Easy, Medium or Hard

Edit history:

Jambo_Harv: 2008-01-05 07:56:06 pm

2008-01-05 07:54:20 pm

Hey was wondering when you pick up a new game and there is the choice of difficulty level, what one do you pick first.
Also what factors affect what difficulty level you will choose.

Thread title:

DAMURDOC

2008-01-05 07:54:54 pm

The BaldurManiac

Hard, no matter what.

YautjaElder

2008-01-05 08:06:13 pm

Speed is the key.

The games I play tend to have a set difficulty... If not then I usually play through the game on normal and if I really like the game, I'll play it through on hard.

stanski

2008-01-05 08:16:25 pm

wise fwom yo gwave

If its an arcade game, I play the arcade default. If its a game I think is going to be easier, I choose hard. If its a game that I think will be annoying on hard and won't add anything to the hardness (more cheap than hard), I choose normal.

I went through a phase where I only chose hard, then I started playing shmups more and most of the newer ones are so hard by default that I can't imagine putting them on a higher difficulty (dodonpachi on 4 is ridiculous to try and make through 2 loops on one credit... I can't imagine on difficulty 8).

kariohki

2008-01-05 09:07:15 pm

waifus are laifu

If I get a choice and I know there's a difficulty setting, I'll pick easy. Unless easy is really easy (like, tons of extra items, lots more experience, etc.). I want to go through the game first to get story or whatever, and then do a challenge later.

MTGjumper

2008-01-05 09:19:19 pm

If you unlock certain things on each difficulty, I'll start with the easiest difficulty first so it doesn't seem as boring in comparison with the harder settings.

If not, I'll generally go for the hardest setting.

DRybes

2008-01-05 09:29:21 pm

O Zlda?

normal if its default, always. hard for the replay value from then on. speedruns done on easy are sort of annoying. but games that don't have an "easy", just standard and hard, are awesome to replay on hard (DKC series)

ZenicReverie

2008-01-05 09:39:06 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

Usually easy, because the types of games that have that setting are the kinds of games I'm usually not too good at. If I like the game I'll up the difficultly on each play through. I just noticed the other day though that the default for Bushido Blade is Hard. Imagine that.

yoshmaster5

2008-01-05 09:45:03 pm

Also tenkiforecast

Usually I start on Normal.

But, if some games are different for reasons not given (take too long to explain) I'll start on Hard, or Easy. Usually Hard though.

andrewg

2008-01-05 10:12:38 pm

Hi! I'm andrewg!

Normal, because otherwise it will generally be a disaster until I get used to a game.

Floogal

2008-01-05 10:15:57 pm

I always start on easy and work my way up with each playthrough until I find a difficulty level that is the most fun.

I really hate it when games remove whole levels (usually the last ones) when you play on an easier difficulty.

CannibalK9

2008-01-05 10:27:06 pm

give me your eyes!!!

I don't play many games involving difficulty, but I tend to play through on normal and if I'm good I'll have a shot at hard.

For something like Bioshock and my appalling FPSing, after completing it on normal I went through on easy just to have the fun of running around everywhere rather than playing it like a one-man forensic team.

cortez

2008-01-05 10:59:33 pm

Stalker!

i chose the fastest Tongue

Juice

2008-01-05 11:10:02 pm

I almost always pick easy first, then if I end up liking the game, I'll do normal, then hard.

Xaggoth

2008-01-05 11:38:12 pm

I used to always start on normal for everything and have now recently been picking things up on hard. I've had a lot more fun as a result. Since most games don't introduce anything obscurely new (except maybe puzzle games, or new controllers ie GH and Rockband) the normal difficulty is usually too easy. In a general sense, most normal playthroughs for me involve getting stuck maybe once or twice and then breezing through the rest. Hard has been more enjoyable for me since not only do I have to learn a new control setting and how combat (or whatever the hell the game is about) works, but I have limited time or actions to do so. I've also noticed that initial plays have gotten longer, and longer time spent in game is a lot more fun for me.

65

Edit history:

65: 2008-01-05 11:48:47 pm

2008-01-05 11:48:27 pm

Quote:

speedruns done on easy are sort of annoying.

That's why I'm here!

TheQuietMan

2008-01-05 11:52:29 pm

Complete. Global. Saturation.

Quote:

speedruns done on easy are sort of annoying.

There are also those who would argue about playing through on easy is a must if it's about getting the best time.

Jambo_Harv

2008-01-05 11:56:14 pm

Quote:

There are also those who would argue about playing through on easy is a must if it's about getting the best time.

Surely the fastest speedrun would have to be on easy as this would (normally) be the fastest.

groobo

2008-01-06 12:36:17 am

boss

Easy ftw, only because it's usually faster. I'll go with higher difficulties only if they don't have any impact on time (or have positive impact).

TheQuietMan

2008-01-06 12:56:06 am

Complete. Global. Saturation.

I know I missed saying this before, but I hate playing games on easy, and there are still a few that I never have. I always play on the default difficulty, which most of the time is "Normal". I'll do the "Hard" setting after I beat the game on Normal to get the bonuses, survive the challenge, and maybe to pick up on stuff that I missed the first time through.

Ghoti

2008-01-06 02:51:25 am

Currently occupying the grey area.

Quote:

I really hate it when games remove whole levels (usually the last ones) when you play on an easier difficulty.

That's so true. I think Xmen and the Punisher (both on Genesis) are like that, and it p***ed me off.

Personally, I have a bad temperament when it comes to games. I'd like to enjoy a game on the highest setting, but i'm not skilled enough. Usually i go for normal.

DTaeKim

2008-01-06 04:53:08 am

The first time around, normal.

The second time around, hard.

Then I change difficulties whenever I feel like it.

DRybes

2008-01-06 05:15:20 am

O Zlda?

Quote:

There are also those who would argue about playing through on easy is a must if it's about getting the best time.

And unfortunately, it is a must. I don't disagree with that, I just find them a bit annoying; I'd like to append the comment by saying it's not every game that's this way. Once an easy run is done a hard one can be attempted as well, and when you have both, I choose to see Hard first.

Reaver

2008-01-06 03:16:37 pm

When I was much younger I always played on easy only to get to the end of the game, just to see the message "Please play again on a harder setting!" Since then I always set it to normal on the first time through out of fear of seeing that message again. I'll set it to hard after that for more of a challenge.

dex

2008-01-06 03:24:05 pm

Invisible avatar

Nightmare. Or Realistic. Or Serious. Or Soldier of Fortune. Or whatever is the ultimate hardest difficulty in the game :P. Speedruns on Easy are okay, since they let you focus on hardest tricks, boosts et cetera, but I generally prefer speedruns on the hardest difficulty too (the only exception being Quake, since both Easy and Nightmare favour different skills and are both equally interesting and hard to speedrun :))