Getting The Most Mileage Out of Your Game

As we all know, game's main stories are getting shorter and shorter, and unfortunately, most of us don't have the power to change it. However, you know those little side quests in game text is always mentioning, or the sweet hidden treasure your friend was talkin' about? These are things that really give you the most bang for your buck.

As most of you know Fable for the XBOX was an insanely good game, a perfect mixture of action and strategy, creating one of the best rpgs I've ever played. Unfortunately, it's story was beatable in about 10 hours. It's successor, Fable II for the 360 is no different. The story is still only about 10-15 hours long, depending on your skill level. But wait! Did you ever notice that little exclamation point that keeps popping up every 5 minutes? Those are side quests my friend! I did almost all of them, and it turned a 10 hour game into a 40 hour game for me. These side quests, fluff if you will, are the key to getting the most mileage out of your game.

Wanna know another secret to getting more mileage? Explore! Most gaming worlds are free to explore and usually contain hidden treasures that range from useless to 1337. Like in the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, you can spend hours upon hours just traveling, finding hidden dungeons and treasures, without even paying attention to the main story. There is one drawback to these diversions though, if executed poorly, you will have no idea what you are supposed to be doing! So don't get too carried away!

If you are one of those gamers who really wanted a game like Fable II to be as epic as Oblivion, but was dissapointed with the short length of the story, do some sidequests! Find those ultimate weapons (Final Fantasy=Perfect Example!). If you do this, a 10 hour game could become 40 hours, hell, I turned Final Fantasy 7 into a 100+ hour game! Before you know it, you'll be able to make any "gas-guzzler" game into a "fuel-efficient" game.