Tough Love - Can A Game Be Too Hard?

Posted by simoniker on Friday May 7, 2004 @12:19AM from the justified-suckage dept.

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?

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Origianl Donkey Kong Arcade game by raminator · 2004-05-07 00:28 · Score: 5, Interesting

The origianl Donkey Kong arcade game was impossible to beat. I don't know if you could even beat the game or if it had an ending. I had one in my basement and I spent endless hours trying to beat it.
Quake by HardYakka · 2004-05-07 00:38 · Score: 5, Interesting

I have been playing first person shooters since the genre was invented. I spend about our hour a day playing Quake 3 Arena online and I still get my ass kicked most of the time.

I think some people must have an innate ability to master some types of games and others need simple games to keep from getting frustrated.

Masochists like me keep trying.