So, what does one do when a second stack of unfinished and unplayed games reaches the full height of a shelf and there is literally no room for a third? Naturally, one sets oneself the challenge of finishing them all before buying another… Duh!

The challenge is simple. Play through all forty xbox 360 games at least once, finishing them on the hardest (unlocked) difficulty level and picking up all reasonably easy achievements in the process.

That last bit might sound a bit of a cop out because really, is a game truly ‘finished’ until you have achieved full Gamerscore from it? The main reason for the approach I’ve chosen is that I want to update this blog regularly which means I need to make rapid progress. Getting stuck on achievement like Dead Rising 2′s ‘Kill X Million Zombies’ could bog me down and stall the whole challenge.

The main rule is simple… Buy no more games until these forty are done. Simple. As 2011 is looking like one of the best years for gaming in a while, that’s a lot of games I’ll have to miss if I don’t get my fingers in gear.

In each article, I’ll try and provide an insight into what I’m up to, how I’m getting along and what I’ve been playing. To begin with, here is a full list of the games I’m going to work through:

Portal II
LA Noire
EA Sports MMA
Left4Dead2
Crackdown 2
Halo Wars
Vanquish
Battlestations Pacific
Rock Band 3
Alan Wake
DJ Hero
DJ Hero 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Red Faction: Guerilla
Prototype
Wolfenstein
Just Cause 2
History: Great Battles Medieval
Rockstar Table Tennis
Forza Motorsport 3
Dragon Age II
Divinity II
The Sims III
Deathsmiles: Deluxe Edition
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
Super Street Fighter IV
Mercenaries 2
Borderlands Game of the Year Edition
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Final Fantasy XIII
Darksiders
Gears of War 2
Dead Space
Prince of Persia
Tomb Raider Underworld
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Eternal Sonata
Tomb Raider Anniversary
The Orange Box
Command and Conquer RA 3

Phew.

So to give a touch more background information, I’ve already finished a couple of these games. Dragon Age II, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Fallout 3 being big ones. I figure with DAII I will play through again as part of the challenge, whilst on Fallout 3 I will go through all the DLC. Where Bad Company is concerned, well ok let’s make it 39 games to finish before I buy, eh? Shhh!

So there you have it, check back often for news and updates!

Matt