Easy, normal, hard?

[Eipok Kruden]

I start on Normal, then I play through on the next harder difficulty if I like it enough. If I'm still not bored of the campaign once I finish it on that, I'll play through on the hardest difficulty (that's if there's 4 difficulty levels, I'll play through twice if there's only 3).

 

[Aqualung]

I never understand hard, though. I mean, personally, I hate dying in a game. Starting the same task over and over fustrates me, and I usually cave in and go do something else at that point. Is it just me? Am I the only one that likes to run through a game with relative ease and fluidity? I find it adds to the immersion to not continually watch myself die and magically reappear.

 

[wowcrendor]

I start with normal and work my way up usually (although I seldom play single player).

 

[McClaud]

I usually start on Normal because that's the level the game is set for when I boot it up.

 

[djpuppylove789]

if its a story based game i tend to play it on easy so that i can get the story out of the way and then play more advanced difficulties. if its just a normal game then i play on normal and work my way up to hard.

 

[TurretedCasius]

always on hard. easy is too easy and normal is too normal and hard is too hard ,but I like it hard (innuendo)

 

[Kandon Arc]

I used to play easy on FPS in particular but it's just much satisfying completing it on the hardest difficulty

 

[Wicky_42]

Hard, straight in. These days most fps' seem so much easier than they used to, so in order to save myself the tedium of replaying the same game again only slightly harder, I look to get the best out of it straight away. If I like it, then I'll replay it. Crysis is a case in point - played it on Hard initially, but it was still too easy (lol), and now I play it on Delta regularly for fun. Gotta love those base infiltrate missions

Some games, however, defeat me. Last time through HL2 (a year back) I got stuck in Nova Prospect, the 'defend this bit of corridor with a trio of sentry guns' bit. Sad to say that I had to drop the difficulty there, just couldn't work out how to win Havn't quite got back there again on my latest install, so I guess time will tell whether I've improved since then (though I did finish one of the earlier sections with just 1hp remaining... not sure if that's a good or bad thing, heh).

Strategy games however are a different story. They take longer to learn the ins and outs of them than fps', which have become somewhat generic. Plus, quite often the AI cheats horribly, which is never fun when you're learning to play. Then again, sometimes the AI's abysmal, and only requires a basic understanding of its attack patterns/base gameplay dynamics to crush - DoW 2 being a case in point (I hear that the AI file is, in face, empty save for some left over CoH engineer code. Go figure). Last time I tried Medieval 2 TW on hard I died, VERY fast (I swear they hack SO BAD).

 

[jboking]

It depends entirely upon the game for me. I always play Devil May Cry's on the hard difficulty because I know Harder, super Hard, and completely unfair are waiting for me afterwords. However, For games like COD4, where I know the Hardest difficulty is nothing more than a test of how long it takes me to break a fifty dollar controller, I start on normal.

 

[Ruzzian Roulette]

Hard. The exact same reasons as the OP. If I get through it and enjoy the game, I'll play it agian on Hard.

This.

Normal, then hard as practice for multiplayer.

 

[gmer412]

Easy if it's a new game so I can get a taste and know what to do and then I move onto hard for a challenge and an achivement

Exactly. I play easy for the controls and story, then move onto normal and hard to enjoy the challenge.

My thoughts exactly. I don't get people who say a game is crap if you don't play it on the hardest setting possible.

 

[BeeRye]

I like to play on the hardest difficulty from the start if it's an fps because that way I go through the story for the first time without breezing it. I find if I play it on normal straight off and then come back later on a harder difficulty it's generally more boring because I'll know the maps and enemy spots, etc.

For other games it really depends, for instance Morrowind absolutely slaughtered me when I tried to ramp up the difficulty from the onset.

 

[quack35]

I used to go with easy all the time, but then I grew balls and started playing on normal.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Normal usually. If I REALLY like the game enough to play again I'll swap it up a level for the next play through.

 

[caelanarcher]

I never understand hard, though. I mean, personally, I hate dying in a game. Starting the same task over and over fustrates me, and I usually cave in and go do something else at that point. Is it just me? Am I the only one that likes to run through a game with relative ease and fluidity? I find it adds to the immersion to not continually watch myself die and magically reappear.

AMEN!

I dislike dying. I REALLY dislike having to repeat encounters/puzzles/fights over and over and OVER again. It's a game! If I'm not having fun playing it, then what's the point?

That being said, I play Normal, unless I know that it's a game that will still be fun on Easy (like God of War I/II).

 

[kewlrabbit]

Usually Easy. I play games to feel like an immortal badass who can slaughter hundreds of people without breaking a sweat, not to see a red screen & game over everytime I peek around a corner.

 

[Plauged1]

Hard...then Insane...then Dante Must Die...then Expert...then Impossible...wait, there is an easy mode?!?!? Seriously though, I play the hardest mode available. Well, try to at least. Guitar Hero insists that I suck on expert. ( sigh ) Someday...

 

[Kirosilence]

Normal

Then, Hard/Legendary/Insane/Berserk/Fuck You Devs/Whatever other variations of Hard Mode