It’s been a little over a month since I’ve touched on my Gamer To-Do List. In all honesty, this column along with my State of the Game column are fairly interchangeable, but where this post is more goal oriented, the other is more progress oriented. Either way, I decided to roll with an update to my to-do list rather than do a SotG this week.

My list has changed to the point where it’s basically time to start a new one. When I look at my last update, I see a clear pattern: I’m not really playing any of the games on that list. I also found the “free agents” and “on hold” sections redundant, as I don’t really need to update what isn’t being actively played (or at least actively thought about). As such, I feel it necessary to deliberate on what happened with what was on that list, so for the sake of continuity here’s an update on that old list:

1. ESO – I like the game, I really do. I just got sucked back into playing EQ2 for a time and it’s hard to concentrate on more that one MMO with any seriousness. The same can be said of GW2, Rift, and even SWTOR, all three are MMOs that I’ve played a bit and would like to hit level cap in at least, but I just don’t see it happening til I’ve done that with EQ2 first.
2. LoL – Despite being a game I will always come back to, I haven’t been playing much aside from an ARAM here or there. The new champ got delayed and there are other champs I’d like to buy so I try to earn at least a little IP when I have a little time. I’m basically waiting for the next season to start before bothering with ranked again. So basically I have no immediate goals.
3. EQ2 – more on this later
4. Borderlands TPS – I enjoy the game, but like MMOs, this is one of those games that requires a concentrated effort. It’s not happening right now. Still on the eventual to-do list though.
5. Valkyria Chronicles – Same as above.
6. Diablo III – I ended up dying when I was nearing the cap on my first (or second) season 4 character. I have a couple of sub 20’s right now but haven’t played in a couple of weeks. Will be back.
7. The Forest – I haven’t played it. Despite reported improvements I just haven’t been in the mood for this type of game in a while. This is why ARK and H1Z1 are also collecting dust. Plus they aren’t done, so I don’t really worry too much about it. Heavier play once these are nearer or at full release.
8. Nuclear Throne – I haven’t played for a week or so. I still love this one and it’s coming out of early access soon (finally). I’m re-evaluating what I’m doing with my YouTube channel and/or Streaming activities. I have a feeling it will stay in the rotation, but there is no goal attached to this.

Again, I’m dropping the last two segments of the list there altogether, so there isn’t much to say about those games, save for I’m not playing them. I can also notate that I’ve added some games to the list that I didn’t own prior to my last update, along with some that I actually would have put on the list but have already completed (Original Shining Force for one).  With that said, here’s my current list:

• EQ2 – Finish Tears of Veeshan expansion. I finished the Chains of Eternity expansion and have just entered into ToV. 
• Wildstar – Test the game further and play with my guild Obsidian. Wildstar went F2P and I haven’t touched it since writing it off in beta. Still doesn’t seem worth a sub, but a bit of fun and feels better now than when I originally played it. My guild is also getting together for PvP action, so I wanted in on that.
• Final Fantasy Tactics – Next retro play through. I was on a retro gaming kick for a large part of September. I beat Shining Force (again) during that time, and recently purchased the PSOne Classic FFT. I intend to play through this soon.
• Humble Bundle 15* – Play these games more. Picked this up recently, and haven’t put enough time into the titles. I’ve enjoyed them all a fair bit to this point.
• Warhammer End Times: Vermintide – Play the shit out of this. This is a little ways off  as I pre-ordered and release is late this month. I’m supposed to get Beta access prior to release and plan to stream it. 

That’s really all there is to it this time. It’s a shorter and more concise list, which will keep me more focused. There are still a number of games on my to-do list, though many of them require time management that is better than mine when it comes to gaming. I love the hobby, but it’s hard to keep up on everything I want to do in any given amount of free time. That’s where the free agents come into play though, and although I’m not listing them here, rest assured I have a nice, big backlog that I constantly struggle with trying to empty, particularly when I don’t stop buying new titles. What can I say, it’s the collector in me. It has been becoming easier to write games off that I’m not currently enjoying though, and in some cases the game feels better than the first time I tried it (like Wildstar). More in-depth posts on these titles will be coming along shortly.

*This includes: Sir, You are Being Hunted – Goodbye Deponia – Skullgirls – Planetary Annihilation – Xenonauts – and more coming Tuesday.