Thirteen1 - The gaming community has always been divided when it comes to difficulty versus enjoyment. In the red corner, 'hardcore' elite gamers who think all games should be as challenging as possible. In the blue corner, gamers who prefer to play for the thrill of the adventure and as a way to unwind at the end of a hard day.
Diablo's Inferno mode recently reignited the debate over how difficult games should be, with game director Jay Wilson's “and then we doubled it” quote becoming an instant internet meme. Now, with yesterdays announcement from Hitman: Absolution director Tore Blystad stating that just 20% of gamers will see the final level of Agent 47's latest blood bath, both the red and the blue corners have come out swinging. Funny thing is, neither side of the argument is more valid than the other.
One thing is for certain, games ARE getting easier. but that doesn't have to be viewed a bad thing. Here's 5 reasons why
Who says a dud game can't have a video game comeback?
Cyberpunk and No Man's Sky have to be up there. We're lucky and cursed, equally, to have games that can be updated now. For folks old enough to remember the Sega/SNES into PS1 and even 2 eras, if a game came out that was half baked (*cough*Angel of Darkness*cough*) that was it, no redemption. At the same time, having the option for updates shouldn't be an excuse for half assing games.
I remember when the Nintendo Seal of Approval meant something.
All those games had to release without bugs.
Diablo III still works on modern PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and remains hugely playable a decade after initial release.
When Hitman 3 recently changed its name to Hitman World of Assassination, fans had no idea how meaningful the moment was. On the outside it looked like a simple thing: Hitman 3 would now be known by this name and include levels from Hitman 2 and 3 - the trilogy would all be in one place. But on the inside, at IO Interactive, much more was going on.
You mean destroyed it with this tethered single-player campaign BS... And only the first few levels of the third modern game were on the disc! I'll never support this crap at any price-point! They've lost me as a customer.
Its your choice in games i guess, i prefer games where you die instantly, 1 bullet = dead for example, i always play my games on hard (unless its a game i dont give a shiezer about)
There few and far between though, i recently bought Dark Souls again because i was gettin bored with playing easy games, with easy controls (Assassins Creed) and save points all over the place
A LOT of games are not made for Hardcore gamers "an individual who likes challenging games" (my definition of a hardcore gamer) there made for the mass market, which tends to be kids or gamers who want 5 hour singleplayer games with added multiplayer
Not me, guess thats why i like rpgs, they tend to be bigger games where you need to think about what your doing little
Dear Esther a walk in the park? It WAS a walk! That's literally all you did.
This is a terrible article.
Lower Entry Level
This is just stupid, games are getting dumbed down and its getting worse for every iteration. If a game has a 15 or 18 sticker on it then People of that age or above should only play it. Making games easier for adolescences who should not even be playing the game is a load of crap.
Harder Games
There is usually a difficulty choice in games so if you want to play it on EASY and take 1000 bullets to the head then be my guest. Like Hellsvacancy I like the 1 shot = 1 kill premise.
Arty and Party Games have always been around, its just that gaming was not socially acceptable last gen so nobody heard of them. Plus waggle controls have opened up the market.
And for the 'You Can Play However You Want' argument, I've been doing that since I started play games :/
This 'Games are Getting Easier - 5 Reasons that's a Good Thing' is a load of BuIIsh!t
With an easy game, you don't get the satisfaction of ending a game. You don't feel being superior. You don't feel being skilled. You just feel having some kind of entertainment.
Hard games is the best way to reward gamers. They must feel confident, then they must be spanked and when the pain of humiliation is picking them, they will evolve. They will learn how to deal with certain situations and they will create their own tactics.
And when finishing the game, when killing the Last One, they will cry out loud "I DID IT" and they will really feel having accomplished something. They will feel proud and will always remember this gaming experience.
A greatly-designed hard game is just the proper way to tell someone "You're a gamer, not a wallet".
Rewind back to the 90's when difficult games was something us gamers welcomed; and it was just as rewarding back then if not better than the games out now.
Some examples include Resident Evil 2; you met certain requirements you played as Hunk, Tofu, and even had extra costumes. Tekken 3 you had to play force mode multiple times to unlock Bosconovich; Metal Gear Solid you had extra dialogue at the end; Guardian Heroes for the extra characters; list goes on.
Now people "claim" to want harder games, then complain because its "too hard" - play some of the games back in the NES days and early Playstation/Saturn, hell even in the arcades, then you earn the right to classify "hard." And no, Dark Souls isn't hard, just requires patience and timing, something a lot of people (not everyone) lacks today.