What is your usual difficulty setting?

[Gabriel Girard]

I usually play games at easy for a little, just to get used to them and then quickly switch to medium unless they're ridiculously hard on easy (Viewtiful Joe). If i feel like replaying the game I might try Hard mode bout I'm rarely able to finish a game at hard. I got to Aries in God Of War and don't seem to be able to beat him.

[Steve T Power]

Depends on the type of game. Typically with first person shooters i automatically crank that sucker to Hards to keep the gameplay length up (more death = more retries).

I've done so with other games and paid dearly for it (had to restart Darksiders on Normal after 10 hours).

But with most others i usually go for the default, as that's typically what the developers intend. In the case of Darksiders, Matsuda claimed that to really get all the nuances of the combat you have to play it on hard. Screw you Joey Mad, your game raped my sanity on hard. And i'm no action RPG scrub.

[mavrach]

I'll usually go for normal. I'll pick easy if the genre is tough, the reviews say the game is hard, or if I'm unsure. My worst fear is that I'll pick a difficulty level that's too high and not be able to complete the game. I'm too stubborn to retry from the start, so I'd likely wait a while before trying the game again.

[Attrage]

I am primarily into first-person-shooters since becoming a console gamer around the PS1 era. I will play through a game on Normal, then if it was enjoyable enough for a replay I'll go through again on Hard. Sometimes I don't finish it on the Hard setting though as I get impatient if it's RIDICULOUSLY hard (Medal of Honor Airborne I'm lookin at you).

[Steve T Power]

Airborne was BRUTAL. Awesome, but brutal.

[Attrage]

Airborne was BRUTAL. Awesome, but brutal.

Yep. I was playing through the first mission thinking to myself...Holy hell, this is freakin NORMAL difficulty?? But I loved the intensity of the game and I think they really did well with the whole "land anywhere, start the fight anywhere" thing. A few times for fun I deliberately mis-steered into the red zones on the map and wow was that punishment severe!

[Steve T Power]

Airborne was BRUTAL. Awesome, but brutal.

Yep. I was playing through the first mission thinking to myself...Holy hell, this is freakin NORMAL difficulty?? But I loved the intensity of the game and I think they really did well with the whole "land anywhere, start the fight anywhere" thing. A few times for fun I deliberately mis-steered into the red zones on the map and wow was that punishment severe!

The Die Flakturm! level on Hard was a constant stream of fall, die, swear, rinse, repeat. Punishing isn't the word.

[mkiker2089]

I suppose I'm in the minority here. I use Easy exclusively.

See, I play games like they are interactive stories. Difficulty adds to the sense of accomplishment but it shouldn't get in the way of the story either. I don't know how to put words to it but I seem to get something different from games than the "hardcore" gamers. To me most games have enough challenge on easy to keep them interesting and still allow me to get through the story.

[Attrage]

Airborne was BRUTAL. Awesome, but brutal.

Yep. I was playing through the first mission thinking to myself...Holy hell, this is freakin NORMAL difficulty?? But I loved the intensity of the game and I think they really did well with the whole "land anywhere, start the fight anywhere" thing. A few times for fun I deliberately mis-steered into the red zones on the map and wow was that punishment severe!

The Die Flakturm! level on Hard was a constant stream of fall, die, swear, rinse, repeat. Punishing isn't the word.

Funny you should say that coz that was the point I actually got sick of it and stopped. I only *just* got through Flakturm on Normal difficulty, I never actually finished it on Hard.

[Attrage]

I suppose I'm in the minority here. I use Easy exclusively.

See, I play games like they are interactive stories. Difficulty adds to the sense of accomplishment but it shouldn't get in the way of the story either. I don't know how to put words to it but I seem to get something different from games than the "hardcore" gamers. To me most games have enough challenge on easy to keep them interesting and still allow me to get through the story.

I know exactly what you mean. I wouldnt by any stretch of the imagination consider myself a "hardcore" gamer. To me, a truly great game is one that immerses you in a solid story and make you feel like you're taking part in a movie or something like that. I used to play Easy exclusively too, but since I mostly play first-person-shooters I have become really adept at them so nowadays Easy is simply *too* easy. Only if I have *really* enjoyed a game will I play through it again on Hard, and even then the only reason I do that is to, in a sense, prolong my enjoyment of the game. Once you're been through it once, especially if it's a linear "point A to point B" type of game, you know the lay of the land so Hard enemies etc are manageable. Plus for me, most FPS's these days are WAY too short. I really dug CoD: Modern Warfare, but on Normal diffciulty i ripped through it in about 5 hours. By comparison, my playthrough on Veteran difficulty took me closer to 12 hours.
Having said all that (sorry guys, I am fond of long rants) there is a point where Hard goes from being enjoyably challenging to just downright frustrating. I play games to have FUN, and once a game starts to feel like a chore, I'm done with it. My post above is a perfect example. On Hard difficulty, I went from being excited in anticipation every time I loaded Medal of Honor Airborne into my console, to sighing in resignation and thinking "oh, crap, what frustrating sh*tfight to I have to endure today?"...so then I knew it was time to put it up and play something else for a while.