How hard do you like games to be?

[edd_jedi]

I spent quite a bit of time gaming this weekend, and got quite frustrated with a few of them. As time is limited these days (as in I can't spend 12 hours straight playing a game like I did as a teenager) it obviously takes longer to pick up games, so personally I prefer them to be relatively easy. If I die a few times here and there that's fine, I don't expect to complete a game first time but equally I don't want to have to repeat the same levels over and over again. This is particularly true with games with longer levels - I played the same level 3 times yesterday, each time taking nearly 45 minutes, and gave up in the end as I couldn't face wasting another hour on it.

Cannon Fodder is another - I absolutely love this game, but IMO it gets too hard too quickly. I would say the 'ideal' difficulty is around missions 6-8, they take a few goes but are not virtually impossible. I'd rather just play more levels with varied layouts/enemies etc than get stuck on one level.

I finished off with SWOS 97, and as I consider myself pretty decent at the original 92 game, I was shocked to get thrashed 5-0 in my first friendly so again gave up! The other team seemed to run twice as fast as I could

What do you guys think?

 

[Hivernaal]

It's a great time when finishing an hard game... but i don't have enough time to play (as you said 10 hours a day !) so i like them when i just can play 45 minutes between my job, my familie etc...
ps : i can't stand repeat the same level day after day...

 

[80sFREAK]

It depends on genre.

 

[Retrograde]

I play fewer games and don't finish them all these days.
Actually just having fun and being engaged in a (skill-based) game for 2-3 weeks is good enough, whether I complete the story or not.

I can't do it as hard-core as I could in my early teens, it's true, less time to play, and other activities take their toll.

Somewhere between the difficulty of late 80s and modern games I suppose, I need harder than the standard mass marketed fare these days, but generelly easier than really old-school.

 

[AndyLandy]

For me, I'm not interested in games that require me to have lightning reflexes or require too much brainwidth. I'm far more interested in light and fluffy games that I can relax with.

I vaguely recall reading somewhere that there's an inverse link between how challenging someone's life/job is and the level of challenge they look for in a computer game. I'll have to see if I can dig it up again.

 

[edd_jedi]

For me, I'm not interested in games that require me to have lightning reflexes or require too much brainwidth. I'm far more interested in light and fluffy games that I can relax with.

Same here, I like a game to be enjoyable, a bit like watching a film. If it's too hard/frustrating I'll just give up. That's generally why I tend to play games where you don't "die" as such, eg adventure/RPG.

I have enough stress in my normal life

 

[Nick1977]

I play fewer games and don't finish them all these days.
Actually just having fun and being engaged in a (skill-based) game for 2-3 weeks is good enough, whether I complete the story or not.

I can't do it as hard-core as I could in my early teens, it's true, less time to play, and other activities take their toll.

Somewhere between the difficulty of late 80s and modern games I suppose, I need harder than the standard mass marketed fare these days, but generelly easier than really old-school.

I agree!And it is rather frustrating for me that oldies are usually more difficult than i can cope with, and modern games are easy even on hard mode:nuts:

 

[Harrison]

It definitely depends on the game and genre for me.

I normally always start a game on normal difficulty, and never on easy or hard. I always consider normal as the way the developers intended the game to be played originally. If it's too hard after 30 mins then restarting on easy isn't a problem, or if it's a walkthough then changing to hard equally. And I really like it when a game has adjustable difficulty, where you can change the setting to easy if you get really stuck, then move it back when you get past the section.

What do you all think about dynamic Difficulty? Where a game adapts depending on how well you are doing.

But I hate it when I reach a point in a game that is suddenly so hard I just can't get past it regardless of the number of attempts. It's different if I can see, and know, what I need to do but just keep making mistakes, as that is fine. One example of that was in the first Uncharted, where you needed to time jumping and climbing across rocks over a waterfall. It took about 30 attempts to get it right, but I knew the whole time what I was meant to do and knew where I was making the errors.

Equally I like it when you get some harder, more intense sections to test your resolve. Much better then having it easy, or the same pace all the way through. Take Half-Life 2 for example. I loved the parts in the prison, or the giant ants, or the section towards the end when you were trapped in a room being attacked from all sides. They were intense moments that easily resulted in your death and required some experimenting to find a solution. The same was true in a section of Uncharted where you were trapped in a temple with a lot of smugglers attacking you and flanking your position. Loved that, but it would have become very annoying if the whole game had been like that.

It's the times when you either get stuck with no way forward, or something is just so hard that you get stuck in a loop repeating the same section over and over without seeing it as being possible that makes me want to give up.

The worst it when a game is so difficult at the very beginning, as I would often just not bother and move on to another game.

I don't think I've changed my preference for difficulty over the years. Every game is different and less linear than years ago. In the Amiga days, if you had a platform game the difficulty would be very much the dame all the way through, other than different level designs throwing up issues. These days games can evolve and change as you play through them and present all manor of different styles of gameplay and challenges.

 

[Firthy2002]

I don't mind a learning curve in a game. Generally I start out on normal mode if it's a game with multiple starting difficulties.
I get frustrated with steep or sudden uphill learning curves.

 

[Nick1977]

It definitely depends on the game and genre for me.

Take Half-Life 2 for example. I loved the parts in the prison, or the giant ants, or the section towards the end when you were trapped in a room being attacked from all sides. They were intense moments that easily resulted in your death and required some experimenting to find a solution.

.

Half-Life 2 had a perfectly balanced gameplay difficulty and learning curve (Soundtrack added a lot of intense as well).

 

[Amiga Forever]

I like Game are Normal or Hard...

For Example....When I played C & C Zero Hour, I picked Easy Enemy AI to see how I get on and once I understand how their Enemy Pattern work then I have beat them. Then I went on Pick Medium which was Quite Challenge at the time.

Medium Armys become too easy for me then I decide went on HARD Armys which was very tough as it got lots of go to get it right to beat them!

My General was Laser General as No one Could beat me but the Hardest General I ever face was Super Weapon General as she setup 3 Particle Cannon very quickly:wooha: then Put Another 3 Particle Cannon:wooha:

I had to do somethings, So I decide to kill her Power then Kill her Commander Center then Kill her Dozers as she wont be able to make another Particle Cannon or power

Then She was Hopeless......I beat her at Last

 

[fitzsteve]

Back in the day when I could only afford to buy one game a month I quite enjoyed when you have to play over the same level again till you beat it, Goldeneye on the N64 lasted me ages as I done all the levels on all the settings

These days whilst time is more precious (and it's easy to get multiple Games) I agree extremely difficult sections of a Game where you remain stuck for a long time put me off and I move on, a prime example is (I think) Splinter Cell Conviction, there is a level in an underground Car park, after about 20 attempts I can't beat it without being detected (must do it undetected or you fail) and haven't played since!

 

[Harrison]

Something else that really annoys me are games that put you through a really hard set of trials before you even get to the start of the real game. About the only game that did this and I enjoyed was the first Driver, where you had to perform a serious of manoeuvres in an underground car park before you could progress onto the first mission.

There have been a few others where it's been so hard to complete these initial trials that I gave up and never saw the actual game!

As for replaying a game on a different difficulty, I havve hardly ever done that. If I've played through a game on normal difficulty and completely it right to the ending sequence/credits, I normally have no desire to go back to the beginning and replay the whole game story again on a harder mode. Even the original Tomb Raider's enticement of having all in game weapons unlocked and available throughout the whole game from the beginning didn't tempt me to replay it. For me, with any game where you play through en evolving interactive story, the first time you play the game everything is new and exciting... so playing it again would, for me, be a bit tedious. One of the few exceptions to this is Half-Life 2 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I've played RTCW right through multiple times over the years as it has remained one of my favourite games of all time.

 

[Nick1977]

Games that have replay value, this could be a nice thread (if not already been discussed in the past)...

 

[edd_jedi]

Games that have replay value, this could be a nice thread (if not already been discussed in the past)...

I'm definitely going to replay Indy Fate of Atlantis at some point, I've completed it before but apparently there are different routes through the game depending on what you say during the fight at the beginning. The only problem is I completed it about 5 years ago so can't remember which one I've already done!

 

[roy_bates]

Games that have replay value, this could be a nice thread (if not already been discussed in the past)...

I'm definitely going to replay Indy Fate of Atlantis at some point, I've completed it before but apparently there are different routes through the game depending on what you say during the fight at the beginning. The only problem is I completed it about 5 years ago so can't remember which one I've already done!

thats a game worth playing again,along with monkey island 2

 

[Nick1977]

Games that have replay value, this could be a nice thread (if not already been discussed in the past)...

I'm definitely going to replay Indy Fate of Atlantis at some point, I've completed it before but apparently there are different routes through the game depending on what you say during the fight at the beginning. The only problem is I completed it about 5 years ago so can't remember which one I've already done!

I bet you've done the one with Sofia, we all did (Ah Sofia!)...

 

[fitzsteve]

Same here, not many Games especially these days worth of a reply. Skipping Retr0 platform Games the Games I've played through at least twice:

Goldeneye as the harder levels have more objectives and you get a Gold Pistol at the end when you beat it all

Metal Gear Solid - Guns of the Patriots, as it was relatively short (if you consider the length of the Cut Scenes) plus you keep your weapons etc for the replay.

GTA3/4/5 & packs cos I love them so much and it's like forever between releases!

Hmmm, maybe others - sorry for the OT

Going back on topic, GTA China Town Stories for DS/PSP has some frustrating missions like the one where you have to protect the reporter & van on the dock, you use all your weapons and die then on the reply you don't get them back

I've left this mission for now after about 10 attempts and working on other missions, oh and drug dealing which is strangely addictive

 

[Harrison]

Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 and a couple of perfect examples of games designed for replay, because they have multiple endings. Great games.

 

[roy_bates]

i think these days, games are way too short and way too easy.