Xenojay's Blogs

I'm not one to replay a game. 

I am a gamer, don't get me wrong, I appreciate and love everything about the medium (So much so that I was and am still a fan boy when it comes to some topics).

But to replay a game, I feel this removed me from the immersive experience the story has provided. To have the vicarious nature of the beast removed as I relive the story again instead of accepting the one choice I have chosen on that first play bore me as I repeated the very same life I had just finished.

While the games of old enforced replay with their life system, the RPG genre for me personally developed that feeling of one life lived.

And with other genre's having adapted to this style of play, with leveling and branching systems, choices to be made and endings that could be affected by these small choices being used in adventure games and platformers, the need to replay became less of a selling point for me.

And so, there have been some games that have been surprising for me as I find myself going through their lifetime once more. More surprising for me in fact, than the amount of time I invested in "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (Around 130 hours).

The "Arkham" series for Batman was always going to be a give in for replay as I am an avid fan of that character, but this isn't the game the elicited the need to write about this. No, it was the following:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

At first, I was unsure of the experience this game provided. While I enjoyed the story and the questions it raised about what it is to be human, I wasn't certain the gameplay had won me over.

And then in those final moments, it caught me. As the menu popped up upon completion of the game I found myself staring at it, not wanting the continuation of the story through DLC...but wanting to re-experience the game I had just finished.

For the first time in years since the grinding nature of your Marios, Sonics, Crash/Spyros and Goldeneyes had a game so enticed me into wanting to go through it again.

As I play through it this second time, I feel intoxicated by the knowledge learnt from my first playthrough, empowered as I enter each battle with confidence and understanding and a new love for the game I was uncertain of at first.

What game to you lately has offered great replay value? What has captivated you in such a way that you felt you could go back and dedicate more time to something you've just experienced?

(Note: The reason Batman was never visited in depth was due to bias. I could easily spend a lot of time on that game as the universe was so well realised for me as a fan and thus easily drew me in for countless replays.)