It is payday. You have some cash in your hand and you can't wait to spend some of it on something to play. You visit your favourite game store and your eyes fall on that latest game that your friends have been sort of forcing you to get. Without giving it much thought, you end up buying the game at full price (or even more). What follows is eerily similar to a bad relationship. You can't spend much time with the game and whatever amount of time you do spend ends up feeling less than stellar. If you don't want something like that to happen then ask yourself these questions before picking up a game: 

"Am I ready to move on?"

Much like a good book or a TV Show, it becomes very hard to get a game out of your head if it is just that good. The soundtrack keeps playing in your head all day. You start having flashbacks of the intense set pieces while sitting in class. The beautiful cinematics flash before your eyes when you try to sleep at night and consequently end up skimming through the subreddit of the game till 2 a.m. in the morning. If the last game you played has you invested on this level, it is a good idea to wait out till the feelings fade away. Otherwise, you will not be able to make the most out of the next game you pick up. 

"Is it my type?"

Some games are dedicated to gamers with a specific set of play-style and preferences. If you pick up a game that is not really your type, you are going to have a bad time. So, it is a good idea to watch some gameplay videos on YouTube before deciding to buy a game. Watch out for spoilers though!

"How long will it last?"

For single-player games, duration is a very important factor to consider. If the duration is too short, then you might not get enough value for money. On the other hand, if it is too long, it might get a little tedious and repetitive. Also, if you have a very busy schedule and can't get enough game time, longer games are not really good picks. HowLongToBeat.com is a great website that lists the campaign lengths for more or less every game there is and shows in-depth data based on the difficulty levels, play-style, minimum, maximum and world average time and also based on each platform. 

"Am I in the mood for it?"

Videogames are really good fortackling stress and depression. However, this can backfire if you pick the wrong game. Fast-paced games like DOOM are the way to go if you are feeling particularly depressed or if you have a lot of repressed anger for whatever reason. Slower games such as Hitman do not have the same effect and might even aggravate your problems.

Nony Khondaker is an introvert with immense passion for tech and music. Feel free to send your constructive feedback at nonykhondaker@live.com or follow him on twitter.com/NonyKhondaker