Borderlands and Gaming Cutbacks

On 01/17/2017 at 01:17 AM by KnightDriver

Today, a lot of the first Borderlands. I thought Mark and I might finish all the DLC and start Borderlands 2; but no. there's a lot of content in those DLC missions. Also, I'm thinking I might start cutting back on my gaming time on weekends. Further info below.

Borderlands:

Mark and I finished the main game of Borderlands 1 and then went right into the DLC, doing them in order of release. The first one was The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned. This was a great zombie shoot and it wasn't that long. Then we skipped Mad Mozzi's Underdome because it's mainly an arena battle and not so much a story mission. So we started The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and didn't finish it before the day ended. This is a very large bit of DLC featuring lots of driving missions. It's absolutely excellent.

One thing that sort of bugs me a bit is how much distance you have to run or drive in Borderlands as a whole. Often missions have you dashing from one corner of a map to another. The travel isn't that boring, there's lots along the way to explore and shoot at, but it does seem a bit like padding. After a while, I was really wishing for some kind of fast travel, but that would kind of spoil the whole open world feel of the game. I'm amazed at how much was made to fill out this game - so many locations and so much detail in every corner. Also, so much voice work. There's funny dialog scattered all over the world. It's quite an achievement.

So my plan is to finish General Knoxx and then Claptrap's New Robot Revolution to finish all the missions with significant story lines.

Then I noticed today that I still have about a dozen achievements I never got. I think the first time around I did the DLC kind of casually and behind Mark's character, which probably means I didn't complete the stories. If you jump into a person's game, and that person is ahead of you in the story, you don't get credit for any further progress even though you can play along and level up. It kind of sucks, but that's how it is. But what's great is that I'll have some further play time with the game chasing those last achievements. Looks like B2 will probably have to wait a while.

Cutbacks:

Lately I've been getting more done with my exercise and job research, and with that, I've begun thinking about how to get even more time in with those things. It's hard to do enough during the week with a full time job. Also, whole day gaming sessions, while awesome, seem a bit over indulgent on a regular basis. I think half-days are more reasonable, with the other half day devoted to other things. I'm not sure yet what exactly.

This might change how I play, or what games I choose. I may stick to a single game for a long time or choose shorter games, I'm not sure yet. I just know something has to change.

And that's a week. Keep the trottle full forward Pixlbiters.

GrayHaired

01/17/2017 at 10:58 PM

I game less than an hour during the week but on weekends I try to put in a few hours each day. It's a slow process but as I've said before I never know when my daughter and grandson stop by

KnightDriver

01/18/2017 at 02:27 AM

I get no gaming in at all during the week, but I binge like crazy on the weekend. It's like all day both days. Mark seems to be into it, so it's fun. Also, I think I may be getting a little bit bored by gaming. I'm bored by my job now too. My life is upsidedown right now.

goaztecs

01/18/2017 at 11:53 AM

I think everything in moderation is good, and spending all day playing games might be good every once in a while, it could get old. More exercise is always good, and hey if you cut back on gaming a bit, your game time might be more enjoyable.

01/19/2017 at 01:42 AM

Oh, it's not getting old. I took off from work one week and found myself playing all day, every day the entire week. I never get tired of it. I was contemplating taking the whole summer off from work. I may still do that. I think I might get tired of it after a full week, and I know I'd spend a full week playing games, oh yes I would.

But I do my exercise and career search work during the week. I don't actually need to do anything on the weekends, I just thought that maybe my social life is a bit limited and I should make myself be open to other things. Like I avoided a phone call from a friend last week because Mark and I were on the 8th hour of a Borderlands binge. Maybe I'll answer that phone this time.

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/22/2017 at 11:24 PM

I need to cut back on gaming myself.

01/23/2017 at 12:25 AM

In thinking about it this week, I think I'm at an ok amount. I'm basically taking all the time most people watch TV and using it for games. Plus it's only on the weekends, leaving my weekdays for more pressing matters. Maybe my social life could be better though.

01/23/2017 at 04:06 PM

Yeah, but ... you include streaming, people watch a LOT of TV. lol I'm sure it's fine though.

My social life is pretty limited, I just try and get out to dinner with friends once a weekend.

Ranger1

01/28/2017 at 12:26 PM

My gaming has cut back a lot. I have so many hobbies that if I concentrate on one, the others get lost. I'm also exercising more. With Beau, I have to - if he doesn't get enough exercise, he gets bored, and then I get no peace. Also, I have at least another ten pounds to go before I hit my weight loss goal. I have lost about two inches off my waist since August, which I'm pretty happy about. I have two more snowshoe races to go this winter (if we ever get enough snow), and I'm hoping to beat my times the first tme I ran them.

01/30/2017 at 12:34 AM

Good for you on weight loss. I think I've lost some, but I'm afriad to check. All I know is I've had some possitive comments and that I still need to get into the gym more often.

I'm starting to list all the things I want to do. It's making me realize the time factor. Can I do all of them? Probably not. Sacrifices might have to be made.

PixlBit