1994 System Shock (finish watching playthrough)
1998 Thief (if possible find 1999 Thief Gold; if unplayable find a playthrough)
1999 System Shock 2 (play or watch playthrough)
1999 Planescape: Torment
2000 Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption (maybe)
2001 Arcanum
2001 Civilization 3 (can get the Complete edition on Steam)
2002 Elder Scrolls 3 (or maybe just skip and go to next in series)
2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2004 Doom 3 (just for sake of completion)
2004 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
2004 Grand Theft Auto 3 San Andreas (100% complete?)
2005 Civilization 4 (get the 2009 Complete edition; not on Steam yet)
2005 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2
2006 Elder Scrolls 4 (maybe start here, skip 3)
2007 Bioshock
2007 Mass Effect
2008 Grand Theft Auto 4
2010 Civilization 5
2010 Fallout New Vegas (buy original release with gift card, but get the GOTYE rollup of DLCs later)
2010 Mass Effect 2
2011 Elder Scrolls 5 (after playing 4 and/or 3, by this time, I might as well wait for the GOTYE)
2011 Deus Ex 3 DLCs - maybe get now, maybe wait for a GOTYE rollup
note: GOTYE = Game of the Year Edition. GOTYE releases fit with the way I game perfectly. I like to play games that are at least a year old. By that point all the patches and add-ons have come out, and I can just buy one big rollup of the whole experience. This way I don't have to beta test buggy products. I also don't have to pay full freight for every money extracting add-on. Also by this point in the product's life, all the game faqs have been written, and questions answered.
I do miss out on the sense of wonder and community that builds up around a new product, and I have to avoid spoilers like crazy, but I think its a fair trade-off. I have so many good games in queue that I can easily distract myself while waiting. Sometimes I have to make an exception, though, like for Deus Ex 3 or Half-Life 2, and get them on or close to the day of release.
