Do you bother with Side Quests?

[emwearz]

I was playing Dead Island through not long ago and after the first maybe 4 or 5 chapters of trying to do every side quest, I found myself getting bored of the game really fast, so I decided in the interest of finishing the game, I would only do the main quests.

I often find side quests take away from the game as they are mostly fetching quests that make you go from A to B and then back to A with no real story involved, they become repetitive very fast. Meaning I am getting bored of the game without actually advancing in the storyline.

Anyone have any opinions they wish to share?

[hashiriya1]

I did with Yakuza 3 but not really with 4. Usually I just stick to the main story. You're right, it's just playing courier boy or fetch.

It was real annoying in GTA IV because you were kind of forced to do some side quests with Roman.

[Lone Wanderer]

If I like the game (like fallout) I'll play through it once and do minimal side quests so I finish the main story, then I'll start over and do every side quest I can find.

[Inazuma]

I usually always do every side quest. I am a perfectionist (or OCD if you prefer to call it that).

[Stark]

For me it depends on the game, I'm currently doing the sidequests on RAGE, but games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion, it's too hard to get everything. Or worse, you can't do some stuff when you're bad and some stuff when you're good.

[Sideroller]

second play throughs I do usually, unless I need extra stuff to get past a boss.

[Dylan]

Like anything, sidequests can be implemented well or poorly. I find sidequests interesting when you're doing something that unlocks a new weapon/treasure or character, or has a secret area or boss fight. Anything to that effect feels like more of an augmentation to the story rather than a distraction from it. Fetching random items on the other hand I almost never find enjoyable, or completing tasks that have no real reward or relevance (like any of the challenges in Kingdom Hearts 2). I also think it helps immensely to have sidequests come up later in the game, so by the time you get to them you've already had time to immerse yourself enough in the main quest to care about things on the side.

[CRTGAMER]

Maybe I need to Action Replay this
Right now I'm in Gamecube Zelda Windwalker. There is a mini side quest to water trees when visiting different islands. The water has to retrieved from the forest island and I only have one bottle so far. That is a lot of ocean voyages!

[MrPopo]

If a side quest is well integrated into what you're already doing, so that it's only a little out of the way, I engage in them. Similarly, if the sidequest seems to be building up to some awesome item or boss fight I'll go for it, even if it requires me to detour for a while. But sidequests with little payoff that require a large portion of my attention? Forget it.

[arion]

If it's in a rpg then very yes