Do we need "easy mode" any more?

[Garrett]

If it's not doing any harm, why delete it?

Personally I play most game on normal. However, IMO the only way to play Call of Duty games (I'm mainly speaking about CoD2) is on Veteran difficulty (except those damn "stay here until the time reaches zero and have some unlimited enemy spawn from every direction" missions). On the other hand, the only way to play God of War games is on easy. Sure, I beat GoW on very hard, just because I liked it so much, but this game is meant to be played on easy. Kratos is suppose to be walking typhoon and you can get that feeling on easy.

 

[jackinmydaniels]

Easy mode does have it's purpose, mostly for people who don't play games a lot or are new to gaming. Like, say, my dad loves to play Call of Duty, because he likes guns and explosions, but he also doesn't really want to be challenged to hard. So he throws it on easy and shoots people for a couple hours, but I think most gamers can safely say that they typically jump right into normal or hard the first time playing a game.

 

[D-Class 198482]

As I can hardly get through Painkiller: Battle out of Hell orphanage on Easy, yes, I don't want to see what it is like on Hard or Normal ;-;

 

[CityofTreez]

Options people, we need them.

Also sometimes I don't want to be challenged, I just want to enjoy the ride.

 

[Zeriphor]

-snip-

Yes, we still need easy mode. Allowing players to interact with your game in whatever way they enjoy the most is always an important goal when designing a game. Removing easier settings from your game will alienate players that don't have the level of skill that you designed your game for. Same goes for harder modes.

 

[Zen Toombs]

If you do play on "easy mode", why is this?

I don't usually play easy mode, but when I do its either to screw around (like in Halo), because I'm tired and new at a game and I want to get through a tough section (first time I fought a Praetorian in Mass Effect 2), or because I hate the combat but love the story (Dragon Age), or because I want to replay the story but have already beaten the combat on the highest difficulty.

Also, when on Easy on ME3, being a Vanguard makes you feel like a Biotic God. Biotic charge into group, Nova, heavy melee, pull on guys in distance, heavy melee, biotic charge guys still in air, defeat Reapers, become sentient machine god. Like colour blue.

I've managed to pull that off on Hardcore, although with more "charge-nova"ing. Even Insanity, although on that difficulty I actually died a few times.
Being an explosive is fun!

 

[Zaik]

I could have seen your point if I hadn't just been playing Metro 2033.

Occasionally have to turn the difficulty down from normal to easy because people will occasionally instantly kill you the second you poke your head out of cover. Oddly head shots on them do nothing until you make their helmets fly off though.

 

[mental_looney]

Easy difficulty isn't for seasoned game players, it's for new players or someone old or young who still wants to play but may lack the coordination to be really good but would still like to play the game, it's like hard difficulty there is no reason all games just shouldn't be one default difficulty but some people like the challenge. Something for everyone.

 

[Saviordd1]

Stupid question is stupid.

People who are bad at video games need that option so they can at least enjoy themselves.

This.
I only fully enjoy my Mass Effect experience if I play on insanity while on a caffeine high.

Meanwhile my best friend prefers easy at best or narrative at worst, mostly because she sucks at shooting (being more of a tactical RPG gal) and also because she's in it for the story.

People are different, its nice that game developers acknowledge that.

 

[Olas]

I don't understand, what changed? There's always been easy difficulty in games for the people of lower skill levels. Why would we not need that anymore, especially now that gaming has diversified? If it worked in the past it stands to reason the system will continue now.

How about instead of putting the pressure on us to defend a system that gaming has openly embraced for decades why doesn't OP give us an explanation for why he thinks we don't need easy mode anymore.

 

[Xelien]

Games that have difficultly setting play out like this for me:
First playthough: Normal mode, to get used to the game and play though having bit a difficulty hear and there but not so much to keep me from moving on.

2nd playthough: Hard mode, now playing just for the difficulty I know the story now so can skips cutscenes I've seen. I want to find different ways to beat the now suped-up bosses, explore all the quests, or/and choose different routes if it's nonlinear game.

Any playthough afterwards: Easy mode, half of the games I own I really love because of the story and on rainy days I replay them for old time sake. These times I'm not looking for that much of a fight, I play casually and is able to remember some of the best bits of the story, with maybe the occasionally difficultly bump up during interesting boss fights.

So yah, I love having an easy mode, plus of course with whole making it easier for new people to get into gaming thing.

 

[Charli]

My little brother would have never been able to construct his skill in gaming if not for 'easy modes'.

That is why.

Now he's a 8 year old who can complete every level on Super Meatboy.

With.

a.

Keyboard.

'_'

 

[Sean Hollyman]

I think it's good for people who are new to the game, or maybe just gaming in general, it helps them get the jist of it.

 

[Sexy Devil]

I like having an easy mode. On an already stressful day I find a good ole fashioned face roll to be quite enjoyable. Would be disappointed if games started removing it.

 

[lockeslylcrit]

Sometimes I like the ability to feel like a total badass when I've had a hard day at work or college, and being able to blow through a game on easy is just the way to vent frustration without adding to it. When I want to play normally, I naturally choose normal. The only game that I never, EVER use anything less than hard mode is the Thief series, as the extra objectives are always a nice addition.

 

[kahlzun]

I tend to play on 'easy' or 'casual' for two reasons: first, i'm mostly interested in the story arc, more than a challenge, and second: i don't seem to gain as much enjoyment from a sense of 'triump over adversity' that most people do. The guys I play as are super-powered unstoppable juggernauts, and that's who I like in my escapism. (See also Wolverine, Colossus from XMen)

 

[Twilight_guy]

I know a professional game developer who has the combat in Mass effect 1 and isn't very good at so he sets the game to easy mode to get through it and enjoy the story. If easy mode didn't exist he would have a far more frustrating time of enjoying Mass Effect because he would arbitrary limited by a mechanics he's not interested in but must overcome to experience the part he does like.

I think we need an easy mode not only for people who are new to gaming or who don't have the best reaction time, but also for situations similar to this where combat is not something a person can do or is not interested and they enjoy something else. Gaming is moving from a skill oriented system to an experience or story oriented system. It's not about being the one guy who beat BattleToads, its about being one of the millions of guys who experienced the story of Bioshock.