Play dumbboy, play!

For a movie with a title "Run Fatboy, Run," I wasn't expecting much when I watched it yesterday...even if it did star Simon Pegg. But the movie delivered, and I enjoyed it. (If you're a Simon Pegg fan, I definitely recommend this movie.) One of the things mentioned in the movie, though, was the fact that all runners, at one point or another, may "hit the wall," where their body shuts down and forces them to not run anymore. And I can't help but think that I ran into that same "wall" when I was trying to play some Disgaea over the weekend.

This has been an on-going battle that I've been doing for a while now, and I've successfully made it to the point at which I "hit the wall" in my last attempt (my third attempt) on the PS2 version. So, with my rag-doll team of built-up characters, I went headstrong into battle...only to get my ass handed back to me on a silver platter.

I ran into the wall again.

It's all happened to us gamers at one point or another - you face a seemingly unbeatable boss, you backtracked a map for the nth time, you collected 200 of the 250 collectible items...and you had enough. It's funny that what QA people deem just another day at work can be assumed to be common fare with the typical gamer. The key difference is, we buy games because we want to play, not because we have to play. And we won't get fired for not finishing the game.

For me, I just put the game aside, wait a while, and then go back into it, hopefully less frustrated and bothered. Most of the time, it's made the difference between a game being left to collect dust and a game that will be completed. And, with my 4th attempt, I'm hoping to do this with Disgaea.

Have you guys ever had games where you've "hit the wall"?