Difficulty Settings?

[Undertaker the 5th]

I was wondering what every body thought about difficulty settings in video games. Do you guys prefer a game that has no difficulty settings like Assassin's Creed and GTA or do you prefer games that have different difficulties like Easy, Normal, Hard, etc?

I was a little undecided for an answer, but I came to the conclusion that I prefer games that don't have difficulty settings. I do like games that have difficulty settings though. Uncharted pushed me to the limit of pissing me off in crushing mode. Arkham Asylum was really hard for me since I am not such a good player, but it was a cool experience. The game that really made me despise difficulty settings was Black Ops. I don't know how many hours I spent trying to beat some of the missions on Veteran just for some damn trophies, but it really made me want to break my controller. Especially on the missions where you just get re spawning enemies over and over.

What's your choice?

 

[Notorious718]

I'm a little undecided myself. I do think that games without a difficulty setting do force you to bring out the best in yourself as a gamer and you always have to be on your A game. I think it adds to the excitement of gaming in that sense. On the other hand though, I think games with difficulty settings would appeal more to the masses because you can either have a challenge and push yourself to the limit or have it easy if you're not good depending on your skill.

I remember playing Halo Reach (the first Halo game I've ever played) and it gave difficult settings but wouldn't give you any of the game acheivements if you played at the easiest difficulty level. It's nice because you have a setting for inexperienced gamers but forces you to take it up a notch if you want to beat the game 100%. So I guess I would say now that I prefer games with difficulty settings sinply because they're more versatile to gamers.

 

[ABMorales787]

Sometimes, difficulty settings offer complete changes to game mechanics. The settings alone change how the A.I. works and may make you change how you face enemies or obstacles in a game.

Not to mention it's a great pacemaker for learning how to play. No way in hell I could play through Devil May Cry 3 in Normal without first playing through Easy.

One could also say it broadens the amount of interest people can have in a game. As nowadays a games difficulty can turn off people with ease.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Difficulty settings in a game are definitely better than not having them as an option. They make the gaming experience better by offering more replay value and an easier or more difficult run through the game than your last. I personally like to start on easy, then play through on medium, then hard, and finally legendary/expert or whatever that game's highest difficulty is called. The game gets progressively tougher each time and the true hadcore gamers can get through the highest difficulty. These settings are one of the best ways to give a game replay value. A game without difficulty settings misses out on a way to convince gamers to play through it again for an easier/tougher time.

 

[Blue Chipper]

I prefer games to offer difficulty settings. It increases the longevity and re-playability of the game. As your level of skill rises, you can play on a more challenging setting. However, when the option's not offered, you play the game once, gain experience, and play the same game again. It can get dull doing the same thing over again, this time having more experience and thusly crushing the game. With the difficultly option, you give yourself another challenge. That's my reasoning, anyway.

 

[Sully]

It really depends on the game and what mood I'm in. Take Madden for example, Madden needs a difficulty setting. I suppose it comes into the audience the game is intended for, and like I said, the game. All kinds of people play sports games, obviously some serious and some laid back. Plus, some people like to change what they do.

On Madden, I usually keep it on All-Pro, but occasionally when I want to have fun with a beast 99 in everything dude, and I put it on rookie just to pad stats, you know. If I want to play a really good, close game, I put it on All-Madden. It depends on if I want a challenge or not. Smackdown vs Raw too. If I'm looking to make it realistic, I'll put it on Legend. If I want to to a thing such as Road To Wrestlemania, and I just wanna get through the story and focus on the cut-scenes and plot, I'll put the matches on Easy to get the job down faster.

Games such as Uncharted, I put on easy. I play the Uncharted series because it feels like a movie, I want to feel like I'm watching a movie. Doing a game on Hard like that would get frustrating. I do the same with the Call of Duty campaigns. I always put it on the easiest level, because I'm just playing it for the plot. The only time I change the difficulty is if I want to achieve some sort of trophy. Now I also like a game like GTA. Of course if Rockstar wanted to, they could make a difficulty setting into that. Maybe make the health meter lower, or bullets cause more damage to yourself. But I am satisfied with the current status of GTA. Although I also use cheats, so you could say that it makes thinks a lot easier. Once again, I only play the game for the plot.

In the end, it's sort of hard to choose. Most games I play for the plot, unless they're sports games, and if they're sports games I adjust the difficulty level depending on how much of a challenge I want that game. Both work for me, but it really doesn't matter. I guess if I had to pick one, I'd also pick no difficulty, just because it shows they focus more on the plot rather then the challenge and game play.

 

[Fizzy]

Every game should have difficulty settings. It adds to the overall appeal. Are you a casual gamer who is new to the series? Put it on Easy or Normal. Are you a seasoned pro who is looking for a challenge in a previously beaten game? Throw it on Hard or Very Hard. It adds to the replay value of a game that you really enjoyed. Take my top two favorite games of all time in Kingdom Hearts 2 and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. I beat both games on Normal difficulty, but I wanted to replay them with an extra challenge because Normal was to easy. Both of those games gave that with Star Ocean having two additional difficulty settings that you needed to unlock by beating the previous difficulty. Like I said, it really adds to the replay value of a game and there is no detriment to having it.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I usually don't mind or even notice if a game has a difficulty setting or not. If it does, I always play on normal the first time since that's the purest form of the game in terms of balancing. After that I'll up it to hard on a second playthrough.

Though it's not always the case, games that have the setting tend to have more replay value than games without it, since there are usually achievements or some other reward for completing them at higher difficulty.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

You may as well have difficulty settings on games, as it allows gamers of differing skill levels to play the game at their standard.

If you want a challenge, crank the level up higher, if you are happy with a more relaxed gaming experience where you win fairly easily then you can keep the difficulty at a lower level.

GTA is one where I think no difficulty level works quite well, but I would still like there to be that option of altering it, as it can be very difficult for inexperienced gamers or 1st time GTA players.

 

[Hardcore Heathen]

The only games that really get insanely hard when you put the difficulty higher is Call of Duty and Gears of War. I would say Halo but all you need is a Respawn guy. Trying to Complete the Orignal Gears of War on Insane is Fucking annoying!!! Don't try it lol. But yeah Difficulty changes are good so The Casual players can play aswell as Hardcore gamers. And I have to say when there's Co Op campaign in games such as reach on Legendary it brings you Closer together.

 

[Cracka Jack]

I'm definitely in favor of difficulty settings. If you're a novice player and a game's too hard, the option to make it easier, and in some cases actually playable, should be there. Not only that, but replaying a game on a harder difficulty can be a great challenge if you consider yourself a pretty good player.