I once put over a dozen hours into Assassin's Creed II. I loved what I played, dug the missions especially and even enjoyed completing all of the side nonsense. I don't remember how far into the game I got, but a message popped up on my TV screen as the game autosaved. Something about corrupt data. I thought nothing of it because I figured there would be other autosaves. None of them took, though.

When I booted up the game later on, it didn't load my data. In fact, all of my data was gone. All of those hours were gone. Everything I worked for was gone.

I haven't restarted AC2 since that incident, and I probably never will.

This occurred to me on a number of occasions. Either something happens to my computer or one of my consoles that prevents me from finishing a title, and I end up abandoning it. Sometimes my save file goes corrupt and I have to take everything from the top. When I'm able to jump back into the fray, I find myself dragging my feet. However, lately I've starting dragging myself kicking and screaming so I can scrub more games off my backlog. It's either that or stare at their names in my spreadsheet file for several more years.

I recently got halfway through Sly 3 before my save file went corrupt. I about set my PS2 on fire over that one, and nearly gave up on getting through the Sly series altogether. I persevered, though. I restarted Sly 3, marathoned the first few chapters and eventually finished the whole campaign. Although it's a good platformer, I took no joy in starting over and forcing myself through content I'd already experienced.

I picked up a used copy of Breath of Fire 2 about 1997, around the time I got my first job. It was the only the second thing I'd ordered off Amazon (the first being a VHS copy of the horror flick Rawhead Rex, which is pictured in my blog's banner above). I didn't even have a credit card at the time because I was only sixteen and didn't even entertain the idea of having a checking account. I had to talk my dad into letting me use his card while I compensated him with cash. He wasn't happy about it, and said it would be the last time.

I played most of the way through the game, blindly. I only had dial up at the time and hadn't discovered GameFAQs yet, so I had no idea what I was doing. The adventure got pretty hard because I was still somewhat green at RPGs, as it took me way too long to realize that fighting most of your battles was wiser than running all of the time. I lost interest fighting one of the final bosses, an old man surrounded by demonic eyes. Not long after giving up, I brought a PlayStation, and Beyond the Beyond soaked up my free time.

I tried once again to get through BOF2 when I bought a digital copy of it on Wii Virtual Console. I didn't get much farther than the giant roach boss before I lost interest again and started playing other stuff.

Over the years, I grew reluctant to give the game one last whirl. Recently, I mustered the courage and bought the Wii U edition and forced myself through it. In the twenty years since I first bought it, BOF2 aged somewhat poorly, but still held up enough that I could get through it. I finished it a couple of days ago.

I blasted my way through Avencast: Rise of the Mage a few months ago. I eventually neared the end of the campaign, where all I had to do was get through the final dungeon and defeat the antagonist. As I voyaged through one chamber, my computer crashed. I restarted the system and pushed through the same chamber. Crash again. Third verse, same as the first. Crash. File corrupt. Fifteen hours of gameplay down the toilet. Bear in mind that this was my second attempt to get through the game, as I was distracted by numerous other titles during my first playthrough.

My computer was pretty much done for. After six years of service, it was time to retire the venerable creature that a friend and I built one Saturday afternoon (using parts obtained from New Egg at a discount). My current computer runs Avencast without a hitch, so it's time for me to resume my quest.

Avencast is a decent RPG, but not a great one. The thought of having to redo those fifteen hours doesn't sit well with me. As I sat down tonight to get back into the game, I felt a blood curdling scream issue from the depths of my psyche. Deep down I don't want to force myself through this piece, but at the same time I don't like leaving business unfinished. As of now, I've gotten through all of the early campaign side quests, and I'm about to advance the story. Let's hope some unexpected catastrophe doesn't prevent me from finishing this time.