Making the Hole Deeper

I can't help it... I'm a sucker for cheap prices. I've purchased games for what seemed like a steal, and over a year later I still haven't played them (Deadliest Catch, Incredible Hulk). I picked up Last Remnant and some Need for Speed new for $20 each. Both are still sealed.

Now, I picked up Cameron's Avatar for $18.99, and Divinity II: Ego Draconis for $29.99. Both are now on my tag with achievements attached, so there's no looking back.

So, there's now Blacksite to grind out, Bioshock 2 to finish, Avatar, Divinity II, and FFXIII to work on. Don't forget Borderlands, Turning Point, Fracture, Metro 2033, Mass Effect 2, and several other recent games that have fallen on the backburner. Then of course there's my massive back catalogue of partially completed games (not only in terms of gamerscore, but games I couldn't complete 1 full playthrough of).

I'm not setting myself up for a good May. Record of Agarest War comes out near the end of April, and I'll be all over that uber-niche bit of SRPG goodness. Then in May, there is Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, and Lost Planet 2 all tugging at my wallet. I need to go into a gaming overdrive to finish a few things if I want to keep the back cat. from growing. Oh, and let's not forget the inevitable HOTBA new game every month (May is SOF Payback).

At times like this I know the agony of the hardcore gamer. There are so, so many games I want to play, and not just for the points. Between a job and doing other things with my life, there isn't nearly enough time to play them all. Hell, even if I could afford to do nothing but play video games 24/7/365, I STILL would not be able to play every game I want to and get through my back catalogue.

I need to start learning to be more selective, buying fewer games at full retail and instead waiting for price cuts.

So, here's how I'll play it, when I'm not socializing with friends (or partaking in my other hobbies, like golf, biking, reading, and writing):

Day off #1: FFXIII marathon.
Day off #2: Avatar marathon
Day off #3: Divinity II marathon
Monday and Thursday nights: Blacksite boosting
All other nights: Bioshock 2 multiplayer.

I'm going to challenge myself to a 90-day NO GAME BUYING stint for June, July, and August. If I need to review something, I'll rent where needed. I shouldn't have trouble snagging a game for review if necessary, but I'm hoping this will do two things for me:

1. Give me time to nibble away a small portion of my back catalogue before the fall rush completely erases my progress.
2. Give me time to decide more which games I really need to put down $59.99 for and which ones I don't.