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Tough Love - Can A Game Be Too Hard?
Thanks to Slate for its article discussing the excessive difficulty inherent in some videogames. The writer argues: "Some [games] are so freakishly, spoon-bendingly difficult that they take 10 hours of solid play before you've even begun to master the basics... I usually discard them in frustration after a couple of hours and wonder: What's the point? What adult has the time to master this stuff? Could it ever be worth it?" He continues: "The latest test of this thesis is Tecmo's new Ninja Gaiden, a game so punishing that even some hard-core players fear picking it up." Although the piece concludes: "Just because a game is hard doesn't mean it'll have a payoff", what games have you played that are insanely tricky to master?
wopr# globalthermonuclearwar
Tic Tac Toe - man, I *never* know which square to pick.
It's pretty hard getting that @ down to level 20.
biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
hey beavis, that kid sits in his basement all day long beating his donkey kong.
Try and beat this game: Hold the Button
(Obviously, don't give the site any email addresses! But you should know not to do that already.)
and I only have 4 fingers...
Above and beyond anything else, the one thing that always ticks me off is when a game relies on arbitrary limitations of the game itself to make something really hard. The best example is always JUMPING.
It never fails -- if you're in a game that allows the player to jump, there will be some level or test which requires you to RUN right up to the teeter-tottering edge of plunging to your death, then perform an AMAZING jump, which will allow you to just BARELY make it to safety on the other side.
In my opinion, it's rarely much fun. Doom did this a few times and I still remember how annoyed I was. I mean, if you were that super badass Marine, wouldn't you just say Screw It and grab the ledge and haul yourself up or something? "Dammit, I'm a badass Marine fighting the minions of Hell, yet I just can't seem to manage those extra two pixels!"
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
What, was there not enough room to put it in the margin?
I've heard that not blinking is a sign of brain death. The game you are referring to is Radiant Silvergun. Maybe it was all the "engrish" in the game that now causes you to now mix up the title. "Be attitude for gains" my eye.
I didn't find RS too hard though. It was a great game, sure, but not that difficult. Ikaruga with it's black/white thing just frustrated me. It was an interesting concept but I just couldn't play it.
I always wanted a thing called tuna sashimi.
How does one cheat at real life? It seems to me that one always has to play within the rules, unless the GM decides to intervene.
:)
I had heard of a case of nepotism on the part of the GM where he let his son respawn after 3 days with more xp and an intact identity, but those may be unsubstantiated rumors flying around the player population.
I loved the void levels. True story; first time I saw one, was my roommate playing SMS, and I was playing Morrowind.
I chanced to glance over at the TV screen, saw the level he was playing, and instinctively hit the Quick Save button on my game.
Now that's 15+ years of gaming instinct!
"To pass through the jungle; silence, courtesy, ferocity, as the occasion demands." -- Kamau, "Proper Passage"