Poll: Easy difficulty

[Joey245]

When I first played Kingdom Hearts 2, I started on Beginner Mode (easy).

Next playthrough, I went up to Standard (Normal).

Then I went to Proud Mode (Hard).

And now I always play Proud mode with that game.

Whenever I get a new game, I always start on the easiest difficulty. Then, if I liked the game enough, when I replay it, I go up a level in difficulty. Every subsequent playthrough of that game, I move up another difficulty level.

And in the rare case of playing the game more times than there are difficulty levels, I'll always play on the hardest.

It's like working out. You don't start benching six hundred pounds at a time and doing 300 sit-ups at once. You start out small, and gradually work your way up to the extremes.

 

[TiefBlau]

I used to always play on easy difficulty because I didn't want constant failure impeding on the experience of the game.

Nowadays I take that failure as part of the experience, and I've gotten better as a player anyways, so I always choose normal because I want to see the game developers created for the average gamer. Also, it's probably the one they spent the most time balancing, so it's the most reliable one to choose each time.

I've been toying a bit with hard difficulty simply because I'm getting better at games in general, and it's interesting to see how difficulty has an effect on how I acquaint myself with games.

2: Mass effect style games. Games that are about story. More or less pure and refined. If a game has a great story, making the game too hard is simply frustrating. I want to know more story, but I keep dying to a boss or a hard encounter. On such games I play on easy and breeze through to enjoy the story.

Lets face it, you wouldnt want some guy trying to snag your book all the time while you were reading, right?

But the gameplay is in there for a reason. If it wasn't, they would have made it a book. But it's not. Not even one of the choose-your-own-adventure assortment. It's a game. It's meant to be played, and if the challenge isn't there, you remove that aspect of the game and turn it into a movie that stops every once in a while to remind you that you have a controller. I agree that games that focus on experience are different from games that focus on gameplay, but I wouldn't say that warrants just breezing through easy mode. Normal mode at most.

I played a few games with just godmode once. It was boring. I regret doing it because I couldn't enjoy the game anymore.

 

[Hachura]

I hunt achievements like a crack whore hunts the spoon. Hard/Veteran all the way first playthrough, then a clean sweep on Easy/Normal for the remaining achievements second round. Then the game either gets traded or banished to the bottom of the 'finished' stack, never to see the light of day again.

 

[Korzack]

If I get a choice, first time through I play through on the easiest setting to get through the story, then for subsequent playthroughs the difficulty get racked up, unless the easiest mode is insultingly easy, like an F1 racer where the AI takes 3 minutes to do 1 lap of Monaco or something.

 

[Motakikurushi]

There's only none game I've ever played on easy mode. Devil May Cry 3. No surprises there then.

 

[General Sarrano]

I play on Normal first, and then on easy if i want to enjoy the story more or find hidden items, normally only play through a game on hard if i want achievements. This might seem lame, but theres no real fun in going though something that was enjoyable, but making it less so, unless Im getting prizes but thats just my opinion...

 

[Manicotti]

On single-player games, I go through it on Normal just because I feel that's the way the game was designed to be played at face value. On multiplayer games - well, really just L4D - i play it on Easy when playing with random strangers because it's easier to compensate for others' mistakes and there's no damage dealt via friendly fire (which ends up being about 20% of my shots somehow).

 

[ecoho]

well if its my first play through yes ill go through on easy get the feel of the game then go back at a harder difficulty. this way i dont end up spending 15 hours trying to find a key/door cause i keep dieing.(im looking at you ninja gaiden!)

 

[Samcanuck]

I can find my way around all genres...but some I just have no fun with. A great example...RTS. A level of that takes me 30 min longer than it says it's supposed to. And 3 levels in, I'm done with the genre for a bit. Atleast on easy mode I can breeze through a good helping of story to have some fun.

 

[Screamarie]

I prefer to pick and choose based upon the game that I'm playing. JRPGs, always going to be on normal if the choice arises, but when it comes to the rare shooter game that I play, I always start on easy and work my way up to get used to the machanics first since I'm not used to playing them.

 

[Abengoshis]

I play on the hardest difficulty in every game when I first play. If I play on anything lower I feel as if I'm not playing "properly".

 

[wfpdk]

i play on easy for the story, then I'll go back to play on hard if i liked the game.

 

[Baneling Aspect]

I always start out on Normal and if the game is unplayably difficult or easy I change settings accordingly. I like to be challenged, but not to the point of frustration. This usually ends up being console FPSs, as I can't get used to the control scheme, having played FPSs on the PC my whole life, but I actually had to do this for Deus Ex too (and still spent 10 hours dead, if Steam is any indication).

 

[Serenegoose]

I play on the difficulty mode that gives me the most enjoyable challenge. Both 'enjoyable' and 'challenge' carry equal weight, however. I don't play call of duty on the harder difficulty mode because it just ups the amount of grenade spam, but I do play halflife 2 on the hardest difficulty mode as normal and easy are too easy and I can't enjoy it without the enemies putting up more resistance. I play Dragon Age on normal and drop it down to easy on some fights or sequences (end boss, end of the deep roads) because they aren't much fun at all and I just want to get through them ASAP. Whatever difficulty anyone else wants to play on is cool by me though.

 

[Ascarus]

Yes sometimes.

It depends on the game and the system. FPS games on the PS3 I will play on easy as I have never developed the dexterity needed to move with one analog stick, aim with another, while holding L1 to run and X (or whatever) to shoot.

RPG games and all games on the PC I play on normal. I will play on hard if I feel the game was too easy, but I have enough challenges in my real life that I don't go looking to add another when I sit down to play my games.

 

[Artina89]

First playthrough I play on normal or hard. On the second or third playthrough I will play on easy just to enjoy it.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I prefer playing on Easy or Normal. If I'm playing online co-op then I will venture into hard/ very hard territory. There are few games I feel comfortable playing on the harder difficulties.

 

[moretimethansense]

Usually on normal or hard, hard if it's a genre I'm good at, normal if it's a genre I'm okay at or if I feel the game is going to be quite hard, and easy if I know the game is too hard.
Basically I only play easy on Ninja Gaiden.