Are you a gamer that must play the game on the hardest difficulty?

I ask this because me and a couple buddys of mine was playin NBA 2k and it was brought up....now I play the game on normal....not too hard, but not too easy...who's good is good and who's bad is bad....even games outside of sports, i just play on normal unless I'm rewarded for it. People like to call me a "non true gamer" because I don't play the game on the most extreme difficulty. So how do you play?

I play on normal first to get the full experience, then I play other difficulties later to add replay value.

Normal is fine for me

If it has a difficulty setting, I'll put it on hard or whatever is the highest difficulty they have. Except if it's an RTS or Sports game. I suck at those.

No hell no. Most games feel cheap when they try to be hard on their harder settings. When the game feels more appropriate about its challenge(ala Ninja Gaiden Black) I'll give it a go. I stick to the standard difficulty. I'll raise the difficulty if I feel like it's too easy on the standard stuff. But mostly no I will not need to play on the hardest difficulty.

Albeit sure some of the stuff I like over the last few years: Demon's Souls, Super Meat Boy, Trials Evolution, etc are all loved for their willingness to actually provide a challenge that most triple A games don't provide.

depends on the game. Mass Effect ones I always crank to max

I only play on hardest if I like the game enough. If I'm not having fun, what's the point?

Usually just normal. Most games just up the cheapness and call it difficulty. If I do really enjoy a game then I'll go for higher difficulties, but its rare for developers to handle it well. Off the top of my head, the Ninja Gaiden games did very well with it as well as stealth games like Splinter Cell, MGS and Hitman.

Start on normal first then go to the hardestMonsieurX

Start on normal first then go to the hardestMonsieurX

Depends on the game. If it's along the lines of DMC, normal is challenging enough.

if theres a trophy yea or if its a wrestling game since you get a much better experiance playing on legend. Besides that i play on normal most of the time.

I play normal usually. I might switch to easier or harder if the game is more enjoyable in one of those. Sports games I tend to play one above normal. I like being challenged in those, but RPGs and FPSs I play for the story, so I always like to advance to the next chapter in a reasonable way.

no challenge no fun! I mean, what would be the point? That's why I don't like Nintendo games anymore, because they all are stupidly easy and on top of it they don't even have decent narrative so I have nothing to look forward to. And this is why I love games like Uncharted and Yakuza because they provide the challenge and the narrative too. And yes, I said Uncharted because most of the haters think the game's easy on Crushing mode but is obvious that they haven't even played it to know that. They just want to hate on it because it's a GOTY quality PS3 exclusive game.

I start on normal.

If it's too easy I go to hard.

If it's too hard I go to easy.

I don't really get people who say that you aren't a true gamer if you don't always play on the hardest difficulty. Anyways, I usually play a game twice with the first time being on the default(usually normal), and the second time on the hardest difficulty.

first time through no way.

it's mostly always on normal, or on easy - if i just want to get through the story and i'm short on time.

i will play on hardest for platinum.

Reason is, i don't like having to repeat sequences again and again and AGAIN on the first go. i just want to enjoy the ride, not so much in it for the challenge of how fast my fingers and eyes can work together.

Games are usually optimized for normal difficulty.Most devs have sloppy hard modes. It's more difficult, but not in a good way, so I play on normal. Put differently, the devs intended the game to be played on normal. The hard mode is just a generic "add more enemies, health, decrease drop rates" but the thing is the levels are made for normal in mind, so the game won't be optimized well for these types of hard modes.

I like it better when games only have one mode, but there is enough depth to make your own hardmode. For example whip only in Castlevania games or 3 heart runs in Zelda. These rather creative ways to increase the difficulty are much more interesting.

Then there is the question of achievements. "Complete this level under x mins" these are fine, but only if the level design is time attack-friendly and the controls must be tight and reliable. So for example trying to speed run a shooter with constant gameplay halts is not very giving, but completing the time challenges in Meat Boy is highly intense and satisfying.

tldr: it depends.

I play games for fun, not for a challenge. mems_1224

There aren't many games with good AI. I play on normal 90% of the time. I like to have fun, not be annoyed.

I play on the default difficulty. If the game deserves a replay, I'll take it up a notch or two.

I play on Normal.

No. The games faults are usually most highlighted by its higher difficulties.

depends on the game. Mass Effect ones I always crank to max

wis3boi

Depends on the game and the genre I guess. If it is a game that is fun when at its most challenging and I'm sure I'll be good at it I'll crank it to hardest right off. Otherwise I'll just play on normal.

If the game is notoriously hard like Catherine, I start on easy then work my way up.

If the game is notoriously easy and/or I'm very familiar with the mechanics, I choose the most challenging difficulty,

Otherwise I choose normal, then replay on hard if I really like the game.

Well I started Xcom on impossible with ironman enabled thinking I'd get all the difficulty achievements in one playthrough, It didn't really go to well LOL

No, as I hate having to start over and over again before I get through a certain level. Sports and to a certain extent racing games are the exception, though. But that's only because games like FIFA are just too easy on anything but the highest difficulty.

Not at all, I game to have fun, not to prove something to myself or anyone else. If I enjoy the game and think the harder settings would make it even more better by presenting a good challenge, then I give it a shot, but usually, I stay on normal...

depends on the game. Mass Effect ones I always crank to max

wis3boi

Even on the highest difficulty, Mass Effect is a breeze to play through, I must say...

I rarely play games on the hardest difficulties. I play games for fun, not for a challenge. mems_1224

I like the older days when there is only one difficulty setting and how far you are in a game meant something. :lol:

depends on the game, if i'm comfortable with the genre and game play style then yeah i'll put it on the hardest difficulty first, but if I'm not not then it just goes on normal. I rarely go through games multiple times unless its so effin good so.

if its a game i really really like i crank the difficult up to max but if its just an ok game and i just want to get it over with i put the difficulty back to normal