I don't know why, but when it comes to games (especially RPGs), I've got to play them in order. Which wouldn't be a problem except I never quite feel like I'm "finished" with a game.

It's gotten to the point where I hesitate to start playing anything because I know I'll never make it through them. I'd really like to play them though. They sound like great games.

Take Dragon Age. I must've played through Origins 3-4 times now. There's just parts of it I really, really don't like (the entire Dwarven section for example). No matter how many times I play it, I'm never happy enough with my save game to play the next one. I've got to finish Origins at least one more time (since due to computer failure I've lost all my prior save games), but I just can't seem to get through it--I just get bogged down partway through.

Anyone else that way?

I kind of unintentionally do the same thing I guess. I've started some of them to test run them and see how they'll be like when I actually start playing them, but haven't dug right into any yet (except some ARPGs). The pure CRPGs that are turn based though haven't gotten my full attention yet.

For me it is because I perceive them to be the type of game that is very lengthy to complete in terms of man hours, and also the type of game generally that you dedicate all of your gaming time (or life) to until you've finished it one or perhaps even several times, so I feel I need to be in the mood to make a month or 2 long commitment to a particular title first. I will do so eventually of course, but have a bunch of other games I wish to complete and get out of the way first. :)

My hardcore RPG gaming days are coming sooner or later though. Right now I'm playing XCOM UFO Defense which is mainly Sci-Fi strategy, but has a bit of a role playing aspect to it too, and it's also a "dedicate zillions of hours to it" type game. I can really only handle one "dedicate a lot of time to it" game at a time though. :)

But, I also want to play them in chronological order within a series, and then order the series themselves chronologically from the date of the first game in the series. I think I would appreciate seeing the game to game progression of the engine, graphics and other aspects whereas playing newer games and going backwards is potentially less exciting/compelling to do.

BTW this is the biggest reason why I think the Halo Master Chief Collection is a great idea. I'm exactly the sort of person to go "Oh, new Halo. Too bad I don't have the other ones. Oh well. Next."

(Not that I play FPS games)

It sounds like an OCD thing with you. Just try to focus on one game at a time and then finish it no matter how long it takes, as long as you are having fun with it. Keep in mind that gaming is supposed to be fun - it's not homework and you are not being graded on how good you are. So try to simply have fun and move on to the next game when you have exhausted everything the game has to offer.

Eh, it's OCD, but I have the same issue. And it's why I may never get to the really good Ultima games. :P

Fortunately, I CAN curb it somewhat. At least, enough to play Saints Row III without playing the second....

Yep. Games, books, movies, comics. Even if something is "stand-alone", if there are previous things in the series, I must have them and go through them first.

And even when I have the whole series, I "have to" read up on the lore and ideas around it.

This, a thousand times this. All except your loathing of Orzammar and the Deep Roads in DA:O. Boo hiss =)
Although I do understand the tedium and the claustrophobic atmosphere but that's the point.

I've had skyrim since december and barely touched it, yet I began replaying Drakensang the other week even though I completed it over 2 years ago.I've played BG1&2, IWD 1&2, Torment, NWN+expansions and yet never started ME2, NWN2,don't own DA:2 or Awakenings, and it goes on

I've had this problem before as well. Just recently I got Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but I wanted a refresher on the Fallout universe before playing them, as it's been quite a long time since I beat both games. That said, I really didn't feel like playing through them again (as much as I love them). My solution, I tracked down a good "let's play/walkthrough" on youtube. The only challenge is finding someone who knows what they're doing and is tolerable to listen to, i.e. not obnoxious.

That has stopped me, in particular, with getting into the rest of the Dark Eye series. I really want to find English translations of the rpg sourcebooks and even the tie-in novels before I play any more of the games but that seems highly unlikely unfortunately.

I think Orzammar is a nice depiction of the dwarven culture, mostly because it's not Gimli burping non stop. People tend to hate the caverns, but it follows the same formula of the other sections of the game: grind grind grind grind flirt with that girl and then grind grind grind grind.

On the other hand, I tend to feel the same as you. Until recently I only could play Baldur's Gate 2 after importing my save from 1, but now I just start with a new character in BG2.

Gimli never burps nonstop, even at his most cartoonish:P But in general yes, Jackson, Boyens and the other writers did a disservice to Durin's Folk with the LOTR trilogy...to say nothing of the Hobbit films.

There's a scene where he burps, and it looks like Jackson wanted to portray that specific moment like it was his own little "rosebud" :P You can add that scene to Legolas' infamous skating.

And it's funny, because The Hobbit was always meant to be "childlike", or more light hearted in comparison with LotR. It was conceived as a book for kids. Still, I believe the movies' version of Thorin is quite majestic, even though half of the scenes of the last movie were filler.

Not at all, I played TW2 before TW, BG2 before BG, Skyrim before Morrowind and Oblivion, iirc, and so on and so forth. Actually, I think started playing TW before TW2, but I hated how it played, so moved on.

I've also started playing Risen 2 before Risen. There's only so much time, so no point in getting hung up on having to play the prequels.

If I like some series a lot, I will go back and play the prequels because I enjoy the experience of those games, but that depends on whether I like their gameplay videos.

there are several scenes where Gimli is seen to burp, belch, expel air whilst making a rude noise but I still facepalm every time it happens. They took the outsized caricature of DnD Dwarves and for some reason applied it to a grim, honorable, sagacious warrior-poet (remember his recitations?) and made him the comedic relief.

The Hobbit Dwarves are, except for a few cases, not too shabby. I love Dwalin and Balin,at least Gloin was the one making the fires as in the book, and I will agree that Armitage does a very commendable job portraying Thorin.

Overall though the impression given off to people who've never read the book is that they're a bunch of buffoons. I could go on but I've derailed enough:).