Anyone else glad..

[Pulsar_t]

..that games require less skill nowadays? Many genres have been dumbed down, but mostly to me, a gameplayer who is rapidly losing his old-school skills, that is a blessing. Although certainly I wince at titles like Burnout 3 which was totally massacred when compared to its solid predecessor, yet OTOH with titles like GTA I simply don't bother anymore because it's not worth re-doing missions that lack any form of checkpoints whatsoever. I even dare say that if a game is too challenging I simply skip it altogether. The amusing paradox here is that I refuse to play on Easy and usually pick Normal (or Hard in a few cases). Anyone in the same boat with me?

[RadarScope1]

Somewhat. For the most part I am a "tourist" style player who just wants to experience what the game has to offer. Challenge is good, though. But I agree about GTA. There's very little point in doing shit over that many times. A faster-paced game like the BC: Rearmed is one thing, but a huge 3D world game with overly complex controls gives me no incentive to keep trying. I like my challenges in strictly ludic games like Pac-Man CE or shmups.

[racketboy]

Somewhat. For the most part I am a "tourist" style player who just wants to experience what the game has to offer. Challenge is good, though. But I agree about GTA. There's very little point in doing shit over that many times. A faster-paced game like the BC: Rearmed is one thing, but a huge 3D world game with overly complex controls gives me no incentive to keep trying. I like my challenges in strictly ludic games like Pac-Man CE or shmups.

Hmm... never heard it worded like that.
I like it

[General Chaos]

I've said it many times before and have no qualms admitting that, as much as I enjoy gaming, I'm simply not that great at it. For this reason I do appreciate difficulty options but I still prefer it to be an option just in case I am capable of mastering a particular game and want to challenge myself with a harder difficulty level.

This is one reason I like games where the difficulty is dictated by the player through personal goals (like earning a certain amount of money in a strat/sim game). Ultimately I like to take my time and master games where I feel I take well to the interface and control scheme, and I prefer to be given an easier option when playing games that frustrate rather than challenge me. It is borderline paradoxical, as you've said.

[Ack]

Less skill? But I play Virtua Fighter...

[Gamerforlife]

I really only care about how fun a game is. I don't mind a challenging game, but I dislike when the difficulty of a game starts to tear away at the fun factor. Especially annoying challenges or blatantly cheap design gets on my nerves and a game has to be especially awesome for me to look past that.

Here's the strange thing, I hear people say games are getting easier, but I'm noticing so many games still have unreliable targeting systems, bad cameras and bugs/glitches. If I told you all the cussing I did while playing Tomb Raider Anniversary for those reasons. I think they HAVE to make games easier to make up for how unrefined they are compared to older 2-d games. The industry STILL doesn't seem to have 3-d gaming down yet. It's like I see the designers wanted to amp up the difficulty on some games, but when they do it's like the game can't keep up.

There's a tricky section in Tomb Raider Anniversary where you fight some flying enemies on a small platform. The camera is so damn close to Lara you can barely see them and the targeting system is so stupid you can't get a quick lock or switch targets without difficulty. So you get hit by one of their attacks and go tumbling off the ledge to your death. You see what I mean? You can't ramp up the difficulty in a game when the engine can't even keep up. I think some designers know that.

[ZenLogikos]

No, I'm not glad. And I think you're confusing two different things. It's one thing for games to require higher skill levels, which I like(e.g. Ninja Gaiden or BC: Rearmed), but GTA is a different story. I bought it and I like it, but I haven't played much. So I agree with what you MEAN about games like GTA. I'm older, and my skill hasn't gone down much if any, but I don't have the time/patience/energy to sit through long GTA-like stories. Like Radar, I enjoy the quick, easy play of LIVE Arcade titles and the like. Games I grew up with yes, but mainly because they remain very accessible.

Gamerforlife, that is a good point about 3D. It has it's own unique challenges to overcome. Perhaps gamers growing up with 3D games have had to deal less with difficulty imposed by the developer's through a game's design, and more with the difficulty in the limitations of the game engine.

[Pingfa]

I think this is true, for the most part. Recent releases are easier than most 2D games, though I suppose it depends in large part where your strengths are.

Personally, I play games for a challenge. In all different forms.

[Haoie]

I sort of am glad.

I just don't like impossible games, and those with no margin of error.

Especially when you die, and you have to do the same thing again and again.

[corn619]

I can't stand how game makers are dumbing down games, if a person isn't good at games maybe they should find a new hobby. If I was a bad driver I wouldn't take up race car driving or if I sucked at drawing I wouldn't become a artist. People who suck at games should buy a Wii and play Wii Sports or Wii Play with grandma.