How long to size a game up ?

[Sut1]

Just wondering how long you guys take to size a game up ? I'm talking pre-PS2 era games.
I'm looking for games via emulation initially then I will purchase them if I want to see more.
But how long is a fair crack of the whip for a game ? I initially thought at least 30 minutes, but some games I can't play for longer than 5.
The reason I don't want to give up too early is GTA 3, I didn't like that initially but I got hooked fairly soon because of the good reviews it received I persevered.
I'm looking at 8-bit/16-bit games primarily and I don't trust magazine reviews of the time.

Would love to hear your timescales.

[Rev1]

I think for a lot of the SNES/NES games 30 minutes is plenty of time, although some may only require 10-15 minutes. I think it really depends on the genre. RPG's tend to start off a bit slower so you may want to give it more time to see if you like it. Action/racing/arcade/shmups/whatever may not take long before you know it is time to throw in the towel.

[Segatarious1]

Usually within minutes.


A modern 3D Zelda takes about 4 hours to size up, which is unfortunate.