing measurement system.

What this means for a game like HL2 episode 1 is that the actual play time is actually much longer than the 4-6 hour measurement (closer to 8-10 hours of total play time). So if you're hitting 12 hours, you're not as bad as you think you are! ;)

What this means for a game like HL2 episode 1 is that the actual play time is actually much longer than the 4-6 hour measurement (closer to 8-10 hours of total play time). So if you're hitting 12 hours, you're not as bad as you think you are! ;)

The problem with trying to say this about any Steam based game is that they can provide very detailed stats (http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep1/) on it. The average completion time for HL2 episode 1 is only about 5 and a half hours, so all the reviewers that said it would take 4-6 hours turned out to be very accurate.

The problem with trying to say this about any Steam based game is that they can provide very detailed stats (http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep1/) on it. The average completion time for HL2 episode 1 is only about 5 and a half hours, so all the reviewers that said it would take 4-6 hours turned out to be very accurate.I played this on a console, so I didn't contribute to these stats myself. :)

But even those stats are unclear about what "completion time" means. My point above is that most often games (and reviewers) calculate "completion time" as distinct from "total play time" (the steam stats for "total playtime," though don't distinguish between people who finished the game and those who didn't).

"Completion time" generally doesn't count games between loads if a player dies. For example, let's say you have a save at the beginning of a difficult section. You load, play, die. You re-load, play, die. You re-load, play, succeed, save. Those prior two plays won't be added to the "completion time" since they weren't saved. But they are calculated into "total playtime."

Regardless, I'm merely pointing out that people shouldn't be discouraged by the stated "completion time" in reviews. It's a misleading statistic, and those reviewers' total playtime is usually much more than what they estimate as a game's time to completion.

It took 12-16 hours for you to beat just one episode? Wow, I dunno man even counting the times I died I think I was done with Episode 1 in 6 hours or so, bout the same for Episode 2. How often do you die?

I've just got back into gaming with the purchase of an xbox and a PS3. I've played Bioshock, Half Life 2 and FEAR. I read the reviews of these games and they'll say that a game, like HL2 Ep 1 or 2, is a 4 hour gaming experience. Well, that usually means 12-16 hours for me. Why the heck does it take me so long compared to the reviews and others on this board? Is there a secret gaming karma that I haven't tapped into? Or maybe it's my reflexes now that I'm over 40 . . . Anyone else feel like chopped liver compared to how long it is supposed to take to play a game on normal difficulty?


That's a good thing. Too many people rush through games just to complete it and miss out on all the beautiful graphics and scenery and the details in the textures. I for one like to make a game as long as possible and just stop and smell the roses.

Bioshock took me more than 40 hours to do, how could you not stop and be in awe of the beautiful city they created. However, some games are too short, COD4 took me 6 hours, and I was on hard and trying to prolong the game as much as possible! 6 hour campaigns are inexcusable.

I used to do the "prolong the game" thing. After a certain point I just got bored and didn't bother finishing it. Rare is the game that is even good for the entire duration (which is why I say any game I beat I really enjoyed), even rarer is a game that is good for an entire heavily padded duration.

Episode 1 in 12 hours, though, that is crazy slow.

That's a good thing. Too many people rush through games just to complete it and miss out on all the beautiful graphics and scenery and the details in the textures. I for one like to make a game as long as possible and just stop and smell the roses.

Bioshock took me more than 40 hours to do, how could you not stop and be in awe of the beautiful city they created. However, some games are too short, COD4 took me 6 hours, and I was on hard and trying to prolong the game as much as possible! 6 hour campaigns are inexcusable.

6 hour campaigns are excusable when you lose your life to the games multiplayer for an untold number of hours.

It took 12-16 hours for you to beat just one episode? Wow, I dunno man even counting the times I died I think I was done with Episode 1 in 6 hours or so, bout the same for Episode 2. How often do you die?

Yes, I die a lot :)

However, some games are too short, COD4 took me 6 hours, and I was on hard and trying to prolong the game as much as possible! 6 hour campaigns are inexcusable.

Six hours? Bah. I just finished GRAW2. It took me 5 days to beat (two of those days I only played an hour) and I thought that was way way too short. Especially compared to the previous game I played (folklore). But COD4 sounds like its even shorter. I really don't like short games. I tend to take my time in games as well and prefer games to have at least 20 hours of play time. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for either COD4 or GRAW2.

Anyone else feel like chopped liver compared to how long it is supposed to take to play a game on normal difficulty?

No. It usually takes me longer but I like to take my time and enjoy the game. Its like reading a good book. Sure I can speed read and finish a book in two days but that won't really be enjoying it. A game is the same. And I tend to like to get most hidden/optional items in games too which all end up adding to the total time.