I always play games on easy.

[Koeryn]

I'll play most games on the hardest difficulty the first time through, just so I can waltz trough the game on the easiest setting my second.

Except for STALKER. Fuck STALKER. It's an awesome game, but shitfuckIdon'tsaveenough...

 

[Outright Villainy]

Usually: Normal first time round, hard second time round. Usually normal is too easy, and I'd have preferred hard, but it's far too hard to guage without knowing first, and I don't want to hit a brick wall because the designers decided hard meant they could justify being incredibly cheap. If it's adjustable, or I know the designers are fair I'll play hard from the start.

I played uncharted first time through on hard until I got to the church fight about 15 minutes before the end.
Seriously, fuck that church.
Fuck it hard.

If I couldn't change difficulty there I'd snap the game in half and set fire to it.

So yeah, adjustable difficulty is good.
Annoyingly, Mgs4 didn't have this, which would've been fine, if the last fight with liquid on big boss hard wasn't incredibly cheap. Took me about half an hour to get him. Not very fun.

Alternatively, games like F-zero or Tony hawks I'll play on the hardest difficulty all the time because it's simply more fun that way.

 

[obliviondoll]

Only game I can ever forgive myself for playing on easy is X-Com: UFO Defense.

Here that was called UFO: Enemy Unknown, but I can't blame you on that.

Easy in that game doesn't count as easy. Oddly, I played hte game co-op with a friend. It worked suspiciously well.

The sequel was worse. Easy in XCom: Terror From The Deep was like Medium from the first game (UFO: Enemy Unknown, XCom: Enemy Unkown or XCom: UFO Defense, depending where and when you bought it)

If that's the case, then you really need to pick up a copy of Ninja Gaiden II. Storywise, you don't need to play the first to understand it, and you should be able to play through it on Normal without getting frustrated. It's just simple, easy ninja fun.

This post is awesome. For all the wrong reasons. You misspelled "Hard" though.

 

[Wutaiflea]

It depends whether the hard mode is challenging yet rewarding, or whether its just impossible.

I play fighting games on the hardest setting because I'm such a nerd with them that I need that for the challenge, but anything with shooting, I need retard difficulty.

Games like Saint's Row 2 were hard enough for me on casual without it being any tougher.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

You misspelled "Hard" though.

Spoiler: Did I?

 

[Confidingtripod]

I usually play on a harder difficulty but thats only because I dont get games often (nearest game shop is like a half-hour car journey away when there's no traffic, there always is, and then theres loads of them), frustrating or not I hate to win a game on a low difficulty when I would have gotten better value for money on a higher one, I play easy when achievment hunting something arkward (kill X number of Y on level Z) which give more play time too.

As for online I prefer games with some form of ranking, I want the match to be equal chance to win as to lose.

 

[Physics Engine]

I usually play through a game first on medium or normal, but it depends on the game.

Music/rhythm games I start with medium no matter what the instrument, do all the songs then bring it up to hard or expert depending.

Fighting games I play on the hardest difficulty as anything lower is no fun. Online is where it's at anyway.

Racing games I play on the hardest difficulty I can with no assists as even then I'm still lapping the AI by lap 5... They simply don't make racing AI hard enough unless they rubber band you. If only the online wasn't a demo derby in every racing game, but I digress.

FPS' I play on easy or medium as I suck at FPS'. Third person shooters I do better at but I still start on medium to ease frustration.

RPG's aren't really an issue unless you can't level grind for whatever reason. Most of the RPG's I've played don't have a difficulty setting anyway. I recall only Bioware games doing that, but I could be wrong. I played those on default difficulty anyway.

Play on whatever difficulty you want, it's not a contest for biggest e-peen or anything. It's your $60 (or less) do whatever the hell you want with it. Want to only play on easy? Go ahead. Want to use it as a coaster? It's not my money, have fun.

Video games: if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong.

 

[lacktheknack]

If I'm not having fun, I set the difficulty higher.

To test this, play Minecraft on peaceful, then hard. Which one has more entertaining nights?

Also works in Starcraft II, Mirror's Edge, Far Cry 2, any strategy game...

 

[Eatbrainz]

I always play on easy, mostly because i love any game that lets me mow down crowds of dudes.

 

[yizas]

i personally feel bad if i play a game on easy, there's no challenge. I always play it once in normal and then escalate the difficulty from there and after it i play it on easy just for giggles but feel ashamed if someone else sees any of my saves on easy u.u

 

[Direwolf750]

that's interesting, also probably fishing for insults, but I'll bite, if only a nibble. Playing a game on easy is like doing a jig-saw puzzle with instructions. There's no point, the game is supposed to be challenging, or at least a bit harder than easy mode. Easy mode is for people who want to say that they've played a game without actually doing anything worth a shit, and in that case you may as well just read the story online, or watch someone play it. It will save you money.

If anything, play normal mode, it requires less balls than actually trying to beat it, but at least you aren't dumbing the experience below what the authors thought that the average platypus could manage.

 

[Ascarus]

I have a high stress life already between frigging college classes and the people I hang out with, so I don't see the point of playing a game on hard mode. All it does is up frustration for me. i play games to escape being angry, not to increase it because I keep getting pwned. I only play multiplayer with my best buddy.

I usually play on easy as well -- unless the game is unbearably easy (e.g. mass effect 2). As you say, I have enough challenges in my own life and I fail to see the reason to add another when I actually have time to sit down and relax.

 

[KaosuHamoni]

I usually play on medium, mainly because, like in Halo, you don't get achievements for playing on easy. Also, I only play on hard if there is a reward of some kind, like in CoD.

Yes, know, I'm an achievement whore, don't judge me!

Also, if you want to relax, you should play I Wanna Be that Guy: The Movie: The Game.

Just remember, APPLES DON'T FALL UP.

So true, most relaxing game ever... x]

OT: I always play on the hardest difficulty possible... I relish the challenge. Yes, I'm a masochist, don't judge me... =[

 

[sageoftruth]

I normally do normal/hard except on Tenchu: Shadow Assassins, since the only thing that changes is the difficulty of the flawed Wii motion gimmick. Since I'd rather struggle with the stealth than with the wiimote, I have no hangups about playing that game on Easy.

 

[TPiddy]

I play games on Normal first time because I kinda feel like that's the way it should be played. Then if I feel like replaying the game I play on higher difficulties.

Quoted for truth. I couldn't bring myself to play Alan Wake on nightmare because part of it would involve scavenging in areas with infinitely respawning enemies and it would just be a hassle.

 

[The Clown]

that makes you a noob or an arty type trying to just focus on the non-game parts of the game

 

[PureChaos]

i usually start on easy and work my way up

 

[Torrasque]

It really depends on what game I'm playing... games that don't have any benefits aside from personal satisfaction towards difficulty I don't bother with, like Fallout 3.

Games like MW2 or MoH, yeah, I'll play on veteran/hard. Though I despise veteran... it's so incredibly unrealistic. >.<

I completely agree.
MW2 'realism' is fucking stupid.
"GET IN COVER!" *hides behind chest high wall. Gets sniped. Faces the mocking scrutiny of death loading screen* "FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU"

I play games as hard as they will let me. In the case of Metroid Prime games, this starts at normal, and gets harder.
For most FPS games, I will beat it on the hardest difficulty once just to know that I can, and play on the 2nd highest difficulty for enjoyment purposes (Playing Halo 3 on legendary is more of a chore than enjoyment, same goes for Halo 1).

For me, video games are my escape from the boredom and frustration of reality. The more immersed I get, the more I enjoy the game, and the more I want to play it. Thats generally the goal of most games.
I also enjoy the challenge of games; provided that challenge is reasonably attainable and not "Kill these elites with these available weapons. Your Assault rifle will take 5 clips to burn through their shields, your pistol will take three, and the plasma pistol that should deplete their shields in one shot, takes three. It takes them 4 shots to kill you. Enjoy!". < That is not fun at all.

Honestly, if I played games on the easiest setting all the time, it would be a waste of time. I have played through every Halo game on the easiest difficulty with cousins before (simply because even on normal, they die way too easily) and gone through it meleeing everything. Wraiths took a while, and so did ghosts. The Flood were frustrating, but even they eventually fell under the relentless flurry of my plasma pistol beatdowns.

TL;DR version:
Easy setting is boring, and not fun.
If you don't like the challenge of a game, or think it is too challenging, then you are a sad sad person.

 

[AugustFall]

I personally start on medium but whatever works for you works for you.

As long as you have fun.