What to Do about Those Easy Games

[Big Stupid]

I've always been of a disposition heavily inclined towards introverted activities. Retro gaming is not only a good social activity but it's also a great solo activity to challenge your brain and reflexes. I can find myself playing games for hours on end testing my abilities, my guts, my wits, my intellect and my resolve. It's the hard games which I have the most significant memories of. So much time wasted away continuing over and over again until I final beat the final level in classics such as Ninja Gaiden, and Super Mario Bros 2 (Japan) and Castlevania 3. Whenever I finish a difficult game I get a feeling akin to one I get when I finish a large book. I reflect. I think about what I've learned and I wonder if I'll ever be able to commit to that feat again. For me the answer is usually "yes." That feeling of accomplishment makes it all worth it.

With modern games I don't get that same feeling of accomplishment when I eventually beat them. The criticism that modern games are too easy is so beaten into the ground that if I were to elaborate I'd be boring everyone to tears. It's a fact that most modern games are less difficult then their older counterparts.

But is that a bad thing? I can say that I enjoyed both Battletoads and Yoshi's Story. Both easy and hard games can be enjoyable. After the NES era, games started getting easier with some difficult titles popping up ever now and then. I think that the N64 era in particular lead to some titles which bored many hardened veterans of the NES. Getting to the end of the game was no longer a challenge for many gamers and many grew complacent with the gaming industry reducing its challenge.

In order to compensate for the lack difficulty in some games I thought up little challenges like trying to get all 30 melons in Yoshi's story or using the bad combination in Kirby's Crystal Shards. Don't get me wrong easy doesn't mean bad. After all look at New Super Mario Bros Wii. That game is gangbusters to play especially with a buddy and it's not nearly has hard as the original NES Mario Bros.

Let's see if I can make a point out of all this rubbish. I don't think easy is bad becasue it reduces alot of frustration. But then again without the challenge there's no sence of accomplisment when the end of game is reached. My opinion would be to raise the bar a little bit in the difficulty department while still leaving an easier setting for the youngin's and other inexperienced gamers

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that difficulty has fallen off games of new? Are there any ways that you try to spice up an easy game with your own unique or creative challenges?

[BoringSupreez]

Are there any ways that you try to spice up an easy game with your own unique or creative challenges?

I would just play it on a hard difficulty setting.

[bacteria]

If a game doesn't compel you to play it because it is sheer fun then it has no shelf life, you don't even get to play many levels. Most modern games have little fun factor or addictiveness, just FPS version 10 that looks like version 9 did and 8 too for that matter. Retro games didn't have fancy graphics, but they did have fantastic reply and gameplay value.

So, if a game you are playing has little fun, you have no feeling of accomplishment in advancing in the game or even give a crap about it.

This is probably why we like retro games.

[Big Stupid]

I too prefer retro games in general to modern ones. But I can't wait until FPS version 11 comes out or better yet Madden 2017 think of the roster updates needless features and minuscule graphical changes

I guess that's my general assessment of mainstream modern games. I however can think of several modern games and by modern I mean Dreamcast and beyond That match the addictiveness and fun of retro games. Games like Katamari Damacy, Crazy Taxi, The Super Smash Bros, series, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Super Mario Galaxy are ever bit as fun and addictive as Tetris. Well maybe not that addictive but they're still fun.

I guess I don't have time for that sense of accomplishment anymore. I'll never be able to beat Ninja Gaiden again

[Dylan]

I have come to like achievements/challenges. And no, I'm not talking about the Xbox Live "You reloaded 5 times" or "You saved your game" or "You turned on the console" achievements. I really took a liking to the challenges in Mega Man 9, but really it seems that achievements are always a mixed bag. For example, Peacekeeper was fun. No Coffee break was fun. Last man standing is stupid.

[Big Stupid]

I have come to like achievements/challenges. And no, I'm not talking about the Xbox Live "You reloaded 5 times" or "You saved your game" or "You turned on the console" achievements. I really took a liking to the challenges in Mega Man 9, but really it seems that achievements are always a mixed bag. For example, Peacekeeper was fun. No Coffee break was fun. Last man standing is stupid.

"You turned on the console" should only be an achievement for the Phillips CGI.

[Dylan]

"You turned on the console" should only be an achievement for the Phillips CGI.

Zing!~



I assume you meant the CDi.

[J T]

I don't really think modern games are that much easier. Introducing analogue controls into the equation has made it harder to execute maneuvers with the same precision of a D-pad. On the NES, I also only had two buttons to remember and they were easily labeld A & B. Ever since the Playstation, I've had to remember which one is the square, the triangle, the circle, and the X. Then there is L1, L2, and R1, R2, and as it turns out I can click my joysticks for L3 and R3. And there's still select and start. Put me on a PC and I have a whole keyboard full of potential buttons and the analog control of a mouse.

Games are also bigger. Ninja Gaiden is often considered a difficult NES game, but I got to where I could pass it in one life in 30 minutes time. Games now push above 100 hours to pass, and you can maybe shave it down to the 60-80 range if you know what you're doing. I find it harder to pass games now because I just don't have the time.

I think there is a perception of older games being difficult because they screwed you over, but made it clear how you could improve. A bird flies at you, you get knocked back and fall off a cliff, return to start and try again. You get to the same spot, the same bird flies at you at the same time from the same angle. He's annoying, but you can learn and improve and you see how you can get better. When I play a game like Half Life 2, which is relatively easy, I might suddenly just die from a bullet in the back of the head. Damn. Not much learning to happen there, but things play out a little different on the next play through and the AI isn't smart enough to sneak up on me again. They just got lucky last time. It's easier to progress, but the rules aren't as clearly spelled out either. Even if today's games are easier, I rarely feel that I can truly master them in the way I could master games in the 8-16 bit eras. All the 3D and analog has just changed the rules to be more loosey-goosey.

[ieatramen]

Ninja Gaiden is often considered a difficult NES game, but I got to where I could pass it in one life in 30 minutes time.

[Breetai]

I've always seen the home console games following arcade games. Back in the 8-bit and, to a lesser extend but still strongly, the 16-bit eras, a lot of games were modeled after arcade games. That meant that games were meant to be fun, action packed and kill you quickly in order to get you to insert another coin. By the middle of the 16-bit era, and especially into the 32-bit era, gamers were demanding more for their money. Gamers were putting dozens of hours into games like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid and were coming to expect dozens of hours of gameplay for their $50-60 dollars. The arcade-style games of the last generations just weren't cutting it anymore. The longer, more drawn out games that played more like a movie script than an arcade game (with cinematics, save states, save points, etc.) offered an experience where gamers felt they were getting more for their money than the popular twitch games of old were giving. Developers, as a result, stopped producing the classic Castlevania, Mega Man and Mario games of old and started giving us Metal Gear, Resident Evil and a more adventure-type Mario game. The fact is that the "difficult" games of old just don't make as much money as games that have more drawn-out stories.