Have you ever come back to a game with a frustrating part...

...and clear it immediately?

I was totally stuck on fighting Doku on Ninja Gaiden and just quit. I went back to the game a month later and beat him in 10 minutes.

Recently on Gears of War, I was stuck at the end of Stage 2 where you are pinned down by the Locust. I came back to it a couple of months later, found destructable environments that I never found when I was beating my head against the wall before to make the battle easier, and finished it in 2 tries.

...and clear it immediately?

I was totally stuck on fighting Doku on Ninja Gaiden and just quit. I went back to the game a month later and beat him in 10 minutes.

Recently on Gears of War, I was stuck at the end of Stage 2 where you are pinned down by the Locust. I came back to it a couple of months later, found destructable environments that I never found when I was beating my head against the wall before to make the battle easier, and finished it in 2 tries.

Neoyamaneko

Nope. If I'm really stuck, I read FAQs or ask for help on the game's forums. When I play story games, I don't play other games until I finish the story. I only play sports or games w/ no story to take a break from the main game that I'm playing.

I don't wait months, but if I can't beat a level I'll take a break for a few hours/days and come back later, and yeah, I find the level much easier. I think it gives you a fresh look at it, so you aren't trying to plow through in the same way. I try NEVER to read FAQ's or guides unless I'm convinced there's something wrong with the game or what I'm trying to do.

I too have been playing Gears lately, and it seems I'm using this tactic a lot!

Yep, it has happened to me on several occasions. It's odd how taking a break from a section of a game that's caused you to fling the controller across room, seemingly allows you to breeze through it on your first or second attempt once you revisit it on later date.

Maybe it has to do something with the fact that after that break, you've lossed the frustration and anger of getting your butt handed to you multiple times. This allows you to return to the situation with no expectations, freeing yourself to actually focus on the task at hand, opening new avenues of thought and action....resulting in a quick resolution to the problem.

And there are a few games that will help you out by adjusting difficulty levels downward if you're having problems progressing through taxing areas of the game or bosses. Conversly, raising them if you're breezing through.

Yep, it has happened to me on several occasions. It's odd how taking a break from a section of a game that's caused you to fling the controller across room, seemingly allows you to breeze through it on your first or second attempt once you revisit it on later date.

Maybe it has to do something with the fact that after that break, you've lossed the frustration and anger of getting your butt handed to you multiple times. This allows you to return to the situation with no expectations, freeing yourself to actually focus on the task at hand, opening new avenues of thought and action....resulting in a quick resolution to the problem.

And there are a few games that will help you out by adjusting difficulty levels downward if you're having problems progressing through taxing areas of the game or bosses. Conversly, raising them if you're breezing through.

buckybuckster