You know that feeling you get when you're standing in a long line at the bank, or in your car at a fast food drive-through, or at a grocery store cashier-- how the sensation of impatience and frustration morphs into an almost physical pressure after awhile? That's how I get when playing modern video games.

I'm trying to trudge my way through the new "Fire Emblem", and it's so bloated that it quite literally feels like a trip to the DMV-- like they're not respecting my time at all. It'd be like playing chess, and every move involves fifteen minutes of dialogue and menu sifting.

I'm debating whether or not to keep my "Dragon Quest XI" Switch pre-order. It's listed at an unbelievable 87 hours for "Main + Extras", which is the column on this site for which I'm usually most closely aligned. Ugh.

It's a shame, because there's a lot to like about some of these games. I usually just wind up quitting before I get to see most of it.