...I have a problem buying games...

I like games....I like them a lot...and I like games across many genres...this creates a problem...typically for my wallet....

But now that I have a job, I've discovered a whole new problem when it comes to buying and playing games.

I've only been at this full time employment thing for about two months or so (if that) and I'm finding a whole new set of challenges arise when I spend 8 hours of my day working (and probably 3 hours of my day going to and from that workplace). That is to say, I really don't have much time to play games anymore. Not that my lack of time stops me, but they're not the same long game-fests they used to be in college. There used to be a time where I would get back from class at 2, take a nap until 3 and then play games until dinner. Nowadays I typically just try and squeeze in an hour or two here and there whenever I can.

"But Eric!" I hear you yell, "That's not such a bad thing. At least you get to keep playing!"

I will give you that, but there's more to it than that...you'll see...be patient.

Another issue I'm running into when it comes to games is that...well...put it simply, I have money, so I buy games...In fact I buy too many games now...

"But Eric!" You protest again, "How is that a bad thing? That just means you have more games to play!"

Right, but do you remember problem number 1? No? Ok well go back and read it....Did you put it all together? No? Do I have to spoon feed you everything? Ok fine....

The fact of the matter is, games typically take somewhere around 8-10 hours to finish for a shooter, upwards of 60 for a long RPG (that's Role Playing Game...not that thing that terrorists shoot at hum-vees...and NO NOT THAT KIND OF ROLE PLAYING EITHER...pervs...) ANYWAYS! Bearing in mind that those totals are hours of continuous game play, a typical game can take quite a while. And given that I don't have much time to play these games, many of them fall by the wayside, like orphaned puppies they stare at me, begging to be played with. But at the rate that new games come out, some will inevitably be forgotten, laying there collecting dust, uncompleted, their destiny never realized.

A list of games I have never completed thanks to this phenomenon:

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Red Dead Redemption
Left 4 Dead 2
Borderlands
Fable 2
Dragon Age Origins
Need For Speed Most Wanted
Fable 3 (not even out of the plastic yet)
Samurai Warriors 2
GTA4 (this one was not my fault though...stupid game glitch...)
Far Cry Predator (Shitty game...not worth playing anyways...)

Games I STILL haven't devoted enough time to:

Assassins Creed 2
Starcraft 2
Team Fortress 2 (jesus that's a lot of 2's....)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (haven't really even touched zombie mode yet...)
Settlers of Catan (Not a video game but...shut up...)

So as I sit here, writing my blog post, games piling up by the side of my TV, I can't help but smile, knowing that I will be spending my long weekend overrunning puny terran forces with the might of my zerg army, stealthily assassinating Venetians in Renaissance Italy, and getting every racial epithet thrown at me across Xbox Live as I drive remote control cars piled high with plastic explosives into the kneecaps of my unsuspecting foes. This should be a good long weekend.

...And that's what I learned today.