Easy Mode?

ColFantastic

ColFantastic

CAGiversary!
Feedback
12 (100%)
So with a next gen console coming into my home soon, I've been working my way through my backlog, which like most CAGs has gotten rather large. I'm hoping to play through my Xbox backlog and then pass the console/games along to my nephew when I catch up, hopefully this spring.

Today after beating Far Cry 3 & Blood Dragon, I decided to start Bioshock Infinite and Mass Effect but for the first time in a very long time, I set the difficulty to easy. Do other gamers often do this to beat a game quicker? I understand the game won't be as difficult, but how detrimental to the game will that be? I am big into gameplay and campaign story but I don't think these will suffer much from an easy mode run.

Thoughts?

 
I find that a lot of easy modes remove intensity from certain scenarios. I'm by no means a challenge seeker, but I like a difficulty setting that makes sense within the game's context. For example, often times when you play cover shooters on easy you can just walk around the field and light shit up. Feels like a cheat code, even makes the story segments feel silly. 

Like, I'll play Splinter Cell on brutal difficulties, because frankly, if you spot me I should be killed. But if it's a more recreational styled game, like Prince of Persia 2008, then whatever. Let me do pretty moves.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Most games have a pretty balanced difficulty at "Normal" mode, so my recommendation would be to go for that.

I agree that easy mode kills the experience in a lot of games

 
I'll play on easy if I'm grinding kills.

Otherwise, like Panzer, I at least want the game to challenge me within the normal parameters. 

I don't always want Dark Souls/Ninja Gaiden/DMC balls to the wall challenge, but something that makes me feel like I accomplished something is necessary.  

 
I play on whatever mode gives me the most achievements/trophies, otherwise I play on whatever mode gets me the most achievements/trophies.

 
If I'm not getting a lot of enjoyment of dying in normal mode I will put it on easy. Most of the time these are games I just want to move on with.

 
When you put a game on an easier mode not for the enjoyment of it but to earn achievements you my friend might have a problem.

 
I always start games on the hardest difficulty available for the challenge.  I forget what game it was, but this one game was just so bad I wanted to blow through it instead so I dropped it down to easy.  OH YEAH, it was RE6 rofl!  Even on easy I got bored after 2-3 hours and just uninstalled it for good.

 
I mostly just play games on normal.  If that's too hard for me, I usually just move on to something else--usually that only applies to action games like Ninja Gaiden or DMC.  I just don't dig those type of skill-based games--and there's not enough story etc. to have fun on the easiest difficulty since the combat is the point of the game.

The only exceptions are a lot of WRPGs like Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins etc. I have no qualms putting the difficulty down as I didn't care for the combat, don't like managing inventory, forging weapons, grinding levels etc. to stay powerful enough to wipe out enemies.  I play those games for the story (side stories and main story), exploration and questing and couldn't care less about the challenge/combat.

The Mass Effect games I just played on normal though.  Aside from a couple hard battles in the first one, those games are quite easy on normal and don't require any grinding, loot hunting/weapon forging etc.

 
Indignate said:
Most games have achievements for the harder modes dawg.

I Go Hard.
Click to expand...
I start on normal you know get to know the game first get to know what it likes, its favorite colors, etc before I ravage it over and over and over.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I liked how the one part where things got interesting in DmC (facing a Red and Blue type enemy simultaneously), the game sends you a pop-up explaining how you can stun lock the blue enemy indefinitely. 

 
panzerfaust said:
I liked how the one part where things got interesting in DmC (facing a Red and Blue type enemy simultaneously), the game sends you a pop-up explaining how you can stun lock the blue enemy indefinitely.
Click to expand...
My favorite part was when I discovered you could "play" as sleeveless Vergil in the game.

mKC7Qz0.jpg


And yes, that's a real pic. I even took a video of it.

After one of the cutscenes with Virgil, the models/textures somehow merged and froze the game.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It sort of depends on how tired I am or how active the baby is being that night. If it's a rough night, I'll put it on Easy mode. 

Although, then I find that I'm just sort of walking through the game and not really playing it.

Playing on Normal or Harder might bring more frustration, but it also gives a higher level of satisfaction.

Easy mode doesn't give me much of a sense of accomplishment.

 
Although I mostly play games on Normal mode to see how the developers "think" I should be playing (and then replay at a higher difficulty if it is good enough), I've adopted a simple metric in the past few years (when game time became much more limited):

The more cinematic the game is, focusing more on storyline and plot progression, with an emphasis on unique gameplay scenarios and mechanics that are more rewarding to experience than any artificial difficulty increase can contribute, the more likely it will be set to easy.

The more repetitious the game is (not in a bad way per se, think of honing a specific skill set) and less emphasis on plot, the more likely I am to set it to Normal.  I reserve hard settings for a second play through to appreciate the differences (which I will if I like the game enough to play through it again).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
For the most part, I set the difficulty to easy now a days.  I only put it on Normal when the game has stuff that's been cut out of the Easy setting. 

I want to enjoy the games I play, not rage quit.  I gave up on Star Wars the Force Unleashed when you had to bring down a star destroyer. 

I do agree with setting the game to Easy in order to finish it faster.  I really hate it when you get stuck in a game. 

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top