are games getting a lot easier?

orangerooster

i feel that games are getting a lot easier ive cleared every one of my ps2 titles apart from gt3 in a relativley short time period a good while ago i was playing a rom of mega man 1 i died a few secnds into the first level.after awhile i played one of the latest mega man games for the snes on rom and it was simple and most of my old psone titles were very hard indeed even the fourth or fifth level of alien trilogy is nigh on impossibl alien versus predator is one of the only games to provide suffcient challenge and then commandos the hardest recent game ive played but on the whole games are getting shorter and much easier anyone agree

---

dont open ... that door- resident evil 1

BlitzKrieg

I already talked about this in my topic of offline too short. I dunno about psx2 too much but most of its games so far seem to be quickly made to shove ones. And u gotta remember not many gamers today even know of the 8-bit or 16-bit eras were games were sometimes near impossible (ahem alien3 and more)

I mean the motive of playing has changed greatly... I luved in my mega drive a gem known as gunstar heros (anyone play it?) now it had a storyline but i didnt listen much to it i just loved the pure action addictive gameplay it lasted me months because i would just play and play the levels because of the imaginitive and excellent designs. SH!T!!!


i forgot where i was going ahh well finish it l8er

chernobyl

of course they are.
its the playstation "casual gamer" that had ruined the industry.

Take a look @ the PS2's games, no originality, graphics over gameplay, and simplicity over accuracy.

---

Ashley Lyn

Ashley Lyn Cafagna

Repli

I think games are getting a lot easier.. games developers are concentrating more on graphics than gameplay..
A typical example is the Zelda games..
The Legend of Zelda for the NES.. it took me 7 months to complete.. damn hard game but very addictive..
Zelda 64 for the n64.. i finished it in under 1 month and found it a lot easier than legend of zelda.. especially the monsters (GANON (not ganondorf the final guy) in zelda64 was easier to kill than the boss on underworld 3 on legend of zelda).
i dunno.. i think developers should defo make games harder.. but with the graphics required to make a decent game today.. it doesn't seem possible

---

What is now was once only imagined.

ObeyGiant

I've recently been playing a lot of MAME, and I don't know if I agree that games are getting easier, I just think they're a lot more forgiving to players. Look at the amount of games 10+ years old that gave you a choice of difficulty level. You could probably count the amount on one hand.

These days, the "learning curve" of a game is one of the all-important factors. Games of 5-10 years ago didn't care about easing a player into the game.. Imagine Gran Turismo without the License levels - being placed straight into a race, having to learn the handling of the cars the hard way.. pretty frustrating.

Another major factor is the fact that a lot of games coming out these days are straight-to-console. 10 years ago, the majority of games were arcade conversions. The arcade didn't want to provide you with a month-long epic game, they wanted to take your 10p, and give you as much "bang for your buck" as they could - as such, the opening levels of a lot of old games are fiendishly tough (For an example of this - try "Gunsmoke", available for MAME).

azezil

i suppose they are... but in the awld days we had to use crappy equipment to control the games n the graphics were so poor it was often easy to miss an objective.

meanwhile whats the story with everyone sayin AvP was hard!?? no! i found it quite easy, well except for the alien, that just wrecked my head big time!!!

---

"just because you're not paraniod, doesn't mean they're not after you!"

Pugsley

lol azazel,the aliean was easy as hell.
The marine drives me nuts,cos every time u kill an alien all his body parts annoy ure radar 4 a while and another alien bites yer face of.
The predators easy,but im stuck on the 3rd level.I cant find the switch 4 the lift
Still an ubar 1337 game

Mark

Definately.Take pretty much any Nes game(MegaMan1 was brain destroying and compare it with a lot of todays 'top' titles,ie MGS(completable in 2hours).

Wolf

Games are with out doubt getting much much easier. This is one of the main reasons ppl play multi player : for the challange. I have not found any game in the last 2-3 years thats lasted me more than 2-3 weeks!! Including the zeldas. A perfect example of how games get easier is the Resident Evil series. The first one took me about a month to finish and it was bloody HARD. RE2 took me just over a week and it was p*ss easy, RE3 took me a few days and was just stoopidly easy. Simple fact of the matter is make a game that look good finish it in no time and get us to buy more. Its all a marketing ploy!!!
The only game thats lasted me is CM3 which is da biz if ya like soccer and **** if ya dont

Pugsley

Most games r getting easier....but zelda ?? easy?!?! are u joking ??? u have to be !!!!
The adventure may be short enuf,only 2weeks or so,BUT have u got ALL the heart pieces ?? ALL the masks ?? ALL the weapons ?? If u have got all them then ure doing well to have it finished in 3months never mind the 1month people are talking about!!!!

chernobyl

there is a couple of exceptions.

The original Tomb Raider stands out, any1 remember the "Palace Midas" puzzle.

I cried many tears over that.

---

Ashley Lyn

Ashley Lyn Cafagna

SantaHoe

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Topic: are games getting a lot easier?</font>

No, you're just getting better
I dunno, I'd say Project IGI was pretty hard in a 'wtf-he-shot-me-through-the-fking-floor?!' kind of way.
And I wouldn't call Serious Sam easy (unless you were playing it on easy of course )

I'd say console games are probably getting easier though (probably)... it's not something I've noticed personally, Soul Caliber and DOA2 still provide a decent challenge on hard.
I'm just glad I get to complete games I buy, unlike some Megadrive games I've never completed! (turrican? gouls n' ghosts? shadow of the beast?)
I'm not too worried about how hard a game is, as long as it's fun and has a longer-lifespan than say... a fly.

Monty - the one and only

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by azezil:


meanwhile whats the story with everyone sayin AvP was hard!?? no! i found it quite easy, well except for the alien, that just wrecked my head big time!!!

</font>

Try playing the original(not gold) unpatched version(with out the ingame save) on hard....Thats the way the game was ment to be played until the whimps out there moaned because they said it was too hard.If you can finish the game including the bonus levels(without cheating) and still call it easy, no offence but you're talking through your ass.

---

Insanity is spreading like wildfire.......and Im at its center

www.scifi-meshes.com

azezil

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Monty - the one and only:
Try playing the original(not gold) unpatched version(with out the ingame save) on hard....Thats the way the game was ment to be played until the whimps out there moaned because they said it was too hard.If you can finish the game including the bonus levels(without cheating) and still call it easy, no offence but you're talking through your ass.

</font>

fyi i have played and finished it on hard (original version) with the predator and marine, i finished most but i admit not all of the bonus missions they're hard...

like the last mission for both, - marine venting the queen out into space ... easy! just open the air lock, pound her till she falls, or get her to run into the hole! then run like hell to puncher the vents.

predator killing her with the spear gun ... easy i usually play with the spear gun anyway! n she can be hurt by falling stuff so just lead her into em ...

---

"just because you're not paraniod, doesn't mean they're not after you!"

[This message has been edited by azezil (edited 17-08-2001).]

Dont be at yourself

I'm far too afraid to play as the Marine in AvP

---

Even though I was their captive, the Indians allowed me quite a bit of freedom. I could walk freely, make my own meals, and even hurl large rocks at their heads. It was only later that I discovered that they were not Indians at all but only dirty-clothes hampers.

OConnor

Blitz, my m8 Chada has Gunstar Heroes and it Fu<king 0wns j00!!!11
heh heh.
Megaman , Gunstar Heroes etc. were Challenging in a fair and Invigorating way, you felt you had to push on and beat it.
Now (in these evil PS2 Games) the developers just throw in tons of respawning baddies and not enough health
Quick Saves spoil games completly imho.
X-Wing Alliance.. now there was a game with a learning curve
Obj1:"Azameen, destroy the defenseless cargo containers"
Obj2:"Singlehandedly fend off the entire Imperial Fleet + escorts"



Sir , we've Just detected 3 new Star Destroyers incoming from Hyperspace!

(AHH!! wheres the Save button!! F6, F6 !!)

Quicksaving marred two great PC games,
Deus Ex and Halflife


[This message has been edited by OConnor (edited 17-08-2001).]

Sliotar

gunstar heroes rocked!! not to mention the 2 player mode..

Pugsley

lol bible man,the marine is bloody scary,watching a beeb on the radar and then opening a door and the aliens in the vents and eats u alive,its the scariest game ive ever played and it also plays good.....
now wheres that xenomorph ??

BlitzKrieg

I actually saw something on .tv the other night where a games develoer was explaining that today they cant put as much into the game because of the amount of space AI takes up. Yet despite half life showing brilliant AI not many games afterward have really followed i mean Star trek viyager was mindless shoot them all, so was serious sam and KISS, alot of games are ignoring the idea put foreward by half life and are taking AVP's route of mass attack. Now this doesnt make a game harder just irratating and a bit boring. With games being easier they should implement a replay value yet most games offer nothing or if they do you cant be arsed to use it because it isint too thrilling (A level in Resident evil games for rocket launcher) Also with todays power you'd expect a less linear world then what some are giving us. IW 2 got my interest for that i heard you can be stuck at it for months before you get anywhere near the end.

Also i dont like impossible games but i do like ones who give me a challange and reward me with a good ending (dotn we all?) But simpley put games are all trying to get something the others dont have and their endings and final battles are not up to scratch Gone to old days when you face the massive robot suit on the death egg only to find yourself racing through space after a spaceship through a asteroid field woth the timer coming to a end. (sonic3 and knuckles)

chernobyl

[.TV] is sucky sucky....euch!!

Any1 ever watch Chips With Everything.

Theres this guy who is sometimes on the panel and i swear he has never given a direct answer to a question..

his answers usuallly go

"well if you go the the MS knowledge"""

or

"if you go to yahoo search engine""


i want that job!

---

Ashley Lyn

Ashley Lyn Cafagna

Pugsley

HL was amazing AI considering the game that it comes in.The marines team work is top notch 4 AI and still hasnt been beaten.
And where has that big end of the game boss attitude gone ?? The ending are no longer ne good either.Single player games r getting predictable,thats y on-line gaming is getting more and more popular.

phaxx

Pugsley, I'd have to disagree there about Half-Life's AI. It's good, but in places it's pretty damn stupid. The grunts are pathetic, really. Once you've spent a lot of time creating levels, as I have, you see the patterns in the AI and you can predict, almost always, what they will do. Something I don't like about it is how the grunts can see you from half a mile away, in pitch blackness, if you're creeping along. even if they can only see a tiny part of your body, you're completely visible to them.

A game I played recently was the original Thief: The Dark Project. I was very impressed by the concept, the sneaking around, knocking out/pickpocketing guards instead of the usual rambo approach. However, they ruined the game, by having monsters in it. It's pathetic, really, the game started SO well, sneaking around a lord's manor, and breaking a friend out of prison, but then, you're going around a CRYPT? There are zombies wondering about, I mean, come on... Later, there are other weird and stupid creatures, things with tails and such. The game could have been riveting from end to end, but nah, they had to go and put in "cool" zombies and things. *rolls eyes* While I realise they needed a decent story to avoid it just being "sneak about, steal things", they could have done so much better. I've read about some custom maps people have created, some ideas were very good, like taking a hostage and things.

Regarding the endingings of games, and "bosses", well, I say good riddance - we've moved on, no more stupid bosses. I played Half-Life up until the white floating thing at the end, and gave up. After fighting through stupid alien worlds, and a "factory", I'd had enough nonsense. In my opinion, Valve's story writer quit as the mappers were beginning the Black Mesa Facility.

Bosses are grand on other styles of games, such as Sonic the Hedgehog/etc, but today's games are trying to be immersive and REAL, (Thief for example - leapt out of my seat at times playing that) and "bosses" really take away from that.

BlitzKrieg

eah well wha i meant with the big finale and good story is a boss you actually h8 or is of some power: EXAMPLE LIquid snake was a excelent boss, because of story and character. I want a boss where its not he takes a hunderd shots to kill bla hblah blah. I want one where he cntrols the situation i.e the place is wierd to blow and the two of u go into a excellent gun fighting duel. Or a boss of somekind which is of some importance to the whole gameplay. I h8ed star trek voyagers final boss, he appears 2 seconds until he end and acts if he has controlled everything.

i mean games are not films but if one thing they should borrow from them is the urge to fight and win and someone to aim at. I mean i would love a fighting game where the last boss isint a super strong fighter but someone, who is actually a damn good fighter and has some emotional link to your character.


U know i'm gonna start a new topic on this

GIME

I HAVE ONE THING TO SAY , GANON IS THE EASIEST BOSS IN ZELDA AND THE EASIEST FINAL BOSS OF ANY GAME IVE EVER PLAYED AGAINST.

OConnor

you cant have played that many games then.
and.. is your shift key broken , or what are all those capitals for ?

OConnor

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by GIME:
I HAVE ONE THING TO SAY.</font>

Ohhhh, so *thats* why its in capitals.

Wolf

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by chernobyl:
there is a couple of exceptions.

The original Tomb Raider stands out, any1 remember the "Palace Midas" puzzle.

I cried many tears over that.

</font>

What tomb raider ?? are u mad that was so easy 2-3 weeks that game was **** easy GOD and after that they just got easier!!!

chernobyl

anybody who sez they "walked" through the palace midas section, is lying.


heh, im sorry if you did actually just walk through the game, and im in the wrong, but everyone i have talked to about that game, sez they hit a big brick wall with that section.

2-3weeks...2/3 months for me.

---

Ashley Lyn

Ashley Lyn Cafagna

Dont be at yourself

I thought the original Tomb Raider was fantastic - some very nice, original (for the time) puzzles and great level design

---

Rich dans les Dublin a Douze, c'est les poof de la grande. Magnifique.

Maiow.

OConnor

i disagree Nekkid. I played Tomb Raider a bit, gave up on account of awful controls, (horrible jumping sections)
souless fights and stupid key collecting.
The next platformer i played was Mario 64..
i got a 30 day pass into heaven

DrunkLeprachaun

2-3 weeks? I bought 2 games 3 days ago and I've beaten one of them(grim fandago, sheer brilliance) and I'm on the 3rd last level of the other(jedi knight). Both are from around '97. In my oppinion, game have been easy since saving was invented(rember how hard nes games were?), with notable exceptions.

Also, I think bosses are fantastic, when done right. For example, the dark jedi levels are the best in Jedi Knight, and metal gear solid has cool bosses aswell. Other bosses like Irenicus, Sephiroth and that big guy from Serious Sam, are all class aswell.

---

If there's one thing I hate, it's people.