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Listen carefully, I know gaming has its strong points, I mean just the plain fact of playing games with the graphics they behold today is amazing. But is it just me or does it become very stressful? Hardcore gamers or "Pros" may not think so, but I (in between Hard and Softcore gaming) think it does. Games aren't only here for businessmen to make loads of money, yes you may be surprised by that, but they are also here for a number of reasons, the main one being so that we can enjoy them.
What is gaming? What do games have that keeps the industry running fresh and gamers calling out for more? Well, games aren't only there for escaping the realities of the world outside, but they offer a very unique experience. They show the true possibilities of what technology can do as we can bear witness to today. The most appealing thing about games is that we are in control, the future of what happens in the game is in our hands and nothing or no-one elses. But all this comes at a price. Games are strangely quite educational, not in the way that it teaches us to read and write, but that it works with hand to eye coordination as well as improving our thinking skills, especially with platform games. And it's with the thinking and acting in a game that doesn't always go according to plan. Games can be straight forward at times but most of the time they can be VERY irritating!
I remember the 2-Bit arcade days where games were at their "rock solid" heights as you progressed through levels like in Space Invaders, Pong and so on. They became often too challenging and I couldn't be bothered with them. Everytime I got stuck on a pretty arduous level, something kept telling me that I could do it. So I kept on trying to find out that I actually couldn't, well, not on the day, but the next day I played it I DID do it! But why does something made for fun and enjoyment cause so much stress? Could it be that games are becoming too challenging or are they less challenging than before?
Arcade shooters and adventure games have always proved difficult only in arcades, but I've never found them so hard at home. But time has moved on and since then there has been an odd contrast of hard and easy games since then. However, the "BOSS" innovation from arcade games like Space Invaders again has been continued and we still see it in most adventure/action games today. 'Onimusha' for the PS2 remains one of my favourite adventure/action games. It started off quite easy and straight forward to play but then it started getting much harder after I had fought off the first boss. Then several bosses followed through different intervals and the game became stupidly hard, so hard that I was too tense and (I admit) a bit scared as well to explore because these boss monsters were freakishly scary. I'm not saying that having bosses in games is a bad thing but I think their difficulty level should be just right; not too hard, not too soft.
I blame the critics that always complain about a game being too short. I think the only reason developers make some games very hard is to add that extra bit of longevity because it will take you a number of attempts to defeat the boss or complete a certain level which obviously adds time to how long you think the game was once you've completed it. But whilst making the game SEEM long it adds a lot of stress as well. Metal gear Solid 2 stressed me out because although I knew there were a lot of clever ways to get rid of the guards or stall them, I didn't feel I could because I was too wary of that damn alarm. Once the alarm sounds, you're more or less done for. I thought this ruined the game slightly because it became too tense and it didn't make you believe you could get away with it.
I guess I'm that sort of gamer that doesn't play games lightly - paranoid gamer. Although I like to get into the action, I don't like getting into action that makes me feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Too many times I've found myself screaming and yelling at the telly and smashing control pads off the floor; isn't that evidence enough of how stressful gaming is? Fair enough, developers do try and give us "An experience we will never forget!" but this doesn't warrant for ridiculously hard tasks in games does it?!
I just hope that the day won't come where a game will drive me to do the unthinkable, smash my console up. I've been close to doing it before, which is why once I see a game and even THINK it's going to be hard, I stay well away from it. I may be soft on hard challenges, but no way can a game be worth a console being smashed up ...no way!
What is gaming? What do games have that keeps the industry running fresh and gamers calling out for more? Well, games aren't only there for escaping the realities of the world outside, but they offer a very unique experience. They show the true possibilities of what technology can do as we can bear witness to today. The most appealing thing about games is that we are in control, the future of what happens in the game is in our hands and nothing or no-one elses. But all this comes at a price. Games are strangely quite educational, not in the way that it teaches us to read and write, but that it works with hand to eye coordination as well as improving our thinking skills, especially with platform games. And it's with the thinking and acting in a game that doesn't always go according to plan. Games can be straight forward at times but most of the time they can be VERY irritating!
I remember the 2-Bit arcade days where games were at their "rock solid" heights as you progressed through levels like in Space Invaders, Pong and so on. They became often too challenging and I couldn't be bothered with them. Everytime I got stuck on a pretty arduous level, something kept telling me that I could do it. So I kept on trying to find out that I actually couldn't, well, not on the day, but the next day I played it I DID do it! But why does something made for fun and enjoyment cause so much stress? Could it be that games are becoming too challenging or are they less challenging than before?
Arcade shooters and adventure games have always proved difficult only in arcades, but I've never found them so hard at home. But time has moved on and since then there has been an odd contrast of hard and easy games since then. However, the "BOSS" innovation from arcade games like Space Invaders again has been continued and we still see it in most adventure/action games today. 'Onimusha' for the PS2 remains one of my favourite adventure/action games. It started off quite easy and straight forward to play but then it started getting much harder after I had fought off the first boss. Then several bosses followed through different intervals and the game became stupidly hard, so hard that I was too tense and (I admit) a bit scared as well to explore because these boss monsters were freakishly scary. I'm not saying that having bosses in games is a bad thing but I think their difficulty level should be just right; not too hard, not too soft.
I blame the critics that always complain about a game being too short. I think the only reason developers make some games very hard is to add that extra bit of longevity because it will take you a number of attempts to defeat the boss or complete a certain level which obviously adds time to how long you think the game was once you've completed it. But whilst making the game SEEM long it adds a lot of stress as well. Metal gear Solid 2 stressed me out because although I knew there were a lot of clever ways to get rid of the guards or stall them, I didn't feel I could because I was too wary of that damn alarm. Once the alarm sounds, you're more or less done for. I thought this ruined the game slightly because it became too tense and it didn't make you believe you could get away with it.
I guess I'm that sort of gamer that doesn't play games lightly - paranoid gamer. Although I like to get into the action, I don't like getting into action that makes me feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Too many times I've found myself screaming and yelling at the telly and smashing control pads off the floor; isn't that evidence enough of how stressful gaming is? Fair enough, developers do try and give us "An experience we will never forget!" but this doesn't warrant for ridiculously hard tasks in games does it?!
I just hope that the day won't come where a game will drive me to do the unthinkable, smash my console up. I've been close to doing it before, which is why once I see a game and even THINK it's going to be hard, I stay well away from it. I may be soft on hard challenges, but no way can a game be worth a console being smashed up ...no way!
You'd be lying to say that you've never been aggrevated by a game
True?
True?
Listen carefully, I know gaming has its strong points, I mean just the plain fact of playing games with the graphics they behold today is amazing. But is it just me or does it become very stressful? Hardcore gamers or "Pros" may not think so, but I (in between Hard and Softcore gaming) think it does. Games aren't only here for businessmen to make loads of money, yes you may be surprised by that, but they are also here for a number of reasons, the main one being so that we can enjoy them.
What is gaming? What do games have that keeps the industry running fresh and gamers calling out for more? Well, games aren't only there for escaping the realities of the world outside, but they offer a very unique experience. They show the true possibilities of what technology can do as we can bear witness to today. The most appealing thing about games is that we are in control, the future of what happens in the game is in our hands and nothing or no-one elses. But all this comes at a price. Games are strangely quite educational, not in the way that it teaches us to read and write, but that it works with hand to eye coordination as well as improving our thinking skills, especially with platform games. And it's with the thinking and acting in a game that doesn't always go according to plan. Games can be straight forward at times but most of the time they can be VERY irritating!
I remember the 2-Bit arcade days where games were at their "rock solid" heights as you progressed through levels like in Space Invaders, Pong and so on. They became often too challenging and I couldn't be bothered with them. Everytime I got stuck on a pretty arduous level, something kept telling me that I could do it. So I kept on trying to find out that I actually couldn't, well, not on the day, but the next day I played it I DID do it! But why does something made for fun and enjoyment cause so much stress? Could it be that games are becoming too challenging or are they less challenging than before?
Arcade shooters and adventure games have always proved difficult only in arcades, but I've never found them so hard at home. But time has moved on and since then there has been an odd contrast of hard and easy games since then. However, the "BOSS" innovation from arcade games like Space Invaders again has been continued and we still see it in most adventure/action games today. 'Onimusha' for the PS2 remains one of my favourite adventure/action games. It started off quite easy and straight forward to play but then it started getting much harder after I had fought off the first boss. Then several bosses followed through different intervals and the game became stupidly hard, so hard that I was too tense and (I admit) a bit scared as well to explore because these boss monsters were freakishly scary. I'm not saying that having bosses in games is a bad thing but I think their difficulty level should be just right; not too hard, not too soft.
I blame the critics that always complain about a game being too short. I think the only reason developers make some games very hard is to add that extra bit of longevity because it will take you a number of attempts to defeat the boss or complete a certain level which obviously adds time to how long you think the game was once you've completed it. But whilst making the game SEEM long it adds a lot of stress as well. Metal gear Solid 2 stressed me out because although I knew there were a lot of clever ways to get rid of the guards or stall them, I didn't feel I could because I was too wary of that damn alarm. Once the alarm sounds, you're more or less done for. I thought this ruined the game slightly because it became too tense and it didn't make you believe you could get away with it.
I guess I'm that sort of gamer that doesn't play games lightly - paranoid gamer. Although I like to get into the action, I don't like getting into action that makes me feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Too many times I've found myself screaming and yelling at the telly and smashing control pads off the floor; isn't that evidence enough of how stressful gaming is? Fair enough, developers do try and give us "An experience we will never forget!" but this doesn't warrant for ridiculously hard tasks in games does it?!
I just hope that the day won't come where a game will drive me to do the unthinkable, smash my console up. I've been close to doing it before, which is why once I see a game and even THINK it's going to be hard, I stay well away from it. I may be soft on hard challenges, but no way can a game be worth a console being smashed up ...no way!
What is gaming? What do games have that keeps the industry running fresh and gamers calling out for more? Well, games aren't only there for escaping the realities of the world outside, but they offer a very unique experience. They show the true possibilities of what technology can do as we can bear witness to today. The most appealing thing about games is that we are in control, the future of what happens in the game is in our hands and nothing or no-one elses. But all this comes at a price. Games are strangely quite educational, not in the way that it teaches us to read and write, but that it works with hand to eye coordination as well as improving our thinking skills, especially with platform games. And it's with the thinking and acting in a game that doesn't always go according to plan. Games can be straight forward at times but most of the time they can be VERY irritating!
I remember the 2-Bit arcade days where games were at their "rock solid" heights as you progressed through levels like in Space Invaders, Pong and so on. They became often too challenging and I couldn't be bothered with them. Everytime I got stuck on a pretty arduous level, something kept telling me that I could do it. So I kept on trying to find out that I actually couldn't, well, not on the day, but the next day I played it I DID do it! But why does something made for fun and enjoyment cause so much stress? Could it be that games are becoming too challenging or are they less challenging than before?
Arcade shooters and adventure games have always proved difficult only in arcades, but I've never found them so hard at home. But time has moved on and since then there has been an odd contrast of hard and easy games since then. However, the "BOSS" innovation from arcade games like Space Invaders again has been continued and we still see it in most adventure/action games today. 'Onimusha' for the PS2 remains one of my favourite adventure/action games. It started off quite easy and straight forward to play but then it started getting much harder after I had fought off the first boss. Then several bosses followed through different intervals and the game became stupidly hard, so hard that I was too tense and (I admit) a bit scared as well to explore because these boss monsters were freakishly scary. I'm not saying that having bosses in games is a bad thing but I think their difficulty level should be just right; not too hard, not too soft.
I blame the critics that always complain about a game being too short. I think the only reason developers make some games very hard is to add that extra bit of longevity because it will take you a number of attempts to defeat the boss or complete a certain level which obviously adds time to how long you think the game was once you've completed it. But whilst making the game SEEM long it adds a lot of stress as well. Metal gear Solid 2 stressed me out because although I knew there were a lot of clever ways to get rid of the guards or stall them, I didn't feel I could because I was too wary of that damn alarm. Once the alarm sounds, you're more or less done for. I thought this ruined the game slightly because it became too tense and it didn't make you believe you could get away with it.
I guess I'm that sort of gamer that doesn't play games lightly - paranoid gamer. Although I like to get into the action, I don't like getting into action that makes me feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Too many times I've found myself screaming and yelling at the telly and smashing control pads off the floor; isn't that evidence enough of how stressful gaming is? Fair enough, developers do try and give us "An experience we will never forget!" but this doesn't warrant for ridiculously hard tasks in games does it?!
I just hope that the day won't come where a game will drive me to do the unthinkable, smash my console up. I've been close to doing it before, which is why once I see a game and even THINK it's going to be hard, I stay well away from it. I may be soft on hard challenges, but no way can a game be worth a console being smashed up ...no way!