I'll just kill Alduin n-

[Vrach]

You're fighting Alduin and the best thing you brought to the field is -iron arrows-? Did you consider that maybe you're just not doing any appreciable amount of damage? Also, Dragonrend doesn't actually do damage, it just forces the Dragon to land and I think might mess up their shouting.

^This. And nope, doesn't affect the shouting, just forces them to land.

OT: Yeah, using iron arrows to fight the end boss isn't a really fantastic idea. Note that you also might be missing a lot and not noticing it, it's pretty hard to hit dragons with a bow and arrow unless they're down (or stopped in the air, but you have a one, maybe two shot window before they fly off)

 

[Dandark]

I was playing Star wars: Rouge squadron or something on my gamecube, the game with space fighters, it's the third one in the series where you also have some on foot segments.

I got to the bit where you have to use the force to life your X-wing out of the swamp and couldn't do it. You have to hit the button really fast for a while but I couldn't do it fast enough, it may have been a glitch but I couldn't keep it up for long enough. Stopped playing then.

 

[DanielBrown]

I gave up on Splinter Cell: Double Agent after failing near the end of the first level. Realised that the game had no auto-save or checkpoints, and apart from that the controls were awful iirc. Really wanted to like the Splinter Cell games due to the collection box coming, but that game put me off the series.

Worth mentioning that I tried and didn't finish Splinter Cell: Conviction either. Got to the second laser room and just couldn't be bothered anymore.

 

[StraightToHeck]

You're fighting Alduin and the best thing you brought to the field is -iron arrows-? Did you consider that maybe you're just not doing any appreciable amount of damage? Also, Dragonrend doesn't actually do damage, it just forces the Dragon to land and I think might mess up their shouting.

I dunno, arrows didn't seem to make a difference to damage output after a while. An higher level bow with some decent enchantments, some fortify archery buffs and a high skill level will do stupid amounts of damage even out of sneak, I guess to compensate for Oblivion's lackluster marksman skill. Not meaning to brag but, my level 50 has a bow that does over 300 BASE damage without a sneak bonus and I still used iron arrows, and if you're finishing the story at an earlier point in the game than that, then I'm interested to see how you went through the game as a whole.

Everything scales in Skyrim (even Alduin) so it's pretty easy to finish the main quest without ridiculously over-powered gear or Armor. I've beat Alduin down with a level 19 Two-handed Warrior, and you can do it at even lower levels due to how low he and the other enemies scale to. I think the only thing that doesn't scale in storyline is the Dragonpriest near the end, but if you know how to dodge he's not a big threat.

True, there is definitely something to be said for level scaling. I gues what I should have said is that even at low levels, arrows alone have little appreciable effect on damage output, and at higher levels the effect is almost negligible, due to around 95% of the base damage being done by the bow itself, not to mention enchantments. There is also something to be said of difficulty level, but as I am impatient and a coward I cannot speak for that particular factor.

I apologize if I sound like a know-it-all, but whenever an opportunity presents itself, I can't help but flaunt my encyclopedic knowledge of all things you don't need to know.

 

[Fasckira]

Even on easy mode, with over 99 lives and all the support the game can provide... the puzzles are hard as crap. Not just that, but every reload when I die, the puzzles shift or change forms so it's never the same for you to recognize your mistake(s).

The puzzles dont shift or change on reload though they reset to the default. For every level on Catherine after 5, I found the puzzles hard at first but once you realise the particular tactic they are pushing you to use it becomes easy as hell.

The last game I gave up on due to difficulty was probably GTA San Andreas on the PC at the mission where you have to learn to fly the plane. I just could not manage it with the keyboard and mouse and didnt have a controller at the time. I may go back and replay that game someday though as it was a lot of fun!

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Either your game bugged out or you're doing it wrong.

Alduin is killable, even very much so. I haven't tried iron arrows, though, as I prefer a maxed out blade, some epic magic or some of those handy shouts.

If it's really end game we're talking about here, as you can't possibly kill him any earlier, the only things I can think of are:

- did you bring the valhalla bunch with you?
- did you get rid of the fog?

As far as I remember, nothing much happens really as long as the fog stays there. Well, I suppose you just die, but I haven't tried that one out yet.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

You should have shot him... in the knee.

 

[Cowabungaa]

When I encountered neigh-impossible to dodge explosive shurikens in Ninja Gaiden 2 I was just like

Other examples of not finishing a game not because of simple boredom:

- I didn't finish Assassin's Creed 2 because my 360 died. Same counts for Saints Row 2 and Oblivion.
- I never wrapped up Zelda: The Minish Cap because for some reason I couldn't figure out how to beat Vaati. And no guides for me.
- Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines didn't let me travel back to Downtown after I finished the main Chinatown quest. Made me sad.
- In Arcanum I got stuck in a cave. Each time I try to leave an ogre I just can't kill spawns and blocks the entrance.

I also nearly gave up on GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony because of the extremely fucked up helicopter controls on the PC. I'm glad I didn't, it was truly an awesome game otherwise as was The Lost And Damned. Screw the original GTA4 though.

I stopped playing FFXIII after that brilliantly moving moment with Sazh, because I realized that there was nothing the game could do to make itself better and that I had just hit its high point.

At least you saved yourself the dullness that is Orphan's Cradle. I loved the game up until that point. That chapter was a chore to finish.

 

[Killspre]

Most things that stop me from playing is it just starts getting old and I want to play something new. Like with Skyrim I finished the guild quests saving the civil war and dragonborn quests for last. Then I reached god status were I could enchant my armor to allow me to spam my destruction spells the skills I had left to max I didn't care about so I stopped playing. I'll probably return one day but I rarely stop playing something because it gets hard. Idk for me it just makes me want to beat it more.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I was in the 40s when I got to Alduin, with a daedric bow and archery skill in the 80s or 90s. Don't think I particularly struggled with him.

Games I've abandoned...AssCreedBro. I got to the part where you save the Countess or whatever, then simply never played it again. No idea why, just lost interest. Haven't picked up Revelations either.

Ninja Gaiden (2 maybe? The one with the blonde with the physically impossible breasts) on the 360 I also gave up on. There was a winged demon boss in a cathdral of some sort that was unbeatable. I tried, tried and tried (even getting the achievement for dying 100 or 1000 times or something) and couldn't do it. Left it frustrated and maybe 18-24 months later, had another go and beat him on the 2nd try. Went on to finish the game after. Was a silly, very hard if enjoyable game (in a masochistic sort of way) that I can't see myself ever replaying. Yahtzee's review was enough to convince me 3 isn't worth bothering with.

Lastly and most recently TW2. It was before they released the Enhanced Edition that radically changed the combat and the start. I keep meaning to try it again.

I don't know if it counts the same as a first time playing a game, but I have left subsequent playthrus in the middle after finishing it previously at least once. Think I currently have a DE:HR save in China, Skyrim just after the start (not even at Riverwood), NWN2 just after first silver shard, Mass Effect (thought I'd do a run thru 1&2 before 3 with all the choices I wanted) but 3 came out before I finished 1 and also FNV. I broke the Honest Hearts DLC so couldn't even start it properly because of stupid game design, couldn't be bothered with the rest.

 

[Magicmad5511]

Most games I play I will always struggle to the end. Only a few have slipped the net.

-The first is Dr Muto for the PS2. Struggled through the first world of the game, got to the second world, beat most of that. Went up against the end boss and couldn't beat it. I remember it being a bit awkward but if I remember it was mostly deep dark water in games creeps me out and the entire battle was underwater. Just kept putting it off after that until I pretty much stopped caring.

-Second is Sonic Heroes. Could never get the Chaos Emerald stages done so I never managed to face Metal Sonic.

-Third is Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater. Tried fighting The Sorrow. Couldn't work it out. Found out on the internet a while later. Never went back and beat it.

Those are the main ones I can think of.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I killed Alduin with my life stealing Ebony Daggers. Force him to the ground and my well overequiped Khajiit tanks him like NP.

The last game I stopped playing.... that would be Ys Origin. I came right before the last boss and stopped playing. I want to buy all upgrades, but for that I need to grind a lot. I wanted to wait with the boss before I've done that... and now I think I'm going to finish the game without grinding.

And I stopped Torchlight. There was either a bug, or a ridiculous difficulty spike that made it impossible to continue. Dunno what level it was at, but monster kill me in 2-3 hits and I need to hit them over 10 times to kill them. I just couldn't get any better equipment no matter what. My best Bow was something like 300 dmg and some extra enchantments, while my brother had a 540 bow at the same level. Not to speak about the low armor that I hadn't upgraded for over 20 level.

 

[GameMaNiAC]

Shadow of Chernobyl. Got most of the way into the game, got epic bug. Every save game broke. And I couldn't even start a new game. Reinstall didn't fix.
I was completely heartbroken.

Wow. Sounds like the game really hates you.

OT: The Witcher. I got to the part where I'm supposed to find some stones/rocks/things (whatever, forgot their name) to open that mage tower.

I keep re-reading the notes about them, but they just aren't that helpful for me. And I'm too lazy to consult a guide. The game's sitting here on my desktop still as I speak.

 

[zidine100]

The final final boss of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, it just got to the point of screw this noise im out.

never did look up the ending. I dont feel bad for not finishing it mind, its not like the rest of the series will come over to this country anyway so yeah.

 

[TwiZtah]

I was in the 40s when I got to Alduin, with a daedric bow and archery skill in the 80s or 90s. Don't think I particularly struggled with him.

Games I've abandoned...AssCreedBro. I got to the part where you save the Countess or whatever, then simply never played it again. No idea why, just lost interest. Haven't picked up Revelations either.

Ninja Gaiden (2 maybe? The one with the blonde with the physically impossible breasts) on the 360 I also gave up on. There was a winged demon boss in a cathdral of some sort that was unbeatable. I tried, tried and tried (even getting the achievement for dying 100 or 1000 times or something) and couldn't do it. Left it frustrated and maybe 18-24 months later, had another go and beat him on the 2nd try. Went on to finish the game after. Was a silly, very hard if enjoyable game (in a masochistic sort of way) that I can't see myself ever replaying. Yahtzee's review was enough to convince me 3 isn't worth bothering with.

Lastly and most recently TW2. It was before they released the Enhanced Edition that radically changed the combat and the start. I keep meaning to try it again.

I don't know if it counts the same as a first time playing a game, but I have left subsequent playthrus in the middle after finishing it previously at least once. Think I currently have a DE:HR save in China, Skyrim just after the start (not even at Riverwood), NWN2 just after first silver shard, Mass Effect (thought I'd do a run thru 1&2 before 3 with all the choices I wanted) but 3 came out before I finished 1 and also FNV. I broke the Honest Hearts DLC so couldn't even start it properly because of stupid game design, couldn't be bothered with the rest.

Ninja Gaiden 2 is a joke compared to Ninja Gaiden Black on Master Ninja, Alma is a biiiitch. Also the first enemies will one hit you.

 

[zidine100]

oh and that reminds me shogun 2 i just couldnt play the game properly the units all seemed to look to dang similar to me, and i couldnt make out which did which without a few seccond of looking at the box every time , i hated the ui, and well it just annoyed me, that and i sucked at it, could never take a place effectively without loosing alot of men.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Arrows are rarely the best weapons against dragons, especially if you have dragonrend. Just make him land then slash or magic away at him.

They can be if your character is built to use em.
My archer insta-kills weaker dragons with a stealth shot from a bow and that's without using decent arrows. Elder Dragons generally take about 3 shots. :3
Mind you, I do get a 160% bonus to bow damage from enchantments... that probably helps.

OT: I got horribly lost at one point in Prince of Persia 2 and got so bored of wondering around that I gave up. Also in the more recent PoP game (the one with cartoon graphics) I couldn't get past one of the bosses because my shitty controller doesn't register half my button presses on the button mash bits.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Ninja Gaiden 2 is a joke compared to Ninja Gaiden Black on Master Ninja, Alma is a biiiitch. Also the first enemies will one hit you.

I can't work out what is what...help me out here:

- NG -> NG Black -> NG2 -> NG Sigma -> NG3

Is that right? If so, you're implying that ranked by difficulty Black is harder than 2, whose boss owned me so hard it took about 2 years before I could face him, or the outside world again? NG2 was not easy. I did actually give up playing it because of the difficulty of that one boss, though late returned and beat him without aplomb or fanfare almost carelessly. I'll not be playing Black then, or 3.

I will never ever again say this in my whole life, but maybe the game needs a little...well just a touch of...you know...*hesitantly whispers* EAing. A tiny amount of EA (like microscopic tweasers and radiation suit tiny) to broaden it just a little bit and steer the series back to a point where I would play it again. Bizarre how I thought NG2 was alright but cannot otherwise stand that entire genre of games like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry and other nonsense like that.

I don't see a point in making games so unbearably difficult. Especially when everything is made for console first now and it's all checkpoints in lieu of the vastly superior F5/F9 Quicksave/Load we used to take for granted. It wouldn't be nearly so bad if you didn't have to replay that 2-3 minute build up to the part that kills you....repeatedly.

 

[Naeo]

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. The very last level, regardless of whether you were playing as China or the US, was absolute bullshit. Mostly because of the ten minute time limit--were it not for that, I would have been able to beat that game. I never beat the level, despite, oh, about 100-150 tries.

 

[F'Angus]

Iron arrows - Well there's your problem.

And Thief... I love the game, but I had a break for a bit and now I can't get into it because I have no indication of what to do.