I wish I could say that we didn’t mention “Endless Ocean” in this week’s “What We’re NOT Playing.”

But alas, I cannot: the ocean exploration sim keeps on creeping into our conversations. Also this week, Jason Cipriano gives me his laundry list of reasons why he’s not picking up “Devil May Cry 4” right now. Here’s one of them:

JasonCipriano: I haven’t played any of the others in the series
JasonCipriano: while I know you don’t really need to in this case
JasonCipriano: I feel like I’d be missing out on a bit of the story
JasonCipriano: I call that the “Halo 3” effect

When I asked him what he meant, since he had played “Halo 3″ without playing “Halo 1″ or “2″ first, he said:

JasonCipriano: I did and I feel like I learned a bit of a lesson from “Halo” — since I had no clue what was going on, and I just wanted to finish the game to get it out of the way — no invested interest in the story.

What about you, dear readers? Do you play games without having played all the prequels, or do you prefer to wait and play everything in order? Does it depend on the franchise and the continuity (or lack thereof) in the story? Read on to see more of our discussion on this topic and why the hell we talk about “Endless Ocean”… again.

TraceyJohn: So Cip, what are you NOT playing this week? Because last week you pointed out 118 other games you’ve ignored on your massive Achievements quest…
TraceyJohn: And this week, there’s a few good releases… more games to ignore!
JasonCipriano: I’m not really sure how many “good” releases there are
JasonCipriano: but there sure are a bunch of releases
JasonCipriano: yeah … since we started the blog I’ve been a bit distracted to really be playing much else
TraceyJohn: Besides 360 games you mean?
JasonCipriano: yeah … well, I’ve been ignoring certain 360 games as well
TraceyJohn: Because of the lack of easily obtainable points?
JasonCipriano: not necessarily … I just think they might be too in-depth … if I cant really throw all my effort behind an epic game and see it through to the end, its really hard for me to start it
JasonCipriano: for example, my pick for this week …
JasonCipriano: “Devil May Cry 4”
TraceyJohn: ooo… Why?
JasonCipriano: Now, it’s not because its a bad game — everything I’ve seen has lead me to believe it’s pretty good actually
JasonCipriano: there are a couple of reasons though
JasonCipriano: 1. I haven’t played any of the others in the series
JasonCipriano: while I know you don’t really need to in this case
JasonCipriano: I feel like I’d be missing out on a bit of the story
JasonCipriano: I call that the “Halo 3” effect
JasonCipriano: 2. I have a feeling the game is pretty long
JasonCipriano: 3. I’m just not really drawn to it (possibly because of points 1 and 2) but it’s just not really calling out my name
JasonCipriano: so maybe some day down the road … but for this week, I’m passing on “DMC4″
TraceyJohn: Ok, I can see that knowing you… but can I make some counter-points to your points?
JasonCipriano: shoot
TraceyJohn: 1. You did play “Halo 3″ without playing “Halo 1″ or “2″ first. Why is “DMC 4″ any different?
TraceyJohn: 2. “Viva Pinata” is “long” if you want to finish it and you’re on that game like a mofo
TraceyJohn: 3. Despite all the hype? The new crazy weapons? I’m wanting to play it based on the new weapons alone
JasonCipriano: 1. I did and I feel like I learned a bit of a lesson from “Halo” — since I had no clue what was going on, and I just wanted to finish the game to get it out of the way — no invested interest in the story.
JasonCipriano: 2. Yeah, I’ve decided I need a break from my Pinatas, and probably won’t be coming back to that for a while — but that is a game that I can just pick up and play and not really forget where I left off — this is one of my biggest problems with the “Zelda” series and anything else that’s really long
JasonCipriano: if I get distracted during the game, and I don’t come back to it immediately, weeks later when I do get back it - it takes me a few hours to pick up where I left off just to figure it out
JasonCipriano: it’s really frustrating
TraceyJohn: I’ll agree with that
TraceyJohn: That’s why my new year’s resolution (which I mentioned last week)
TraceyJohn: is to only focus on a few games per platform at a time
JasonCipriano: which is smart — as long as you can stick to it
JasonCipriano: don’t let “Warcraft” get in the way
JasonCipriano: 3. Yes — the weapons are amazing and the characters are interesting and it looks great (especially that video we posted a few weeks back) - it’s just not calling my name…
JasonCipriano: so yeah — maybe some day … but not today
TraceyJohn: Ok, fair enough
TraceyJohn: But to clarify — you’re saying that because you felt you missed out on “Halo”’s story by only playing “3″ (and playing it first), you want to avoid doing that for sequels of any franchise you haven’t played?
JasonCipriano: not necessarily
JasonCipriano: more and more franchises dont have contiguous stories
JasonCipriano: “Zelda,” “Final Fantasy,” “Mario” games
JasonCipriano: the characters are the franchise (not in the case of “FF,” the developers are) and the stories aren’t
JasonCipriano: “GTA” is another one
TraceyJohn: Same franchise, story different. Makes sense
TraceyJohn: But still… you’ll avoid the franchises that have contiguous storylines?
JasonCipriano: I’m more inclined to
JasonCipriano: but I wouldn’t say that I would completely dismiss them
TraceyJohn: right
JasonCipriano: (I have a feeling someone in the comments is going to point this out, so I want to get it out of the way) I’m pretty sure “DMC4″ has a divergent storyline, so theoretically I could play it using my rational
JasonCipriano: but it doesn’t help
JasonCipriano: Dante’s in the game
JasonCipriano: just not the star
TraceyJohn: It all seems to go back to point #3 where you just not that interested to begin with…
TraceyJohn: Are you going to go back and play the other “DMC”s before you start “4″?
JasonCipriano: no
JasonCipriano: tha’ts just too much gaming
JasonCipriano: maybe someday
JasonCipriano: but that someday won’t be soon
JasonCipriano: anywho
JasonCipriano: moving on
JasonCipriano: what’s not getting played at your place this week?
TraceyJohn: Well I was looking at the list of releases
TraceyJohn: and trying to pick something that I’m really not looking forward to playing… but all that immediately popped into mind were easy ones like “Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore” and “My Horse and Me” (even though I clearly love horses)
JasonCipriano: Everyone loves horses
TraceyJohn: There is one game that I’m really looking forward to though
TraceyJohn: That I feel I must mention
JasonCipriano: keep in mind this is what we are not playing
TraceyJohn: yeah whatever. Totilo’s not here, I can break the rules
TraceyJohn: “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure” for the PS2
TraceyJohn: Based on our “Endless Ocean” arguments
JasonCipriano: last week’s “Endless Ocean” lovefest kinda set that standard … with Totilo here
TraceyJohn: but unlike “Endless Ocean,” which you clearly detest
TraceyJohn: this game has your much desired “conflict”
TraceyJohn: “Players will be taking the role of prehistoric sea creatures, and trying to escape the inland sea of the Late Cretaceous. Each species has a different ability… There are three things to worry about for your monster, stamina; health; and oxygen. … There are two additional threats to your monsters in the water and land.” (This is all from Wikipedia)
TraceyJohn: So there’s killing! death! shark attacks! (maybe)
JasonCipriano: ACTION!
JasonCipriano: not sight seeing
TraceyJohn: (one sec… package)
TraceyJohn: I just got “Assassin’s Creed” DS in the mail
JasonCipriano: There’s another one I don’t think I’ll be playing
TraceyJohn: I think I will actually give it a try, since I have it. I haven’t played the console version since the debug. Now I have a chance to play it in “order” because it’s a “prequel to the console version.”
TraceyJohn: Will I be stabbing people and slitting throats with my stylus? I hope so!
JasonCipriano: best of luck with that
TraceyJohn: thanks
JasonCipriano: nothing better than an M-rated DS game
TraceyJohn: It’s “T” actually so probably not as violent as I hope
JasonCipriano: aw … damn
JasonCipriano: ah well … so I think that about covers it for this week
TraceyJohn: got a meeting, later!