Poll: Easy, Medium, or Insane?

[bushwhacker2k]

This is also a somewhat overdone thread topic, but I'll roll with it.

I tend to go medium for the most part, though admittedly in Infamous I blanched at hard difficulty (which the game ASSIGNED to me ) and went easy mode... and still got crushed numerous times.

 

[Flames66]

Medium, preferably with the option to switch it to easy if I get stuck. I play for fun, not to spend hours shouting at the screen.

 

[Olikunmissile]

I play on the hardest difficulty. Games are too mainstream these days, it's the only way I find a challenge.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

For me, it's usually normal first. Easy tends to not offer much of a problem with me, but at the same time, I don't wanna go through the level on the hardest difficulty without prior knowledge of it.

The only exception was for Call of Duty MW2 where I played Veteran on my first go.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

For some games {Call of Duty games] I play on the hardest difficulty from the off. I played GoW 2 on Hardcore on my first playthrough. Apart from that, though, generally I start on normal, then try to tackle it on a higher, if not the highest, difficulty.

 

[HassEsser]

First play through I choose the hardest possible unlocked difficulty. I'd rather not waste my time playing on the easier difficulties, especially if I plan to play on the hardest possible after I beat the game. I don't want to ease myself into the game, I want to be slammed as hard as I can into it. I find it to be the best way for me to get good at a game.

 

[Superfly CJ]

It depends on the type of game. I went through Modern Warfare 2 on Veteran for my first playthrough, and enjoyed it tenfold, merely because there's a constant tension- the harsh difficulty went along nicely with the wrecking ball nature of the story.

On the other hand, I beat Stranglehold on hardboiled (which I never advise anyone to try if they wish to remain sane), and felt that the insane difficulty didn't really make all that much sense, and detracted from a lot of key gameplay elements (which is why casual is the only difficulty Stranglehold should ever be played on (if at all)).

 

[s0denone]

In any First Person Shooter I go for hard/insane. I have had years of "training" in Counter-Strike, and with my trigger finger, everything below hard is just laughably easy.

Any other game: Medium.

If I'm feeling especially masochist I will ramp up the difficulty to "hard" in an RTS. That shit will make you grow bodyhair out of pure frustration.

Also, for recreation, I play some games on easy just to wind down after a hard days work. In these instances I also tend to use cheat-codes.

 

[Leviathan_]

For the first playthrough, medium is usually good. After that, hard is the difficulty I like to play on.

This.


Though it still really depends on the genre of a game and how hard/easy medium is.

 

[jeejvebe]

Usually go medium my first time through (if I plan to play it again) and then hard.

Otherwise I go hard to begin with so I get all the trophies.

 

[Aiden_the-Joker1]

I chose other because I play through the game on easy first to have fun then I play through it again on insane

 

[GundamSentinel]

I practically always play for just the fun. Depending on the type of game this usually means normal, but easy for games I totally suck at anyway.

 

[Skoldpadda]

I play most games to "see what happens next", to finish the story. So for me, medium often provides the best balance between fun and challenge. It's rare that I'll replay a game on a harder difficulty, except when there are extra rewards involved, like alternative endings or extra doodads to play with. Or when, like for example in Icewind Dale, higher settings net more xp, thus grant you cool skills and spells faster.

But most of the time, middle road is good enough for me. I'm not too hardcore, I've got other things to do.

 

[llew]

other, i do insane because the more of a challenge the enemies the more entertainment i get from raping their asses

 

[Guffe]

Starting with medium and then if I play the game again I try with a harder difficulty. It's very rare for me to play one game multiple times thou. Maybe some game but very seldom.

 

[JEBWrench]

Rhubarb Pie. Mmmm.

As for gaming, while eating my rhubarb pie? Easy. Why? Because (as I've said several times before) I don't particularly have the time nor the motivation to replay sections of a game over and over again because of an arbitrary difficulty selection.

 

[Bebus]

I love the hardest settings, even to the stage of modding the game to be harder (the nightmare plus mod for Dragon Age is awesome!)

My exception is ME2, which I won't play on any higher than Veteran since doing so makes all classes other than soldier useless (why Bioware, why!?).

 

[Kud]

I go straight to the hardest difficulty and learn fast so that I can start ripping people apart in the multiplayer, but as for games with no multiplayer I go to the hardest anyways so that it's fun and challenging and everything you get in the game is well earned.

I just finished writing this in the other thread and I was too lazy to write it all again.

 

[oppp7]

First easy to enjoy the story without the difficulty getting in the way, then high for the achievements.

 

[Blackvegie]

I generally go for rhubarb pie. If that's to easy I add some ice-cream/custard.

Occasionally I take it up a notch and add some brandy.