dwarf fortress ne1?

Of course, games HAVE to be easy. They're not like a movie that you can watch all the way through. If you suck at a game, that's it, you won't be able to progress and watch the ending. I remember a friend who never even finished OoT because of the water temple.

These days, games have to be accessible to multiple audiences. Rarely will a game satisfy both the casual and hardcore gamer, so they'll often try to please the audience which is bigger(casual).

I think this trend in modern games is what gave great success to the Souls series, Demon's Souls in particular being a huge breath of fresh air from games that would otherwise hold your hand and have a million objective markers telling you what to do.

There are some new elements in gaming that have the difficult in games dumbed. The one I hate the most is that stupid "regenerative health". I remember when playing goldeneye or quake or doom. I cared about my health, and if I was low, I could try to sneak like a ninja and make every single shot count to get to the next healt pack.

And now, when I'm low I crouch like a little girl and wait. I cant imagine what they were thinking. "Man, health packages, dont you think they're odd? you touch it and then you come back to live. What if they just cure magically while doing nothing? That would make more sense"

I can rush on single player on any COD or BF, and get stucked hours in classic contra. It's just we're weaker now. Try to play MegaMan Collection if you dont believe me ;)

yes

No, they're getting less frustrating. For most people, getting killed over and over again, having to repeat the same thing over and over again just because the developers thought it would be a good idea to give the AI pinpoint accuracy at the range of a mile away and instant reaction times isn't exactly their idea of "fun".

For those that do want that masochistic experience, there's a little thing called "difficulty modes", a little feature which lets a very wide variety of gamers enjoy the game, instead of just letting those who prefer hard/easy enjoy the game. It's a win win for everyone. If you are one of those people b*tching that a game is too easy, yet you play the game on easy or normal mode, then you need to stfu and up your difficulty setting.

This topic is getting boring and old. Who even cares? Some games are easy, some are hard, some are both. Big deal. All that matters is if they're good or not. Most games let you play on harder difficulty levels if it's too easy.

I kinda miss the intense difficulty that many old-school games had. I know it can be frustrating to play the same part over and over and over again because it's so difficult, but it was always so satisfying when you finally DID beat that annoying boss or complete that annoying level. Some of my favorite nostalgic games are those that took me years to beat (I'm looking at you, Banjo Tooie!)

Games? oh those things I remember playing them 10 years ago.. So they actually call them games still?

Even the hardest difficulty in games are not that difficult anymore. Beating Uncharted 3 on Crushing was slightly more difficult than beating Uncharted:Drake's Fortune on Normal.

this isnt even an answer, yes they are easy

I think games have become easier, but at the same time, almost every game comes with the ability to adjust the difficulty. Most people don't want the punishingly cruel games of old anymore, but there are still some games on the market that can present a challenge like that. Games themselves have also changed and the structure of games today are often not condusive to punishing difficulty. But as I said, you can almost always turn the difficulty up, and then you just hope that it will present a challenge. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't, but I can't think of a time where it has hindered my enjoyment of a great game.

But I guess n4g articles will always find something to bitch about.

I blame people not finishing difficult games. These days people are giving up even more when it gets hard, look at ninja gaiden 3 since its been toned down since less than 20% of people beat the second one

In most cases, yes. But I say the hardest games I played were on the Wii. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor and Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the "Age of Achievements, Trophies, and Badges!" Where meaningless tasks that you would never think of in a million years reward you with a cute icon and POINTS. Collect more points/trophies/badges/achieve ments, and be the envy of your friends and the gaming community at large! Think you're done with that game? No way! You didn't get all the trophies, so play the game some more till you get them all! Act now, and you can buy DLC to collect even more achievements!

Badges, achievements, and trophies, and the shit-spoiled generation of gamers that have been spoon fed nothing but feel-good bullcrap for wiping their own asses have facilitated this shift towards "Easy Games." Hell, back in my day you had to draw your own maps and take your own notes, and there definatly weren't big flashy arrows telling me exactly where to go!

Dark Fantasy with some horror elements.

Gothic Horror - “the battle between humanity and unnatural forces of evil (sometimes man-made, sometimes supernatural) within an oppressive, inescapable, and bleak landscape.”

eh what?

its always been a gothic horror inspired game.

not sure anyone thought different

Horror simply means fear, shock, and disgust. I felt all of those things my first time seeing the Gaping Dragon.