Poll: Hard Difficulty as an unlock?

[ph0b0s123]

So I see there is a new trend to try for replay value, by making harder difficulty settings in a game, only available after you have beaten it on lower difficulties.

I don't like this tread one bit. I like to play a game on it's hardest difficulty from the start. So I know that when I beat it, it was with the game throwing everything is could at me. If I replay it it is because it is a good game, not because of an artificial reason to do so the developers have put in. It means I just play on the hardest setting I am 'allowed to' now and am unlikely to replay the game.

What do others think? Do you like harder difficulties being an unlock rather than available right from the start?

 

[Able Seacat]

I normally start out on the default difficulty so it doesn't affect me but it does seem silly to withhold difficulty settings when they are there to offer the player preferences on how they want to play the game.

Though, I do think it works with something like dark souls as you got to keep your stats and what not.

 

[Rumpsteak]

With a few exceptions I'll play on normal difficulty my first time in a game. That said I don't like having difficulties locked out to me, the more player choice the better imo.

 

[Vegosiux]

Well, unlockable difficulty is only the game's way of saying "You're not awesome enough to play on this level until proven otherwise", isn't it?

OK, more seriously now. It makes sense sometimes. It makes sense if the highest difficulty remains locked until you beat the game on one of the lower ones, I suppose. But unlocking every single difficulty? Yeah, good luck with that...

 

[dyre]

This probably sounds selfish, but it only bothers me when the difficulty I like to do my first (and generally, only) playthrough for is locked. That is, if everything above normal (I like to start on "hard" or whatever the difficulty one rank above normal is) is locked, then that annoys me. If not, and only the "insanity" or "super nightmare" modes are locked, I'm fine with it. Everything above hard usually just involves enemies with too much HP anyway.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Depends on the game, really. I can imagine for a game designed to be bugfuck difficult from the get-go, having unlockable difficulty settings is appropriate. Most games though? Nah, let the player decide where they're at, they know better than you do.

I'm presently playing two rhythm games that do this and it drives me nuts though, since I find the lower levels of play quite boring, just let me at the harder stages already! I can handle it!

 

[Smooth Operator]

It is retarded, another pointless achievement whoring bullshit that isn't just simply lazy but limits my fucking game.

 

[Terminate421]

This would have been nice had nintendo realized what they did.

I beat White 2 and I unlock easy mode? Odd.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm not bothered by it. It's a pretty basic means to artifitially lengthen a game's lifespan. If you had the hardest of difficulties already available to you at the beginning and played through that, then that would be the end of it. I doubt people demote to lesser difficulty settings once they beat a game in a harder setting. On the other hand, it makes sense that a gamer will stick to a game longer as he or she climbs up the unlockable difficulty settings, tackling new challenges. It can be a good incentive (if you really, really liked the game and care to give it another go). If you're not into replaying games, I suppose it doesn't really matter. To me this seems a pretty victimless "offense".

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

It's silly to lock the hard difficultly, because there are many people who like to use the hard difficulty as their default. Why should a person have to play through the game on a lesser difficulty just to play it on their preferred?

Locking easy I can see a little better, because it's the game's way of providing assistance to those who need help, and you have to prove you need help before you get it (by dying a lot) because the developers want you to at least try normal mode first.

 

[The Wykydtron]

In games like Bayonetta having the option to start on Hard would be nigh on insane. The way it's set up is that the enemy encounters are just all round more bullshit. I don't think they have more health or anything but when an encounter on Normal is a few bog standard Angels and maybe one giant Angel then on Hard that same encounter is three giant Angels and the EVIL Grace & Glory duo I think you would agree that the guy on his first run through the game would be destroyed for no reason.

Besides, it would ruin the monster pacing. Whenever a new enemy is introduced they get their own little cinematic. With high level enemies coming at you about 3/4 levels before they should that's a bit silly.

Basically, it depends on how the game sets it up. Bayonetta takes the old DMC Dante Must Die-esque difficulty and ramps it up to stupid levels. I believe the highest difficulty is complete the game on max difficulty with zero Witch Time in one single sitting with no save points. Not even sure if there are any checkpoints either.

 

[DustyDrB]

Why would I like it? Hard is typically my default. That's not me trying to brag. I get my ass kicked aplenty. I just have more fun with challenge is all. So no, difficulties should all be open from the get go.

 

[Doclector]

Most of the time it's pointless bullshit. Personally, I don't like too much of a challenge, but if someone else does, why should they be stopped?

However, some games should. I remember lost planet 2 didn't stack difficulty achievements, meaning if you played on normal, you'd have to play again on easy to get the easy mode achievements. However, this kinda was good, as this meant players were encouraged to build up their skills and their armoury slowly rather than having a load of new players with no special equipment and little idea as to the tips and tricks that really come in handy at higher difficulties trying to play the hard difficulty first. Especially with the focus on multiplayer, where such a player could be seen as weighing the team down.

 

[WoW Killer]

Depends on the game of course. In Borderlands, having a hard mode unlocked by completing normal makes perfect sense. In Fallout: New Vegas, the Hardcore mode needs to be available from the start.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

depends on the game but i think it should be open most of the time, only in new game+ or something like that should it be possibly enforced, and even then it should probably make sense with the game genre or story.

 

[aguspal]

In theory I like the idea, in practice, I remember not wanting to play a lot of games again just for the sake of more difficulty, so I ended up wishing than it was unlocked since the very beggining.


That begin said, it depends in the game and my mood. Some games I did just replay for the extra difficulty, others, not so much. But ultimatly, I would say no, I dont really like the idea.

 

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

An utterly despicable practice.

It's not quite as bad if there's some crazy hard superhuman mode unlocked, and hard mode is available from the start, but it's always preferable if the game doesn't hide difficulty modes from you.

 

[TehCookie]

It's slightly annoying but if hard mode expects you to have upgrades from previous playthroughs or it has extra hard difficulties to unlock I don't mind it.