Are new games too easy?

Leet Games Blog just picked up Monkey Island 2 on XBLA and noticed just how easy games have become.

It asks whether gamers prefer the hand-holding that has become commonplace in modern day gaming.

[big_silky]

I just don't have the patience to sit and plug away at the same spot over and over when there are 50 other games I could be playing. I'll admit that I cheat sometimes, after a couple unsuccessful attempts at a challenging battle I'll dial it down to easy until I get past it.

[GWAVE]

The author should play Demon's Souls.

/end

[T9X69]

That is one game though. 90% of games coming out these days even on the hardest difficulty isn't very hard at all. There might be a few spots you get stuck on for a minute, but nothing so hard you have to come back to it.

[GrieverSoul]

The problem is that the hard games scare people! I know some friends that dont play or buy certain games because their platinum trophies are hard to get! I go for Platinum trophies but if I get stuck I persist but in some cases when it becomes a chore I simply quit and move on to the next game. Sadly, games are becoming way too easy for my taste!

And yes, I have Demons Souls platinum and enjoy it and still play it!

[slyrunner]

is a hard game, dont get me wrong, but its not as hard as others say.You just have to have a good sense of judgement, this isnt god of war or anything and most people choose the running and hitting and think its gonna fly.Every enemy has a pattern that you can quickly learn if your not acting foolish and and taking your time, every enemy can be brought down with easy, im not saying im a master of all videos games, but imo the NG series were a pain in the ass for me, as even when i do run it and strike, the i kept getting my ass kicked lol. But once you get on 300 (my soul lvl in 569)the difficulty is the same through out, going from play through 3 is the hardest imo though :/

[Rybakov]

demon souls wasn't hard per-say it just punished you if you didn't think about what you were doing in the game at all times....just think about everything you do or want to do and the game isn't that hard at all. that and having friends to play with always helps too

[nickjkl]

in game play no in ability to restart yes

it could also mean that we as gamers have gotten better so it makes it look like games are easy

[iFLOWLIKEWATER]

f a game or a game maker thinks they have a great story to tell me, then I don't mind a game being easy. But if a game is too hard I don't even think about a game's story. I'm to busy trying to best whatever is a hindrance to my progression.

[jeseth]

Games practically walk you by the hand now. Not too many real challenges out there and most of them are mini games that you download from XBL or PSN (Fat Princess, Pixel Junk, Bejeweled, etc.)

[jerethdagryphon]

other then the games you just mentioned the main reason games are easy is regineritive health

even on the hardest diff if you can hide for a few seconds you can keep going

[Megaton]

I don't play games for the difficulty. I play games to experience something. Get absorbed into the story, play around with the mechanics, see what a handful of people spent months or years of their lives creating. Dying over and over again only gets in the way of that. I'm not ashamed to say I play most games on easy or normal just so I can go at a relaxed pace. I lived through the 8-bit/16-bit era. I've played more than my fair share of ridiculously hard games. It's just not appealing to me anymore.

[Anime-Vixen]

RPGS to FPS has gotten easier.
This is a good thing. Some people have lives so
we don't have time to be getting stuck in a game!
I just like to finish a game as quick as possible!
I don't like puzzles and I don't complicated boss fights.
The easier the game. The more fun it would it be!
That my opinion about this!

[e-p-ayeaH]

ur not a gamer then GTFO

[djfullshred]

Nah, we are all gamers of different levels of ability. What about someone who has physical limitations? Should they GTFO, and be excluded from having fun?

No, this shouldn't be put on gamers as their problem. The responsibility should be with game makers in providing appropriate difficulty settings in games that users can chooose to match their abilities.

[Baka-akaB]

that a rather factice argument , handicap ≠ being lazy and assisted.

When faced with handicaps what did people do ? They adapted and fought hard. They made their own basket and other handisports , they made or tried to find accessories and tools to perform some tasks ... they didnt ask official basket to be made simpler , just in case someone in a wheelchair would wanna play .

Here we are with cases of normal , able , yet people whose behavior , instead of playing most games in the usually provided easy modes , or even with cheats codes ... kinda made it so even default modes would be outrageously easy .

Again case in point , it's obvious "she" dont wanna truly play rpgs , who's cinematics and plot exposure alone make them something long . Instead of adaptating , she wish to be spoon fed

[Baka-akaB]

then again what's even the fun when your boss fight is basically doge the attack and when the the button appears over his head , follow the qte instruction ?

Might as well just watch a movie , the remote got buttons to push too you know ?

And if you dont like lenghty rpg playthroughs , then GTFO of rpgs .

[tolvak]

Sounds like you would be better served watching a movie. Isn't that essentially what a game becomes if it does everything for you? I love the feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration when I've mastered some part of a game.

[Redempteur]

ever heard of the word "challenge" ..
a game is not fun is there isn't one..

and that's not limited to video games

[SactoGamer]

I remember when playing and completing a video game felt like a sort of accomplishment. Sure, games by their nature are supposed to be fun and hard/frustrating puzzles might take away from that fun, but games are also supposed to be satisfying. Sadly, the latter is something a good number of the current lot of video games is lacking.

[Jdoki]

I agree with what you say, but here's another perspective....

As games look much better and are more cinematic these days have gamers expectation and playing styles changed?

I think gamers are now deriving satisfaction from experiencing the game, rather than beating the challenge. (This is a generalisation as there are plenty of gamers who love a good challenge)

It's a subtle difference in my opinion, and one brought about by the higher production values. Gamers want to see the story play out and appreciate the next set of amazing graphics. Making a game challenging stops the gamer seeing more.

[dannybohy]

games are way to easy these days!, Splintercel Conviction is a good example! talk about holding your hand! i remember when you got the game, you got the instructions in a little book and then you were on your own! which was when games were much more satisfying to complete! I remember the First Metal Gear as being one of the last satisfying games to complete. All the recent FPS singleplayer campaigns are obsurdly easy!!
and cheating is pointless and just means yr a born loser! lol

[I Call 9MM]

Playing through Monkey Island 2 again was a treat, and it reminds me how hard games could be back then. That game stumped me a few times, even though I had beaten the older version by myself (no cheating) around 10-12 years ago.

Even that game, however, was easy because you couldn't die. The old King's Quest adventure games, now those where harder. Multiple ways to get to the end (I'm thinking of KQ6), the possibility of death and the possibility of missing something necessary and not making it. It was quite the game.

Now, games are way to easy. I'm playing through Mario Sunshine right now (4 bucks well spent), and damn if some of those harder levels are freaking difficult. I can see how much of the game is easy, but to get that satisfying 100% requires some skill for sure.

[Jdoki]

For the most part Yes. They are way too easy. However as I get older, and my time gets more limited for playing games I don't mind games being a little easier... But for those that want it, there should always be a challenging difficult level. And I'd really hate to see every game become as easy as the combat in Fable 2 for example.

One other contributing factor to this lack of challenge in games is the rise of the internet and FAQ's, YouTube solutions etc. Why should developers make a game challenging when an FAQ will be posted up almost minutes after a game launch.

I remember back in the day having to figure out puzzles in games cus there was no internet!!, and me and friends going round to each others houses cus one of the group was an expert in a particular game, or had found the solution, and would help someone who was stuck get past the bit. Good times! :)

[dannybohy]

Yeh! Good times! :)
I remember helping my poor friend out on Prince of Persia on the Amiga!. Also remember him phoning me to show him how to play poker so he could win Strip Poker on the Amiga! lol!

[Sprudling]

I like hard games, but I don't like getting stuck just because I don't know what to do. There's a difference.

[midgard227]

thank god for demon souls, ninja gaiden, devil may cry, bayonetta etc.....especially demon souls tho :)

i hate having my hand held through a game, its retarded and defeats the purpose of the meaning game which game normally means a challenge, normally for fun.

but what ever people suck lol. and ive seen it working at gamecrazy for 2.5 years. people complain ninja gaiden is to hard, then i tell them "well my GF beat it" and they shut up

P.S playing demon souls with youtube guides is for noobs, why the F do u even play the game then?

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Most new games aren't hard, they're just cheap as all hell. The developers aren't able to make a game with challenges, so instead they make a game where the AI auto kills you with on shot and can automatically target you from miles away.

[Capt-FuzzyPants]

Yes FF 13 had some hard parts but it wasnt as hard as any FF ive played.

[djfullshred]

More thought is put into games these days to make it "fair" for the majority of people that buy them (the majority of consumers are not badass video game masters). Game makers know that people do not want to spend 60 dollars to be annoyed & frustrated, instead of having fun.

Back in the old days, they cranked out games quicker, with less cost, and less concern for needing to sell a few million copies. So they did not put as much thought into balance. Some game makers enjoyed f*cking with the players, and players accepted that as part of video gaming.

[the_bebop]

Has no one tried to defeat the optional boss the Phantom on the original Kingdom Hearts even on beginners mode, I still to this day I still can not defeat it on beginners mode. Not to mention kingdom hearts is a game that is fun but can present some challenges at times.

[KingPin]

SHORT answer, YES!! gone are the games that required brains to play, or one that you need nerves of steel. by brains im talking of harvest of souls, phantamagoria, urban runner, you know- those sierra classics. puzzled the crap out of me. games with motor skills..wheres the screamer 2s? i admit, i am a retro gamer :) but only on occasion. lol

[Rybakov]

new games are way to easy....i dont like my hand being held when im playing a game

[00000000000000000001]

Being most people here are PS3 fanboys you must be all talking about PS3 games!

[BlackCountryBob]

Games are an entertainment medium, they give story, animations and experiences to excite and entertain. if I wanted a mental workout, I would watch Countdown

[TheStorm]

I think some are missing the point. Games at their core are about challenge. That is what a game is, either it be sports or electronically, it's about challenge. Games like Asteroid were not about story, or visuals, or being absorbed into the game, they were about fun gameplay that was a challenge to beat. And today it should be no different. Yes it's nice that we have story and visuals as well, but challenge and gameplay should be the main focus and sadly this generation filled with ADD generation seem that they don't have the patience. I love how some say "I have a life" yes so do I, yet I also have patience, and don't need to beat a game with in a day. It seems so many just want only that.

Game challenge I admit during the NES days was a tad too hard, and just almost un-fun at times. But I think the PS1 and PS2 era (mainly the PS1 era) had the best balance of fun and challenge. I'm paying 60 bucks for a game, I don't want to play a 6 hour campaign and than be like...oh well there goes my money I'll never play that again.

Challenge needs to come back, to me too many of these mainstream games from Activision and so forth are "dumbing" down games trying to attract new gamers, but they are alienating the old gamers that play them also for challenge. Some games still keep challenge which is good. It's about balance, not too hard, but lately things have just been way way way way to easy. If you don't have time than maybe gaming is not for everyone. I have a full time job and life, with family, and yet I still play games as my hobby. I would rather buy less games that are awesome and have a long life, rather than a million other games that are short and too easy.

It feels so great to beat a hard part of a game, you feel accomplished, now they have dumbed that down by adding achievements. I don't need the visual cue for completing the single player campaign, I should get the feeling for accomplishing something just purely challenging. As a famous PC Gamer editor once said: "Games should be challenging not frustrating" I agree with this, they should be challenging not frustrating. But sadly most games now are just way too easy.

[hazelamy]

i like it when there are various difficulty levels, so the hardcore players can get the challenge they want but i can also finish a game every once in a while.

[TheLastGuardian]

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2