Poll: Hard Difficulty as an unlock?
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Part of how companies market games is to inflate approximate play time. It works, I've seen a lot of people talk about how much time it takes to complete a game rather than it's value overall, as if the price of a game and it's DLC is an intrinsically essential part in evaluating it's retail value.
The gimmick of unlocking difficulty is clearly, in part, a means to artificially inflating a game's value by increasing it's play time with an artificially created "replay value". It's padding and it sucks. An example for me would be Max Payne. I dearly loved the first two of those games, but found not getting the "true ending" without playing the hardest difficulty in the second one an annoying grind.
The gimmick of unlocking difficulty is clearly, in part, a means to artificially inflating a game's value by increasing it's play time with an artificially created "replay value". It's padding and it sucks. An example for me would be Max Payne. I dearly loved the first two of those games, but found not getting the "true ending" without playing the hardest difficulty in the second one an annoying grind.
It's not a new trend, but it's bloody annoying. Difficulty levels are there so all players can have fun, regardless of starting skill level. Taking skilled players and forcing them to play at the lower difficulty to unlock the harder one is just inflating the gametime with wank. It's as vapid as CoD's prestige mode. Oh, you got to the end? Do it again for a shiny!
Bayonetta and the original DMC did difficulty correctly imo not just beefing up enemies but actually changing who you fight and where it basically made it feel fresh again I wasnt a fan of Bayonetta on normal mode but when I decided to try hard everything juts clicked and I loved it I was actually having to develop tactics now and it makes you feel so badass when you destroy a group of powerful enemies by knowing the mechanics and executing your abilities exactly as you want. If I had not played normal mode first however I think I would have quit for the reasons you mentioned.The Wykydtron said:
The highest game difficulty in Bayonetta is non stop infinite climax mode which is hard mode minus the witch time and by the time you have finished hard mode this wont offer much challenge tbh you can save though im not sure about checkpoints as I dont remember dying by the time I got to this setting (I think they ar still in) as you basically know the game inside out, it is not as hard as Dante must die mode on the original DMC that mode was stupid. There are further difficulties in Bayonetta outside the story mode that were pretty insane such as facing the guy in the bar and although I never attempted it I believe there is a labyrinth type mode where the final enemy is a Bayonetta clone its in this mode saves and checkpoints are disabled I believe and I would be amazed if more than a handful of people around the world ever finished it.
Usually though locking difficulties dosent bother me I tend to leave most games on default some I will breeze through others I will struggle on, most games I only play once anyway I cant really see a reason for locking difficulty if all it does is make the enemies hit harder and have more health or greater accuracy, string together more damaging combos or whatever, if people think they are that hot to take it straight away let them. If it juggles things around though aka DMC,Bayonetta then locking makes sense but still its up to the devs and what they think is best theres no one size fits all solution.
Huh, I have actually been considering having the hardest skill level in a game concept of mine to be unlocked (There were four... Beginner, Intermediate, Expert, and DEATHWISH), due to the fact that each one started out with their own unique prologue. The "Deathwish" prologue was going to start out with spoilers, in the sense that the protagonist is about to fight the final boss, and then the game goes back to how it all began. As such, this was going to have to be unlocked. Seeing how very much despised this is, I should keep the prologue more vague and have "Deathwish" available from the start.
I generally play games on easy or normal to start with and like to have a new, harder option unlock once I've beaten the game the first time (I think that's part of the + in New Game + with Arkham City). I'm surprised how few people like unlocking a harder difficulty though! I mean if you can only play Easy and Normal that's one thing but I like being able to unlock SUPER HELL Difficulty etc.
This also puts me in mind of the many, MANY Dark Souls II threads that have popped up recently. Would people piss blood from their eyes if you could unlock easy mode in DS2 by beating the normal and/or hard difficulty first? Just putting that out there. Seems like a good idea to me personally.
This also puts me in mind of the many, MANY Dark Souls II threads that have popped up recently. Would people piss blood from their eyes if you could unlock easy mode in DS2 by beating the normal and/or hard difficulty first? Just putting that out there. Seems like a good idea to me personally.
I completely disagree with the idea of locking out difficulties. I personally play the hardest difficulty first time on any game that I play, as I feel this presents the most comprehensive challenge. If the hardest mode is locked, and I have to play the entire game to unlock it, I am losing out. This is because I have already experienced the game. I know, to an extent, what to expect and therefore lose an element of the challenge. Whilst locked difficulties make less of a difference to those that like to play on normal mode (at least first), it is detrimental to people like myself, that want the biggest challenge from the game that is possible.
I think Call of Duty: Modern Warfare had an interesting idea though. All difficulties were available from the beginning, but with a little training level that suggests a difficulty based on how you play. Nothing is forced on the player, they still have their choice, but there is a little hint at what to expect. I quite liked that idea. I just ended up practising the level until it suggested Veteran mode for me, moving on, content that I was ready for the challenge.
To sum it up; if I've paid money for a game, I want to have the choice to play it my own way.
I think Call of Duty: Modern Warfare had an interesting idea though. All difficulties were available from the beginning, but with a little training level that suggests a difficulty based on how you play. Nothing is forced on the player, they still have their choice, but there is a little hint at what to expect. I quite liked that idea. I just ended up practising the level until it suggested Veteran mode for me, moving on, content that I was ready for the challenge.
To sum it up; if I've paid money for a game, I want to have the choice to play it my own way.
I don't know about need. I would liken it to unlocking a cheat menu...only it isn't a cheat, it's just an easier mode.loa said:
I usually start games on hard difficulty. Not the hardest, but hard. Assuming there are 4 or more difficulties. As there should be.
I think it depends on the game.
If Hard mode is just slightly harder than normal then it seems a bit daft, but Star wars: The Force Unleashed had big penis mode as an unlockable difficulty but it required a big penis to beat it, and therefore didn't seem too bad.
If Hard mode is just slightly harder than normal then it seems a bit daft, but Star wars: The Force Unleashed had big penis mode as an unlockable difficulty but it required a big penis to beat it, and therefore didn't seem too bad.
balancing is the issue here..
is normal difficulty actually easy/accessible?
Is hard really normal?
Is the harder difficulty balanced to play it first time or when you already know the game..?
example/ hitman purist mode-for those who actually know the game inside out
compare this to
Metal gear solid 2 - when you are asked if you have played the previous instalments and if you are good at action games
unlocking harder difficulties should not even be considered until you know weather the harder difficulty is just a more realistic challenge or is it primarily for multiple playthroughs
A second playthrough should be unlocking extra guards and different patrol routes. changed item locations. all we get is heightened perception, health and sometimes a few more guys if you're lucky
is normal difficulty actually easy/accessible?
Is hard really normal?
Is the harder difficulty balanced to play it first time or when you already know the game..?
example/ hitman purist mode-for those who actually know the game inside out
compare this to
Metal gear solid 2 - when you are asked if you have played the previous instalments and if you are good at action games
unlocking harder difficulties should not even be considered until you know weather the harder difficulty is just a more realistic challenge or is it primarily for multiple playthroughs
A second playthrough should be unlocking extra guards and different patrol routes. changed item locations. all we get is heightened perception, health and sometimes a few more guys if you're lucky
The usual trinity of Easy, Normal, Hard (or whatever you choose to call them) should be available from the start, with only those special difficulty levels being unlockable after finishing the game (Nightmare/Insanity settings). That said, I don't really mind this practice, as long as it's handled with care...
