Poll: What makes a game hardcore?

[Not G. Ivingname]

In recent times, "hardcore" for gaming seam to go count more for a game's content then anything. Is Mario Hardcore? No, they say, he is just a plumber! MASTER CHIEF IS HARDCORE! Well, didn't Halo hold your hand by giving you regenerating health, give you unlimited respawns, only five hour length, and let you come back to life with no progress penalty if your playing with a buddy if they go five feet away from the fight? Why is that more hardcore then say, Super Mario 3, which had no save system, no regenerating health, and if you lost all your lives, you lose possibly hours of progress. How is that not HARDcore? How do you, my fellow Escapies, define hardcore?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I define it as the style of play rather than just a description.

If I did consider it a description, it would likely be something with over-the-top violence, gore, tits, and swearing that I expect from a game that doesn't know how to approach the M rating.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

A game where you can suplex a train.

 

[Angry Caterpillar]

I put "all but the first two". Because I'm a dick.

To me, hardcore comes in two varieties: the hardcore gamer, who spends more time, effort, and thought on games, and the hardcore game, which is a more difficult game that requires more effort and time put into it.

 

[delet]

Hardcore is insane difficulty. For instance, Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero, on Hell's Finest mode, is hard core. You can then one up that with something that is beyond Nintendo Hard by attempting to get through the DLC "Lil' Asagi Comes Home" on Hell's Finest without loosing a single life. That is about as hardcore as it gets.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

what makes a game hardcore?

the hardcore (sometimes a doucher) who is playing it

a game is whatever you make of it.

i know some people who go straight hardcore on some games while me and some other people play it casually once a month if that, and we still do just as good as them so its all what you make of it. (example : Super smash bros. brawl)

 

[Pielikey]

Something Grandma wouldn't play? I dunno.

 

[Dango]

Hardcore is when a game you have to dedicate yourself to a game and learn all of its nuances and to even be decent at it. I prefer hardcore.

 

[oppp7]

None of the above, I guess?
I'd say time required to truly enjoy it.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Being easy to pick up but near impossible to master.

Everything else is details.

 

[OmegaXIII]

I'm always going to say difficulty because i believe any notion of a game being 'hardcore' because of it's subject matter almost inevitably leads to douchebaggery. Moviebob deals with this issue well in his Game Overthinker segments

 

[gigastrike]

A hardcore game is a game that requires a lot of effort to master. It doesn't necessarily have to be hard, it can just be very deep.

 

[Kurenai_X]

what giga said

 

[Marik2]

In recent times, "hardcore" for gaming seam to go count more for a game's content then anything. Is Mario Hardcore? No, they say, he is just a plumber! MASTER CHIEF IS HARDCORE! Well, didn't Halo hold your hand by giving you regenerating health, give you unlimited respawns, only five hour length, and let you come back to life with no progress penalty if your playing with a buddy if they go five feet away from the fight? Why is that more hardcore then say, Super Mario 3, which had no save system, no regenerating health, and if you lost all your lives, you lose possibly hours of progress. How is that not HARDcore? How do you, my fellow Escapies, define hardcore?

This is HARDCORE!!!!!

 

[Jonluw]

I would say hardness can make a game hardcore

 

[onewheeled]

Hardcore is when a game you have to dedicate yourself to a game and learn all of its nuances and to even be decent at it.

You, good sir, took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[Breadzombie]

A game where you can suplex a train.

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[Synek]

The ability to WTF PWN newbies and the game will never help you with anything.

 

[Savagezion]

I think it goes with difficulty more than anything else on the list. Hearing hardcore always makes me think back to playing my hardcore charactors on D2. Losing a HC lvl 30+ charactor sucked ass. 50+ even worse.

I agree that a game is what you make of it but some games allow more flexibility in this than others. I mean, who can say LEGO anything is hardcore? Ever. Depth also has an edge as well but only in some cases. I play Civ 4 often and I would say it is near impossible to master however only if playing with other humans as the AI without cheats on it is just not strong enough competition to a seasoned player.