I played both Bioshock games on easy. They were much more enjoyable that way.

I didn't even know there was the option to change it in this. Nothing has been overly difficult yet, bar a few moments I've just had to take with a bit more care. Seems fairly well-balanced so far.

Also do the bad guys level up with you? Hate that.

Odd, I played Mass Effect 2 straight on hardcore and enjoyed it far more for it.

I played the first mass effect on easy and enjoyed it far more for it. Glad you're enjoying it Cookie, I'm just amazed you managed it in such a short(! For Skyrim at least) time. I am putting off main quest missions though so I suppose I am taking a much longer route through it.
Anyway, i'll be at your house on Saturday so I'm looking forward to seeing if it looks much different on PC

Are you just cynical now?

we all had to have the same opinion on things.

You shouldn't look down your nose at people who enjoy things in a different way to you.

Why the hell would I do that? You accuse me of arrogance that's not in my DNA.

I simply don't get why you'd remove the gaming part of playing a game. Not playing on hardest, fine. But down to the easiest setting? Honestly you might as well read a book or watch a film for the amount of interactivity you're getting. Thinking of Skyrim in particular, I can't think of any other way of ruining the joy of tactical combat than realising they can't really hurt you and just wading in and flailing around until they fall over. Racing over traps because they can't hurt you. Never seeing a challenge so you don't level up and see the hurtier men. Just play Progress Quest instead.

It all depends on the person, but a good challenge to you would seem frustrating to others. I guess that's why they have difficulty levels, to appeal to all types of gamer.

Yeah, you set the difficulty to where you keep dying but not so much it prevents progress. I agree with Dimrill though, if you make it so easy that nothing in the world poses any real threat then where does the excitement come from? If there's no sense of risk then where is the reward? I guess there's still a feeling of exploration but it's supposed to be like exploring somewhere that is at least a bit dangerous. But still, to each his own, if someone still enjoys playing a game then they are doing it right.

I simply don't get why you'd remove the gaming part of playing a game. Not playing on hardest, fine. But down to the easiest setting? Honestly you might as well read a book or watch a film for the amount of interactivity you're getting. Thinking of Skyrim in particular, I can't think of any other way of ruining the joy of tactical combat than realising they can't really hurt you and just wading in and flailing around until they fall over. Racing over traps because they can't hurt you. Never seeing a challenge so you don't level up and see the hurtier men. Just play Progress Quest instead.

if you make it so easy that nothing in the world poses any real threat then where does the excitement come from?

Surely this viewpoint assumes that the only reason for playing games is challenge, specifically in combat in this case.

When I play Doom I stick godmode on and race to the exit of the first level as fast as I can. Then I just keep playing the first level over and over again. I don't want to see the bigger baddies on the later levels and I don't care about the secrets. Did I miss anything?

When I play Doom I stick godmode on and race to the exit of the first level as fast as I can. Then I just keep playing the first level over and over again. I don't want to see the bigger baddies on the later levels and I don't care about the secrets. Did I miss anything?

A sense of peril is part of what makes exploration interesting and fun

Yes, exactly, it's part of what make it interesting and fun, but not all that's required. Which means it's entirely possible for people to enjoy doing something with less of a challenge form the combat. And, as the entire point of playing games the last time I checke was to enjoy the experience, then surely that still means they're doing it right (for a specific value of 'right' that's unique to the individual)? Which is really all I think anyone's trying to say.

A colleague at work bought F1 2010, after I had managed about two GPs where I had managed to scrape a hard-earned 10th and 14th place and enjoyed every minute of doing so he had finished three seasons winning every race and the championships by turning the difficulty down so that every race was a pointless, hurried few laps to victory. He'd got all the PS3 trophies he could be bothered with and never played it again. Obviously I don't really care that he did this, I just know to never listen to a word he says when he is opining on racing games.

Yes, but to race through Skyrim as fast as possible is to miss out on nearly everything the game has to offer.

But you know some people spectacularly miss the point in all sorts of games. A colleague at work bought F1 2010, after I had managed about two GPs where I had managed to scrape a hard-earned 10th and 14th place and enjoyed every minute of doing so he had finished three seasons winning every race and the championships by turning the difficulty down so that every race was a pointless, hurried few laps to victory. He'd got all the PS3 trophies he could be bothered with and never played it again. Obviously I don't really care that he did this, I just know to never listen to a word he says when he is opining on racing games.

I really need to draw a "tearing out you own hair" dimlie.

These kind of indirect swipes are a pretty shite way of dealing with that though.

Apologies i've not read all the posts on here (lack of time this week) but has anyone pointed out that cookie is not actually old enough to have bought the game and his running through it like that might be more to do with his age than anything more around his choice of difficulty ?

He's old enough to get what games are about. I blame the cheevo culture, it's just another symptom of Broken Britain.

Apologies i've not read all the posts on here (lack of time this week) but has anyone pointed out that cookie is not actually old enough to have bought the game and his running through it like that might be more to do with his age than anything more around his choice of difficulty ?

I thought it was pretty direct.

She's an absolute tank, blasting out spells all over the shop. Happy to wear dragonscale armour, too.