“Hey, whatchya doin’? Playing a video game again? Is that all you do in your spare time? Yeah, I know you have a job, whatever. What do you even have to do in that thing anyway? Shoot people and smash buttons? …And dodge ‘counterattacks’? Strategize—wait, you actually think about this game?”

Really, we’ve all heard it at some point. Playing video games makes us lazy. They’re nothing but simple time-killers akin to watching a sitcom or doodling in a notebook. Truth is, it’s not so easy. Unless you want it to be.

Every gamer has his or her personal preferences when it comes to genre, so it’s only natural that he/she’d also have preferences in terms of gameplay style and difficulty. Maybe you like to get your feet a little wet and ease your way in, or maybe you like to dive in headfirst; with most games these days, you can play either way or any in between. Pop any major action/adventure/shooter release from the past few years into your system and you’ll be greeted with a familiar easy-medium-hard selection, sometimes even a veteran, hardcore, or insane mode for all you masochists—I mean… pros out there.

Certain games remain timelessly frustrating. Ninja Gaiden: a classic mention that makes you clench your fists, grit your teeth, and throw your controller a few times until you realize you’re being a little rough and don’t want to pay for another one. Many 8 and 16-bit games bear gameplay so difficult you can barely get past the second level. A friend of mine still claims Disney’s Aladdin for Sega Genesis is one of the most difficult games he’s ever played. And Adventure Island has kicked my ass so many times, it’s forced me to develop a newfound respect for skateboarding island-dwellers. You gotta love hitting the jump button a split second too late and soaring off a cliff to your death.

I don’t really expect my video games to be that difficult anymore, though. Call me a new-school gamer, but I expected that with the development of more accurate controls and precise movement would come an easier game. Well, not easier, but less frustrating. While some games remain difficult because of their clumsiness, most have evolved to utilize more intuitive controls and take place in more captivating, easily navigated environments.

Except game developers have graciously provided us with the option to relive those 8-bit-kill-me days by pumping up the AI and making your character as delicate as a fly. More often than make the game more challenging (and therefore rewarding), these insane modes only make it more frustrating and again I turn off my console because I don’t want to have to buy a new controller, especially since this time it’ll be me buying it instead of my parents.

So why include these difficulty levels at all? Well, I’ll admit it, some of them are well-crafted and reasonable. Some games make puzzles which allow plot progression more complicated, and others force you to play more strategically on the battlefield. And more often than not, you’ll get bored with the level on which you originally played and want something more. They give games that would otherwise be short and sweet valid replay value, sometimes with the prospect of unlockable items or characters. I mean, what would DDR be like if you could only play standard? Beginners would stop after the first three arrows scrolled off the top of the screen, and experienced players would never have bought enough copies to warrant the infinite amount of mixes that are out today.

I won’t blame you for playing on easy; it’s a solid way to get the hang of things. But remember, a little masochism never hurt anyone. Wait, that’s not right… A stab in the dark could kill a boss? Um… oh, fuck it. Just give the hard levels a shot, you’ll feel like a badass.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Classic Gaming, Game Design, Casual Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.