Poll: Game Difficulty

[MiracleOfSound]

I beat it on normal so I know the basic controls and structure of the game before attempting to tackle it on hard / very hard.

Me too. This is a good way to avoid frustration, as the more challenging parts of games can be a nightmare to work out for the first time on hard mode.

I would use Dead Space as an example... that game was very tough on Hard but once I'd been through it on normal I went back and because I now know many of the scripted events it is a lot easier this time round as I can plan and strategize before the battles.

I'm currently going mad trying to get the Mile High Club achievement too. I think I just don't have the reflexes some gamers have (this becomes very clear to me when I play online...)

 

[Elexia]

I'm playing Call of Duty and having never played an FPS since Quake, especially on a console, I decided to take it easy. It's taken me two days to get through to the second level (I play for 40 minutes or so a day). I'm kind of glad I didn't leave the game on normal... lol

 

[Archaeology Hat]

Normal unless its a Total War game when I'll stick it on Very Hard/Hard for the 2 settings respectively.

 

[Nova Tendril]

Hard, because most games are to easy on the Normal difficulty setting. I never start on the highest difficulty because I try to appreciate the quality of the game on my first play through. It's hard to do that when your frustrated and angry.

 

[ICantBelieveItGoesBoom]

I like making the game last longer while consistently giving me a challenge so I start off on the easiest then make my way up. This is what I'm doing with Gears of War 2 at the moment and after getting it on February I'm still only at the end of my run on Hardcore mode.

 

[Rock Beefchest]

I find that it depends upon if I own the game or not. Generally when I get a game from Gamefly I play on normal to experience the game and enjoymyself then move on to the next game on my list. When I own the game I play on the hardest possible difficulty while at the same time learning the game.

Games such as Gears of War, I go to the hardest possible immediately as anything else is just too easy. Whereas if you put Modern Warfare on veteran right out the box (can't remember if it is possible cause I didn't do it), I would imagine that the extreme difficulty would just be overtly frusterating when you are trying to learn how to play. I have still yet to beat "one shot one kill" on veteran let anone the epilogue.

 

[Yoshi-Pop]

I always pick normal, and if I like it the first playthrough I'll bump up to hard, because in a videogame dick measuring contest that's always a nice card to play.

 

[somerandomguy76]

Depends on what kind of game really.

I will always play hard initially on shooters because it's the genre I am the most familiar with and best at. RPGs I'll usually start on normal then up the difficulty to the highest on my second play through.

RTS, I will admit, always get me so I generally start on easy. I'm a coward, what can I say... Although I do tend to play on the higher difficulties of AoE.

Damn AP Statistics but I find it rather ironic that the poll is in the shape of a normal distribution based around the 'normal' difficulty.


... well I thought it was funny

 

[MiracleOfSound]

If a game is getting repetative or boring I will sometimes temporarily switch to easy just to move through it quicker.

The Oblivion gates really tested my patience after the 9th ot 10th one so I ended up running through the rest on easy with my 100% chameleon gear.


Cheating? Yes. Justified? Yes. Those levels were tedious and required too much of a time investment in relation to the amount of fun to be had trawling through them.

 

[Dean340]

it depends on the game...i usually start on normal, and make adjustments once i see how the game flows.

 

[herpderderpdrerp]

normal to get a run through, then jump to the very hardest i can and blast through it

 

[Fantastico]

Normal. If I get my @$$ kicked, I switch to easy. If I'm kickin' @ss, I keep on playing. If the game is reasonably difficult, and doesn't quite seem impossible, I'll stick it out. But once I get stuck, I'm done.

 

[Baneat]

Very Hard, never back down!

 

[Grimm91]

I normally start on hard and work my way backwards.

 

[iJosh]

Given now that most games give you all the achievements for beating it on the lower difficulties. I always try for the hardest difficulty. Then usually unlock an even harder difficulty for an extra achievement.

Hi my name is josh, I am an achievement whore. Im sorry.

 

[benwins]

i usually start on Normal and work my way up
Except with SF4, Seth just wouldnt fecking die!

 

[GRAPPLION]

It depends on how easy normal is. If normal is too easy or too hard for me the first time playing the game I'll adjust the difficulty.

 

[RollForInitiative]

If it's a game with co-op, I usually play it through at one under the highest difficulty when starting out.

 

[TUNNEL_SNAKES_RULE]

On most games I play normal,but for Fallout 3,I started on Very Easy.It's not that it was hard;its just that for me to soak everything in,it had to be incredibly easy.

 

[bindox]

I find that the first time through a game, when you have to move on instinct, react without pre-planning, is when I do the best. Then, I settle into the planning phase and work through it slowly. Have to start on the hardest difficulty setting to achieve the best adrenaline focus.