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In case you haven’t read my post from a few weeks back, I have declared to attack my somewhat massive video games backlog by selecting one game to finish within a month. It’s possible I may take more than a month to finish the game of my choice, depending on a number of factors, like lacking time on the weekends, being stuck on a boss fight, etc. The challenge is made with the best intentions and one I plan on sticking with for the whole year.

After playing around with some games and on a few different devices, I have chosen to play the Xbox 360 with my game of choice being Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for the entire month of February. The best way to start off this challenge is to take stock of the half started games I have in my possession and go from there.

Getting back into Amalur felt pretty easy to do. Considering the last time I really touched the game was before I went away to Europe around September, I wisely made sure I finished the last mission I was on. Starting from where I left off didn’t make it too confusing to figure out what I had to do next. I had the missions log to refer to and a map to tell me where my character currently is in the game. It took a bit of time to get a handle on the controls for the game, especially trying to figure out how to use magic, but those are minor hiccups I was able to get over really quickly.

So far, I think finishing Amalur may be a piece of cake. I have about five of the main story missions to finish. The only way to really “finish” this game is by focusing on the main story and leaving out the side missions. The issue with Amalur is it’s a lengthy game. There’s so much of the world to explore and too many minor characters who want you to do tasks for them. In the beginning, when I first got this game, I was excited to get a full experience. I love RPGs and I tackled everything from the main story missions to the side missions. Eventually, I realized I spent more time on the side missions than on the actual main story.

By doing this video game challenge I can at least finish the main story. I typically prefer to finish the main story if doing all the side missions become too overwhelming. I find finishing the side missions in Amalur more difficult to tackle than the ones in Mass Effect or Dragon Age. At least those side missions tend to be a little more interesting than a lot of the ones I’ve played in Amalur.

Look out for a post later in the month to see if I succeed in my first game challenge. Until next time, dear readers!