(image from vgmuseum.com, but I don't want to hotlink)

I'm terrible at finishing games. I'll get 75, 80, even 90% through the game and then I just quit. And for some sick reason, I keep buying new games! What's wrong with me?

Unfortunately, gold coins don't drip from my fingertips like they used to, but my insatiable craving for new games has stayed pretty much the same. I thought of a few different moneymaking ideas: selling art, finding a higher-paying job, prostitution, but then it dawned on me: I can just sell my old games! Genius. Thank you, used CD exchange, for preventing my doing actual work and rewarding me for pawning my garbage!

One problem: I'm a pack rat. Seriously. Any game with good multiplayer instantly is taken out of the "sell" pile. So is any classic game collection, or even just a game with good single player that I may want to try again. What does that leave? My unfinished games pile.

But I can't just sell these games. I need to see the endings! Maybe, just maybe, some people will make out at the end. So, that leaves me to actually plod through endgame dungeons I don't even remember to face unbalanced bosses with my rusty skills. Why don't I just start a new game?

Actually, this is the easiest "job" I've ever done. Being 2-3 hours away from the ending means that it doesn't get tedious. It's not like I've just played it for 15 hours over the past three days, so it's as fresh as a new game. Plus, since I'm not trying to get 100% in the games anymore, I can rush past extra crap that's too hard/boring to do.

In two afternoon I've finished Jak and Daxter and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and soon Wind Waker, Final Fantasy V & VI, and Ratchet and Clank will be skipping to the credit roll.

My point's simple: If you have a bunch of games that you've, for one reason or another, "shelved," take them out and give them another try. A couple hours isn't a big investment and it'll feel a lot fresher after being in that dusty bookcase for a while.