Well, it was actually over the last few weeks, but whatever.  
 
Yes, over the last few weeks I have been "playing" through the entirity of the canon Metal Gear games, all the way from Metal Gear 1 to Portable Ops, which I am on now.  The caveat is, I'm not actually playing them.  I've watched Let's Plays for the console games and am watching a Longplay of POps.  I realized that frankly, I dislike stealth gameplay.  I always get caught and I'm not used to being patient in video games.  The reason I like Let's Plays is that during the boring stealth parts there will always be some sort of hilarious commentary, but during the many cutscenes, they go quiet.  This way I can easily absorb the story, which I love for all its craziness.  I'm doing this so I can play MGS4 which came with my PS3 but which I never played.  However, I might forgo that idea and just watch a Let's Play of it.  There is one going, but, not being patient, I don't want to have to wait for updates.  I'll probably watch when it's finished, though I'll certainly give MGS4 a try.  I played a little bit of POps myself, but it was mostly the controls that turned me off.
 
Also, I'll eventually write a big blog about a certain big video-game related thing that happened to me, when I stop being lazy. 

I almost feel like this "Getting Into" stuff is going to become a recurring thing.  I've been gaming all my life but my interests have been relatively shallow.  I'm looking to expand them.  On that note, I desperately want to be an RPG gamer.  Whenever someone talks about an RPG with fondness I wish I could participate in the discussion.  I love sci-fi and fantasy novels.  I love deep stories.  I should love RPGs.  I buy them compulsively telling myself, "This time, you WILL finish this game."  But there are problems. 
 Firstly, in games like Dragon Age, Fallout 3, or Mass Effect, where skill points are assigned, I'm always worried I will mess up my character irreparably.  To calm myself I spend hours upon hours of time on the Internet researching character builds, usually while I sit at the main screen of the game the day I got it (as I am doing now with Mass Effect).  I am unable to make my own character decisions to suit my playstyle.  I research which characters to take along, what weapons to use, and about the long-term affects of dialouge choices.  Inevitably, I will stumble upon a spoiler for the game.  This ruins my experience, so why don't I just stop?  Well, I'm more afraid that the fun will be destroyed with a bad character than that it will be destroyed by a spoiler.
I've tried to play many Final Fantasies (I, III, IV, VI, VII, XII) but I end up quitting, probably from fatigue.  I like what I'm playing but 1) I die a lot, and 2) my  "OCD" kicks in.  I have literally restarted a Final Fantasy a good 10 hours in because I missed one sort-of-important-yet-optional item.  I look in every single corner for items and go through every dialouge sequence.  I know this is what a lot of people like about RPGs but to me it seems like a waste of my time.  The thought of putting 100 hours of my life into a game is a daunting thought.  Many a time I will restart an RPG because I feel like I'm "going too slowly".  When I go back to an RPG I haven't played for a while, I almost always restart again.  Stupid, I know.  All of my feelings are irrational, but I can't get over them.   I feel like this attitude could change but I need to be introduced to the experience gradually. 
The "RPGs" I have played through are every Pokemon game besides D/Pe/Pl, Mario and Luigi's Superstar Saga, and Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door.  I watched the whole Endurance Run of Persona 4.  I think that's it but there are probably a few more.  I've had Chrono Trigger DS since release day and stopped at the place with the jungle-people-things.  I think I have almost beaten Crisis Core.  I'm loving my playthrough of Borderlands but fatigue's set in at about level 30.  I'm hoping to pick up Bowser's Inside Story soon and I am willing myself to finish Mass Effect and Fallout 3 this year (though I'm worried that when I start Fallout 3 I'll feel the need to restart, and my character's pretty built up).  My question is, good people of GiantBomb: 

What RPGs would you recommend for someone with my relationship with RPGs?  I'm looking for something not too intimidating, with a good story and characters, maybe a classic.  A game that lends itself to being the first (or next) step in becoming an RPG gamer.  Really, anything you loved yourself.  Also, some advice on how to handle my irrational antics would be nice.  Thanks!
 
Hopefully the rare person with the same dilemma as me can get something out of this discussion as well.

My 360 has been on the verge of death lately.  Its sounds like a washing machine and recently one of the USB ports decided to stop working.  Finally, naught but a few minutes ago, it decided to never turn on again.  It's totally not under warranty so maybe I can get the hot MW2 360 for Christmas.  That'll also upgrade my 20G hard drive significantly.  But not all is lost, because I can finally spend some much needed time with my PS3, and maybe I'll pick up Uncharted!

  I've been trying to get into the "older" games that I've missed over the years due to being too young, not having the system, etc.  I haven't been having much luck with this as I'm super busy, but for a long time I've wanted to get into the MGS games, and the Peacewalker QL spurred m interest again.  I have a PS3 and PSP,  and I was wondering a few things.  Firstly, should I start with Metal Gear Solid (which I got off the PSP store because I'll play it eventually), and go in game order, or get MGS3 and play chronologically?  Alternatively, I could look up the plot on Wikipedia or something (because I know its ridiculous), and play whatever game is best to get into first.  My worry with that method is spoilers though.
 
Thanks for being such a helpful community, GiantBomb!

I just wanted to put this up, I don't know why...  But for the past, I don't know, 50 episodes as the ER neared its finale, I held on to a little hope in my heart that Vinny or Jeff would end it all by saying, "So thanks for watching this Quick Look of Persona 4, look for a full review up on the site next week."  It would have been the best thing ever.

Knowing my luck this same info will be up on the site in some form within a minute of this blog.  In a possible explanation of Jeff's "cold", Kotaku reports that PAX was home to a confirmed case of H1N1.  I myself have it without even going to PAX.  Okay then.

  I preface this post by saying that my promised first achievement update probably won't happen today, because I have the flu and don't feel up to spending all that time and effort recording those achievements (and I got more than expected).  What GB needs is a way to save blog posts as drafts.
   Anyway, I thought I'd put out this much shorter post.  If you look around the interwebs many people complain about achievements because of their point imbalance.  For example, if you survive 50 waves of Horde mode in Gears 2, you only get thirty points.  To that I say that it's not really the points that matter, its the fact that you did manage to do it and the achievement proves it.
  My problem is a personal one, and some may not agree.  I am lying around sick without anything to do.  I could play any of my many game systems, from the 360 to PS3 to Wii to handhelds.  I have been having a hankering to play LittleBigPlanet for a while now, which I got when it came out but barely have played.  The reason for that is that there are no achievement points in it.  There are trophies, yes, but most of my friends play 360 anyway and trophies are much less substantial, not showing the total GamerPoints you have to the world as obviously.  And with handhelds (and the Wii), there are no achievements whatsoever.
  My friend got a new 360 after his old one broke and due to some sort of complication had to get a new Gamertag.  He climbed to 15,000 before I even reached 8,000.  Obviously I raced to catch up to him and eventually got to 10,000, but I still feel the pangs of envy when I look at his or other crazy gamer's score (some above 100,000).  I know this is all my fault, but I feel like I'm playing for achievements rather than for fun.  I even rented that Avatar game to help me get a quick boost.  I did a lot of boring things to get achievements that were not fun.  And of course he chides me about my score all the time.
  I even feel annoyed when in games like Burnout Paradise Bikes, you get challenges that are like achievements but don't add to your GamerScore.  The same feeling gets me when I play Call of Duty 4 multiplayer.  I feel like I'm wasting my time not earning achievements.
  It's true that I'd probably have more fun playing LBP, and I probably will play it after finishing this post.  But I can't help but succumb to this deep-seated desire to be getting achievement points, even if it's not really fun.  And yes, I admit, the feeling is all my fault.
  Note: I guess one way to solve this selfish problem would be to award achievements for accomplishing difficult taks, but not assigning points to them.  This would also stop people from playing games like Avatar just for achievements.  Also, the achievements would have to increase in challenge instead of "Completed the Tutorial".

 Not exactly a Part 2, but here are some additional notes:

1. To justify the gaming failures of my poor, self-esteem-less self, I must say that part of the reason I fail to complete games is that I do things all the time.  From trips with my family to school to sports to other summer activities, I don't have time to be constantly playing games.  I know nobody does, and I'm sure some people wish they had the time to play games even as much as I do, but I'm talking personally.
2. I also play WoW.  I'm trying to quit and I hope this will help me.  'Nuff said.
3. I buy games like Mega Man 9 and Ikaruga because of reviews or having missed out on previous games in the series.  I have a good amount of impossible (or so it seems) games, so I guess I don't understand enough what I deem as "fun".  Because dying a lot is not fun, but I still get the games.
4. I'm just bad at games.  Never been good at them.  I still love 'em.

1. I have decided to change my goal of 100G a week to 200G, thus letting me reach 20,000 in approximately 50 weeks, or about 350 days.  So under a year.
2. If I do manage the momentous feat of beating a game, I will try and review it.  I have beaten Call of Duty 4, and a few other games, though not gotten 1000G i them.  But if I can force my feeble mind into completing reviews, I will do it.  I wish that I could be a video game journalist when I grow up, as it combines writing a video games, two things I love.  So I'll need practice.

 Hello there.  My name is Sniipe.  You probably don't know who I am.  I am here to solve a problem after a realization that occurred after the obtaining of my 10,000 gamerpoint yesterday.  If you look at my  achievement page, you will clearly see that I have a lot of games, but very few achievements to each game.  I believe this is because I have a ridiculously short attention span.  I wouldn't be surprised if I had ADD.  Even this blog post is a massive undertaking I will struggle to complete.  What happens is I get a game, be it because of reviews or hype, and I play it for a bit.  I end up getting the easy, beginning achievements and then buy another game, where the process repeats.  This viscous cycle is similar to my writing process.  After I bought Shadow Complex yesterday I told myself, "Carlos (my name), you must not buy any more games until you complete some of the ones you already own."  Granted, a lot of the ones I have a SUPER lack of achievements in were rented, and I have GameFly, so that adds to the problem: Rent games for a week, send 'em back when I'm bored, end up with 50g.   

  I'm so enamored with the Endurance Run that I just have to get myself a copy of Persona 3.  I'd been obsessively checking Amazon wanting to get the game but not wanting to waste $30 on a third party seller (the cheapest).  Apparently while I was sleeping Amazon got it new at $20.  So I want to buy it, and I'm so impatient I'll get One-Day Shipping for only 5 extra dollars, bringing it to $29.97 with tax and shipping.  Possibly because...
  I have a question.  I'd played a few hours of P3Fes when I got it from GameFly, but on many loading screens the game would freeze for up to an hour on my backwards compatible 80g PS3.  I wasn't sure if this was a bad copy from GameFly or my PS3, as only about 2 people seemed to be having this problem online.  I still bet it was my system and I hear that normal ol' P3 might work better.  Are the upgrades FES made enough to make me risk buying a dud?  NOTE: Neither game is supposed to have issues on the compatability list.