I think at the end of each level/area/game depending on genre or style you should be close to defeat but you should be able to actually get through as long as you don't make silly mistakes.

A lot of games now are just cheap though.

And don't get me started on times where you have to escort NPCs!!!

Its a great game but every time you were killed you revived on those glass tubes. You could be killed hundredth times and revive very close were you left off.

games are way too easy nowadays, lately i've beaten Dead Space on Impossible, Bioshock on Survivor, KZ2 on Veteran... and only KZ2 proved to be genuinely challenging (the last level was just a biiiit too hard for me though, died like 65 times LOL).

i mostly blame the ability to save anywhere (Bioshock..), or the game being too generous with ammo (Dead Space). saving anywhere especially just ruins it for me, because as a neurotic person i end up saving the game every 5 minutes and that breaks the gameplay too much... developers, please dont give me the option to do that.

Monster Hunter series is pretty hard to understand at first and Ninja Gaiden is really the only franchise that I just can't play on it's harder difficulties like other games.

I've been gaming for a lot of years now , right back to the Atari 2600 days and i'd say games are getting easier but as i get older i get worse at them , i like games that allow you to tailor the difficulty for yourself , i.e. Forza 2 ,anyone could complete the game by choosing say amateur and easy AI but if you made it harder you earned more money , therefore giving you access to the better cars quicker. In short i think most games should be able to be "completed" by anyone who purchases it but certain "achievements" can only be accessed by better players.

if programed properly

easy: should have a easy amount of enemies to kill
medium: should have more enemies
hard: should have more enemies than normal difficulty

unfortuantly: a higher difficulty usually means less energy, less ammo, are harder enemies to kill {all cheap diffulcties if you ask me}

when i pick a hard difficulty id like to see a higher no of enemies

The problem I see is this... people have incredibly short attention spans and most refuse to take the time to learn a game. If they fail, they complain and move on to something else, they want that instant gratification.

Game developers are just as much to blame. Instead of making games that TEACH people how to use the skills necessary as the challenges escalate, they dumb the game down and make it easier and easier.

I'm pretty new to gaming, but I really like games thesedays.
I played a few games back in the days, but never stuck to them, because I felt like I had to play too big a portion of the game to get where I ended up before.
i got back into it because its easier now.
I always start a game on average, before I play on hard (if at all).
I can understand that hardcore gamers say games are too easy thesedays, but for me they're more fun now.

I play my games on normal... Personally I think that hard difficulties take the fun out of games.

I don't enjoy games when they become annoyingly difficult, I just like a decent challenge so I can play the game the way I want and have fun with it.

Games that allow to unlock the harder difficulties. I like the choice of normal or easy(for the noobs).

What I think devs are missing out on, is the ability to unlock a game changing difficulty setting. Like, instead of just being harder, why not throw in a new enemy that is not in the original play through? Sort of like "Mr X" on Resident Evil 2.
A huge enemy that stalks you, and closes paths you took in the first play through, opening up new ones. All along with a jacked up difficulty. Talk about increasing replay value.

Is hands down my biggest pet peeve. It's a forced replay and it's BS. Some games do not warrant a second run through and if you're an Achivement/Trophy whore you HAVE to play it again.

I also agree with giving more enemies with each difficulty setting. None of this less health, less ammo, fewer save spots. I would personaly like to see actual game changes with each setting...I.E., say your doing Spliter Cell and on a certain level it is daylight outside on easy, sunset on normal and then night on hard. This would make it actualy HARDER due to realistic constraints.

Every next gen game I have played is WAY WAY to easy. Heavenly Sword is a great example, short and easy game with no replay value. Those kind of games are not worth buying.

I think Contra 4 is a great example of how difficult games should be executed these days.

Depends on what you consider "Difficult"

For example, Street Fighter 4 can be a "Difficult" game if you're trying to do the challenges (Ryu's challenges anyone? Like anyone actually uses those combos)otherwise it's a pretty straight forward game.

Then there are games like Soldner X, Ninja Gaiden or the earlier Dragon Warrior games that are insanely hard, so much so it only takes a few minutes of play to get the blood boiling.

Games today range a wide spectrum of "Difficulty" but from personal experience it is very hard to find something challenging and gratifying, games are either too easy or just plain cheap and not really worth the effort.

I usually play games on easy and then progress from there this way when I reach hard I've gotten a handle on the control scheme and the game's challenges. As long as the difficulty of the game is dis challenging and the fun isn't taken out it doesn't matter.

makes me cry, I'm slowly figuring out this gen of hardcore gamers aren't to hardcore, love it though

Demon's souls is equally hardcore hard, but i love it too

Its hard but isn't CHEAP hard. The game forces you to learn how to play well by owning your face in, and when you do beat a level or boss it's extremely satisfying!

Games are way too easy these days. They should be diffycult to keep you coming back, but in no way unfair.