Poll: Easy difficulty

[hermes]

I play on easy first, almost always. That is because I am more into the experience than the challenge and I value my time too much to play over a single segment more than three or four times. This is specially true for long games (like RPGs), where the option to replay the game on a lower difficulty if I get stucked is out of the question...

The only times I play games on higher difficulties is when I am familiar with the game or the franchise and I am just replaying it for fun.

 

[Skoldpadda]

Am i the only one who always plays games on normal difficulty?

Absolutely.
In fact, game developers have since long wanted to get rid of this superfluous difficulty level, which almost no plays ever except for you, but they're keeping it because of the twinkle in your eyes.

Me, I've had to think long and hard about this question. I got rid of my worldly possessions and wandered the desert for I don't know how long, till the answer came to me in a vision:

I play easy when normal is too hard.

I also play sometimes on hard.
Am I the only one?
I've talked to like two guys and one dog, and they never play on hard.

 

[Akihiko]

Usually I play on normal. I only swap the game down to easy if I've already completed the game on normal/hard and just want to play it again for the story or alternatively I just want to get through the damned game because I'm tired of it(Recently happened with The Saboteur, I played through 3/4 of the game on normal, but by then I was just bored of the game and its repetition so I swapped it down to easy so I could finish it off quickly). .

 

[The Rockerfly]

I always play on Hard or Normal. These days, generally Hard.

I only use Easy when achievement/collectible hunting.

Well thread over, everyone can go home

In all seriousness that's exactly what I do

 

[babinro]

Shooters: Easy: I suck at these games, and often find normal difficulty to be way too difficult. There are some exceptions out there though. I've beaten a one or two shooters on high difficulty.

RTS: Hard: I tend to excel at C&C, Starcraft like games and often jump to hard right away. Lowering the difficulty only after failing a mission 3-4 times only to return to it later on in most cases.

Those two genres aside, almost all games I play will be on normal difficulty. If I don't care much for a game and simply want to complete it, I'll lower the difficulty to reduce the grind. I carved through Dead Space this way because I wasn't into it as much as I thought I would be for example.

I'm not one for achievements in games. But when I do go for them, I find it most rewarding to do so on the highest difficulty. I had a blast trying to get all Starcraft 2 achievements on the highest difficulty, which is a testament to the games greatness.

 

[00slash00]

the only time i play on easy is if i know im about two seconds away from ripping the game in half. the only exception was right before mgs4 came out and i was replaying all the games to make sure the story was fresh in my mind. in that case i played on easy just so i could finish all the games as quick as possible.

generally, i feel like a bad nerd and a failure as a gamer, if i play on easy. especially when i save and see the easy brand on my save file, as if it wants to constantly remind me, "hehe you suck." i always play on normal the first time through and then, if the game was enjoyable enough, i will play it again on hard. i dont usually replay games though. i always replay mgs games and, of course, i replayed demon's souls

 

[Jodah]

Depends on genre. RPGs and Action/Adventure games get the highest difficulty available. FPS usually get one below hardest. Strategy depends on the game.

 

[thepyrethatburns]

What should the answer be if you are only doing easy while renting?

When I'm renting a game, I'm trying to figure out if I like the story/gameplay/graphics/etc enough to buy the game. Therefore, I put it on easy or, if easy is so easy that it's making me bonkers, normal.

There are also a few games that have specialized circumstances/character build issues. Devil Kings Normal mode would chew you up in the first stage unless you went through easy, leveled yourself and your weapons up, then went to normal, repeat to get to hard. Painkiller has the same thing. I got all the way to Alastor on Nightmare but couldn't beat him because I couldn't get the necessary cards. So, now I'm playing it on Insomnia.

Barring rental or specialized circumstances, I usually do middle of the road or the level higher than that as my challenge level.

 

[Rhade]

Aside from the Metroid Prime series I find I'm really not good at most shooters, due in large part to lack of practice and a lack of interest in a large section of them.

That said I'm well aware that there's also a good number that are well worth playing for things like story, atmosphere, variety and all things beyond just chest-high wall pew pew battles. Some of such titles, like Bioshock, I had no trouble completing on easy because they allowed you more than just gunplay to work with. Others (like HL2 and Doom 3; yes, point an laugh now) generally started to kick my ass somewhere around the 2/3rds mark so then I'd just active god mode or some other med-kit/armor spawning code so I could just see the story though.

I'd argue it depends on genre, as some genres really don't have room or need for an easy mode but with others it's nice to have for 'it's not my usual thing' players even if some veterans might fight the option insulting to even see on a menu.

 

[Biancaneri]

It really depends on the game and why I'm playing it. I mean, most of the time I play Madden on the tailored difficulty thing, but when I'm in a mood (like, say, the PAtriots lost to the Jets in the play-offs), I'll stick it on normal difficulty and take pleasure from squishing teams with ease. Also, with RPGs, I often go through my first play-through on the easiest difficulty and skip a lot of side-quests, because I'll be more interested in following the story then playing the game. When I replay them, I'll up the difficulty and go for the side-quests I skipped so the gaming challenge makes up for the fact that I know what's going to happen.

 

[Krantos]

9/10 it's normal. This setting is generally where the devs have spent to most time on so it's usually the most balanced. Granted it's getting progressively easier, so maybe Hard is the new normal.

The only games I can think of off my head I play higher than Normal are Splinter Cell And Dragon Age.

 

[Sgt. Dante]

I usually play on normal cause I wanna play the game it is meant to be played.

Basically this.

Normal is the way the game wasz designed to be played, and then if i like it enough and fancy a challange i'll put it up to hardfor a second playthrough.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Nope, I usually play on normal. I don't even bother playing easy, I get too frustrated and I can't get into the game if everything is such a cake walk.

 

[Drentics]

I usually start on the hardest available difficulty short of insane or whatever "harder-than-hard" setting.

Finishing the game feels like more of an accomplishment, and it makes the other settings seem a lot easier.
(when going back for achievements)

Also, in CoD4, I started on veteran to prepare myself for the constant death marathon that I knew would be multiplayer.

 

[SkyeNeko]

I usually play on normal (and work my way up if the game has any replay value), but Bayonetta for example is stupidly hard to play on normal your first go. Turns out the equips you get from previous games are carried over if you play another difficulty. Usually I start out on normal though.

 

[ICantBelieveItGoesBoom]

I play easy first so I can just play it for the story, then if I feel like it go onto harder difficulties.

 

[Sovvolf]

I play it normal first for most games, then I kick it up a bit if I decide the game is worth replaying.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Sometimes if I suspect a game may be of the cruel variant and I'm not totally sure what to expect, I go with easy. I usually opt for normal difficulty, if not, hard.

 

[JPArbiter]

it really depends on the game. I play single player COD on easy simply because I have zero interest in COD multiplayer and want to see if they have managed to put a decent plot in there (to date, not since the Canadian story of COD 3)

I played Dead Space 1 and 2 on easy the first time around (and second) so I could be orietned with the game world, and boost my stuff up so that way when I "New Game +" on the hardest difficulty I could get I would have a head start.

most of the time though I stick to normal or go right to hard