# Games you finished and played again **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 14, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091 "2010-04-14T18:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/1 "2010-04-14T18:04:41Z")
I’ve been an avid gamer since 1980 or so, but I seem to be more of a sampler than a finisher. Of course many games like Pac Man or Civilization you don’t really “beat.” Here are some games with a distinct journey and ending that I remember finishing: Wolf3D Doom/Doom2 Duke Nukem 3D Quake 2 (seem to remember getting totally stuck and cheating a little on reaching some doors towards the end) Half-Life (with a little cheating on the Xen jumping puzzles) Fallout 3 (end came sooner than I’d hoped) GTA 3 (loved it, played it again) Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (can’t remember the ending but pretty sure I finished it) GTA IV (loved it, in the middle of second playthrough) How about you guys? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/2 "2010-04-14T18:59:09Z")
Not really much of a gamer but I’ve been through\* Halo: Combat Evolved\* a few times. I’ve also completed the entire Doom series at least twice. Like you said, some can’t really be beaten but I’ve played several dozen rounds of Civilization II and I still enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/3 "2010-04-14T19:20:18Z")
Final Fantasy 7 is the big one for me, I played it once without help and a second time to complete everything. I stopped playing FF 8 around the end of disc 1 and never looked back. I loved Spoony’s 11 part review/rant on why FF 8 [sucks](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/spoonyone/final-fantasy-viii). FF 7 stands out because it took up so much time and I played it on the original console. It wasn’t the game I spent the most time playing (probably Street Fighter 2), but it was one of those rare things that after I complete them I start right over again (the book Catch 22 is another good example). Over the last 10+ years I’ve played (and beaten) just about every non-RPG console video game I ever enjoyed. Save states and fast forward make it so much more enjoyable that playing without them often isn’t as fun. I have an hour long commute on a train every day, so my [GP2X](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GP2X) is one of my most precious toys. ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/4 "2010-04-14T19:21:28Z")
I played through Mass Effect, then the second one, then turned around and immediately started playing the first again with a new (more Renegade-y) character. Just about to the end of the first game. It doesn’t feel like I was just playing through the same stuff a couple weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/5 "2010-04-14T20:17:15Z")
Wasteland, Bioshock, Half Life, Half Life 2, Fallout, Fallout 2, Starcraft and Brood War campaigns, Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid 2, proabably a few others I’m not thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/6 "2010-04-14T20:18:06Z")
Baldur’s Gate 2 SoA/ToB - frequently Icewind Dale Daggerfall (which I still prefer over Morrowind and Oblivion - when I can get it to run!) Sid Meier’s Pirates - original and remake Far Cry Half Life Half Life2 Deus Ex Neverwinter Nights Hordes of the Underdark ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/7 "2010-04-14T20:20:25Z")
Mass Effect reminds me, I finished Knights of the Old Republic too. And Deus Ex, and the new Sid Meier’s Pirates. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/8 "2010-04-14T20:38:09Z")
Might & Magic VI and VII, many times, and even the ridiculously buggy M&M IX. It’s just so much fun trying out different party combinations, different stratagems, seeing how low a level you can be and still win (I know they’re doable at level 1 if you don’t mind an awful lot of save/restore…), thinking up silly themes for parties, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/9 "2010-04-14T21:20:23Z")
Tales of the Abyss Hero’s Quest/Quest for Glory 1,2 and 4 (3 didn’t seem worth it.) Wasteland (Thanks for the reminder. Would never have remembered this one otherwise) All 3 (6 if you count the three episodes of 3 seperately) Shining Force games Dragon Force (Sega Saturn) Okami Sacrifice I don’t really think Sid Meier’s Pirates counts - I’d put that one in the same category as Civ, or Sword of the Stars, or, come to that, Street Fighter or StarCraft - it’s not a game that you’re supposed to put down after one playthrough. Heck, you know, when you get right down to it, I’d say there are more games that fall into the “Supposed to play repeatedly” category than otherwise. The only games I can see that you’re NOT _necessarily_ “supposed” to play repeatedly are the long time comittment story-driven ones. RPGs, Linear FPS/3PS games and ‘campaign strategy’ games… and uh… that’s about it. The more I look at my game collection, the more I realize that most of it is games that don’t really count here. I played the heck out of Crazy Taxi, and Castle Crashers, Radiant Silvergun, Guardian Heroes, Chu Chu Rocket, Sword of the Stars, Kohan: Ahriman’s Gift, Pirates!, and so on and so forth, but none of them really seem appropriate here. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/10 "2010-04-15T01:47:22Z")
I play XCOM every so often, I’m on my 3rd attempt to beat it fully. Toe Jam and Earl I play 10-20x over and over on random mode with my friends. I’ve also played through Final Fantasy Tactics, as I loved that game. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/11 "2010-04-15T02:09:03Z")
I’ve played Final Fantasy VI twice, as well as Final Fantasy IX. I play Okami through about once every year. It’s one of the best games ever. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/12 "2010-04-15T02:17:28Z")
**Exodus: Ultima III** First played through it on my Atari 800, probably went through it twice. In college, it was released for the SNES. I played it with a friend of mine, again twice. The first time, he rented it on his own and I found him playing when he just started - we took about a week to wind our way through it, playing a few hours each night. A couple of years later, we rented it again, bought some killer weed and a fair amount of beer, and had a gaming marathon - we weren’t going to sleep until we inserted the four cards in the goddamned computer! We actually made it through the entire game in about 8-12 hours or so. There’s an exploit you can use once you have a boat and the “Rot” spell that generates a lot of money and kick-ass items - you steal shit from the merchants, kill the guards, and sell the merchandise back to the merchants whom you just stole it from. The “Rot” spell was necessary as it reduced the 9 guards HP to 1, from 255. Good times. I wouldn’t mind taking another crack at it. Couldn’t stand the later Ultimas - the moral compass thing was boring, imho. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/13 "2010-04-15T02:40:37Z")
I’ve played through a bunch of games more than once. The ones that hop to mind immediately are Final Fantasy IX (bestest game evar), Knights of the Old Republic II (also the bestest game evar), Mass Effect (also the bestest game evar) and most of the Splinter Cell games (they are all also the bestest games evar). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/14 "2010-04-15T02:46:10Z")
The ones I replayed many times that I remember fondest are _Wasteland_(a favorite of many I see), _The Bard’s Tale_, \*GTA \*3, _Tenchu_, _Devil May Cry_, _Hitman: Silent Assassins_, and am currently replaying _World of Goo_(never gets old). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/15 "2010-04-15T02:55:51Z")
Thanks, **DCnDC**. Forgot Hitman. It is also the bestest game evar. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/16 "2010-04-15T06:03:09Z")
Mass Effect 2 - just done my third playthrough. I had tried the Vanguard, Soldier and Infiltrator, and will be trying the Adept next. Chrono Trigger - numerous times, I have already forgotten. Quest for Glory I, III, IV and V, as thief, fighter, mage, fighter/mage, thief/mage, paladin (for III, IV and V). Diablo II (does this counts?) Chrono Cross - at least once with Kid in party ASAP, and another one with Glenn in party first. Ace Combat 6 - At least all the difficulty levels once to unlock the Cheating Plane ™, with the exception of Ace of Aces. Played again once on normal using less fantastic planes instead of the Raptor all the time. Demonstone - at least three times. I was hooked on the game for a while Omnishua 3 - Once in normal, another time in super cheating mode (unlocked by the Shooting Gallery, one of the evilest mini game evar) ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/17 "2010-04-15T06:09:04Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Baldur’s Gate 2 SoA/ToB - frequently Couldn’t agree more. And then there was replaying it as a baddie, then with Tactics installed, then all of the mods from the Gibberlings Three, then trying to do a no-reloads run. I’m trying to beat it with Ascension now. Ridiculous how much time I’ve plowed into that game. Played **Half-Life** over and over too. When we visited the Los Alamos, NM area, my girlfriend couldn’t figure out why I was laughing myself silly when I learned we were driving by Black Mesa. Really pretty part of the country. (Oh, and Xen doesn’t exist for me: Gordon Freeman disappeared when he went through the gate and nobody ever heard of him again…) Other games not yet mentioned: **Operation Flashpoint** and its two expansions. I’d fly around Kolgujev just because it was so pretty. Makes me want to go vacationing on Tenerife someday. The second **Hidden and Dangerous** shooter was a lot of fun to replay too, if not quite as head-smackingly hard as Flashpoint. I think that **Harpoon** should be placed in the same category as Civ, but its campaigns were another timesink for me growing up ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/18 "2010-04-15T12:03:46Z")
Res Evil 1-4 Parasite Eve2 Tomb Raider 1-4 Tenchu Driver Onimusha2 Syphon Flter 1,2 That’s right, I’ve not done much recent gaming. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/19 "2010-04-15T12:37:00Z")
Currently replaying **Oblivion**. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091/20 "2010-04-15T14:19:14Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Other games not yet mentioned: **Operation Flashpoint** and its two expansions. I’d fly around Kolgujev just because it was so pretty. Makes me want to go vacationing on Tenerife someday. Thanks for reminding me, I finished Operation Flashpoint too and replayed it a lot. What do you think of OFP Dragon Rising? I think it has a great outdoor engine but some major issues with the game unfortunately. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-you-finished-and-played-again/536091.md?page=2)