I have learned something about myself recently, and I figured as a follow up to my previous article it would be good to share and allow for a moment of reflection among all you reading. I love video games, but I am not good at them. Now, I know starting any video game there is a certain amount of learning involved no matter who you are. You just have to practice to get good. That's true. I won't disagree. However, people who get good at video games then are only those who have this crazy drive to keep perfecting their game. I'm not one of those people.
We all have our rhyme and reason for why we play games. Some play for the gameplay that's a lot of fun, some for the story that's told, some to horde achievements and trophies, others to yell "noob" over the microphone incessantly during an online match (usually those 13 yo or younger), others to get a level 80 so they won't have a life outside of guild raiding, most do it for some combination of all those.
Personally, I really dig story, but gameplay is important too, otherwise I'd be bored; though, sometimes, good gameplay can carry a game that's a little light on story (see Little Big Planet, that was one of the most fun games I've ever played. My friend and I had some good times with it). Anyways, point is, I dig games like Uncharted/2 that are almost movies with great characters and stories. This usually leads me to play RPG's but other genres have been really stepping up to the plate in this respect, see previous example of Uncharted. However, this all digresses from what I was talking about originally. I play video games to escape, and the piles of games I own but have never beaten bear witness to the fact that I have little patience for a game that is too difficult for me. For simplicities sake I will refer to the final boss of Uncharted 2. I'm burnt out on the boss. I can't even bring myself to play the battle anymore, and he's the final part of the game! After this I get to see the conclusion to the story I care about, but even now, that's not quite enough for me to sit my butt down and finish it. For some stupid reason, I refuse to turn down the difficulty, since I was priding myself so much on playing through the game on hard.
This leaves me with quite the conundrum. What is the lazy gamer to do in this situation? Move on? Look online? Give up? Hmmm. I'm all about changing my gaming ways, but no matter what, I can't change how fed up I get when I get stuck on a game. Hell, my favorite game of all time (one of three or so tied for first) is the original KotOR. I played through the whole game, got to the star forge, found myself in the area leading to the final boss but incapable of getting past the place. You see I was playing dark side and was out of med kits. And so, I have never beaten the game. Even though it is one of my favorites of all time!
The problem essentially is, I'm not playing for the challenge. Sure, a little challenge is good, but if I can't overcome it in ten tries or less the game may be dead to me. Of course that's not the only reason for all those unfinished games. Sometimes, I just get bored with what's happening in the game (see FFX, FFIX, inFAMOUS, Kingdom Hearts, etc...god, I'm gonna get flamed for that list). When one's main focus is the story and entertainment value of that, it is incredibly easy to give up on games. Something I wish I could get over, but if I'm no longer having fun then a game is no longer serving its purpose in my opinion.
So what about you? Do you have trouble finishing games? Why do you play them to begin with? Do you think I'm a noob or a care bear? Do you find my articles both shallow and pedantic? Even pointless? Let me know how you really feel, cuz knowing is half the battle!
The best advice I can give you is to always play a game on normal first, then up the ante to hard and crushing, etc.
The best example for this working is in Bioshock. You play on normal and yes, it's pretty easy but you learn the fundamentals of how to play, the strategies to use when playing on hard. I then went back to play it on hard and it was just as easy as normal, because I learned how best to play it.
The exact opposite of this example is found in MGS4. I beat the game on normal but since big boss mode was available afterwards, I felt inclined to go right to big boss (hard hard difficulty) and was so frustrated with the increased AI awareness that I never finished it a second time, which is unheard of for a MGS game because the story definitely warranted a replay.
So start a new game in Uncharted on normal, beat it, then try hard again.
I have the same problems as you. I get to certain points in video games, like Chronicles of Riddick and JUST CAN'T GET PAST THEM! Halfway through Escape from Butcher Bay, I had to switch from Hard to Easy and I STILL can't pass that part.
However, I am probably in love with the concept of great stories intertwined with great game play. And I am in love with the Prince of Persia. I just dig running on the walls, jumping to poles, swinging from rods, sword fighting...and the story, to me, is very awesome. I especially love just hearing the conversations between the Prince and Elika. It's very entertaining to say the least.
You do state very great points and I don't consider you a noob. I don't even like using that in my vocabulary either. You're just like a lot of other gamers out there. You have your own way of playing a game and why you play it.
@TriNiiTy Yea, I normally do that. Start on normal. But sometimes even that's too difficult for me >_<. However, when it came to Uncharted, the first one went rather smoothly for me so I figured hard would be more my level for the second. And it was, until the final boss. Haha. I definitely never want to go back to playing anything easier than normal though. That just is a little too much in the other direction.
@Michael Brasier glad to hear I'm not the only one with this issue. It was becoming a badge of shame when it came to my gaming record to be honest.
If you are having a lot of problems, just drop the difficulty down to easy. For Kotor and the dark side, their is a dark force power called "Drain" or something to that affect. It kills the enemy and refills your health bar.
Great blog. I think I'm right there with you. I love playing video games, but there are many that I have never finished. I"m just not very good at them.
I could use the excuse that I'm old (36), but that would be an insult to older gamers who are good. And plus, I was never very good!
The reasons why I do play, well, the story, I would say, but the real reason, (in the past anyway) was how the game looked.
I guess you could say I was a graphics ***. The game looked good, so that was the reason I played it. I don't really think that's a bad reason to play a game though.
Lately I have been doing pretty good. I beat MGS4. I think I played it on Normal. Definitely didn't play it on Very Easy. Also beat DMC4, GTA4 (yes, I did use cheats. I'll save that topic for a blog of my own!) and recently did beat Uncharted 2 on Normal.
I just think some people are inherently better at games then others. Just my opinion.
It does piss me off though, not finishing a game. I LOVED Dead Space, but could get past that huge boss on level 6, I believe.
Cant' bring myself to sell the game though!
To be honest I play majority of my games on easy. I'm looking to have fun with my games. I probably could play them on Normal and Hard, but sometimes the frustration isn't worth it to me (depending on the game). For example in Uncharted I play on Easy. I'm better at RPG's with swords and spells then I am with action games with guns.
You make a good point, some games really are harder than they should be. I'm a fairly skilled player and it's my primary hobby along with reading so I dont run into this difficulty as often, but there are games I've never come back to because of it. You have to do what is right for you but, IMO, you shouldn't feel bad about turning down the difficulty if they dev made the curve too steep, that's their failure, not yours.
I really do hate sounding like a stuck up elitist, because I'm not, but I don't really get suck on games. Maybe that could be attributed to the fact that I rarely play the harder difficulties first playthrough. But I do know about the final boss in Uncharted, that was a *****. But I can relate to you about the bore factor. I'm sorry, but I could never finish BFBC's campaign. Final Battle, end of game, but I got to the part where you have to blast the bridge, couldn't figure it out, and I just went and played multiplayer. Never finished the game. If a game is boring, then people most likely won't play it.
Nice blog, and I like the picture choice.
I dont think that it's a problem to play a game for the aesthetic experience rather than the challenge of completing a difficult task in a hard game. The first time I played any of the Metal Gear Solid games I had it on very easy because I did not want to be denied the opportunity to see how the story played out. Granted, once I beaten it, I would go back and look for hidden items, unlockables, and generally challenge myself with a tougher gameplay experience. My advice to you is to play a game on easy, use online strategy guides if you have to, complete it, and then decide what you want to do after that. I would also recommend being a little bit for selective with you play or purchase. I don't want to play Ninja Gaiden II because I know its hard and quite frankly I don't hear amazing things about the story so I can live with not playing it. Your article also reminded me of a recent article in GF about demo play that Reiner wrote. I think that its not such a bad idea when you think about it.
This sounds a lot like my style.
I still haven't finished Killzone 2 on Recruit. The RPGs at the end are my downfall every time and I've been trying to beat it since launch.
Some days I feel like a sub-par gamer, but then I remember that I mostly play for the stories (I'm a sucker for a good tale) and I don't feel so bad about toning down the difficulty.
But it's another issue entirely when I can't beat a segment or boss on easy. Geh.
I play games for a variety of reasons and am usually incredibly persistent when I am stuck on something to a fault. This doesn't so much have to do with my gaming habits as much a it has to do with how I approach most things in life.
I just recently picked up Uncharted 2 on Saturday. I'm playing through it the first time on hard because I beat the last one on both normal and hard.
However, I sometimes have difficulties when I come back to run throughs of games I haven't played in a while on hard modes. I went back to my Metroid Prime 3: Corruption "hypermode" run through and did not get very far. The same applies to my crushing mode file for the first Uncharted.
Anyways, great post! I also enjoyed the creative picture selection.
Keep it up!
I completely agree with you. Sometimes I just start a game, and get bored really quickly after contant death after death. However, I ALWAYS finish a game. I couldn't live with myself knowing that I spent 60 dollars on brand new software that I didn't even take advantage of.
No matter how difficult or dumb the game, beat it. Add to your library of finished games. Have pride in your accomplishments. That is the best advice that I can give to you. Even if you are not a hardcore gamer, try, and try hard, to finish your game. There is nothing like that feeling of accomplishment that washes over you after you kill the last boss, complete the last mission, or unlock the last unlockable, no matter how long and boring the game gets.
I might just be saying this because I take pride in my gaming accomplishments, but is the best advice I can give you. Defeat that last boss in Uncharted 2!