Have Video Games Gotten Easier?

A month or so ago I purchased the Jak and Daxter Collection for PS3. Anyone who knows me knows that those games have always been my favorite. The characters, settings, and stories are just amazing. I don’t want to say anything spoilerish so I’ll leave it at that. But it had been a while since I played them, and found myself having a difficult time every so often. After a while I got used to them, but it really got me thinking.

The Dynamic Duo: Jak and Daxter

I’m one of those people that will dive into a game by playing on the hardest difficulty as soon as I get it (though sometimes higher difficulties have to be unlocked). When I play, I want it to be a challenge and not something I can mindlessly get through. I think that’s why I really don’t like the Call of Duty series so much anymore. I don’t care about the multiplayer, but the story in the game. Sadly, story hasn’t been so great in those games since Call of Duty 3. Anyway, I want to feel like I’m having to fight through whatever the character had to fight through to progress in a story. I guess I’m just weird in that way.

Games like the Jak and Daxter series were like that back in the day. But now, games seem to hold your hand all the way through. Lately, I’ve been playing Mass Effect 3, and I’ve barely died on the Hard difficulty. The redeeming quality is that it is a “story” game, much like the Knights of the Old Republic games were, so the action isn’t what I’m playing for. But then I look back on my time playing the re-released Jak games. They were HARD. Maybe not the first one, but the second one was so difficult. Sometimes frustratingly so.

I found myself at times just cussing at the television. But the thing was, I wasn’t able to complete a mission because I “wasn’t good enough” and not because of anything else. Health bars were still around instead of regenerating health. Checkpoints were sparse, and sometimes didn’t even exist in a whole mission. If you died, it was because you sucked, end of story. By learning how to do things and getting tricky, you were finally able to get past a mission. I find this oddly lacking in games now.

We live in a time when everything in a game is given to you. The developers WANT you to finish a game. I can’t even tell you how many Sega Genesis or PS1 games I never finished. They were that hard. I go back every so often when I can after telling myself, “I’m older now, and more awesome. I can get through the game now!” But I still can’t. They were just harder, and I sucked.

I got the Super Mario Collection for Wii a year or so ago and tried playing that. What a miserable failure that turned out to be. The game didn’t suck. It was me. For my entire life, I have never gotten very far in a Mario game. I try to like Mario like everyone else, but I secretly despise him and his awesome mustache. I SUCK at Mario games. But that’s not true, either. I played games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy and was just fine playing those. But the old ones were unforgiving.

How my Mario gameplay looks

I’m going to switch gears now on this piece of written material. Games are easier now because people just don’t have the gumption to work hard anymore. People want things to be given to them, even in games. It’s the society we live in. Same thing with multiplayer. No one can do anything individually anymore. Call me a loner (which I am), but when I play a video game, it’s to get away for a little while. I don’t like to sit and play video games with people or watch them play. If I play a game while someone is at my house, it’s usually a sign that I want them to leave (an exception is Rock Band). Similarly, I’m an independent person that wants to do things on my own. I don’t like being helped, I prefer to do everything by myself. So when I play a game that constantly wants to help me by telling me what to do and magically regenerating my health, I get frustrated. But I’m frustrated with everything in the world, so why not video games as well?

So I’ll keep playing games that hold my hand. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

A Conundrum from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

It's May 4th, and that means it's Star Wars Day! In celebration of this yearly sci-fi occurrence, I will be examining a key issue: Tauntaun or Rancor?

     If you aren't a Star Wars fan, let me explain...

     A Tauntaun is a reptomammal living on the ice planet of Hoth. They are large bipedal organisms that are found throughout the planet and have a few different sub-species. They mostly live off of lichen under the snowy surface that makes up the entire planet. Tauntauns can be used as mounts to get around a planet's surface quickly. A few are shown in the film "The Empire Strikes Back".

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tauntaun

     A Rancor is also a reptomammal that is found on the planet Dathomir. They are a large carnivorous species that can be fairly aggressive in their wild state. They are semi-sentient, though, and have a very close relationship with the Dathomiri witches. They can also be used as a mount, or trained with armor and weapons. Rancors can be found across the galaxy because of exotic animal trading. This has also led to a few sub-species evolving to fit into new climates. A feral one can be seen in "Return of the Jedi".

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rancor

     So again. Which do you choose? Let's say you're sitting by a campfire and a pod crash lands in a field near you. You run over, and inside you find a baby Tauntaun and a baby Rancor. You can only save one. Which do you choose?

     It's hard isn't it? At least for those Star Wars fans out there. I posed this question to a friend while we were camping a few weeks ago. He sat there and didn't say anything for a while. Then he admitted that he didn't know what he would pick. He asked me if I could choose, and I found that it was hard as well. So we sat and compared the two, then contrasted them. Both had their pluses and minuses, so it didn't make the decision any easier. I finally picked the Tauntaun, just because it was smaller and probably didn't have such a voracious appetite. But my friend was still having trouble. It took many different consolations to enable him to decide:

- The animal wouldn't get captured by the military or government

- You would be able to feed the animal easily

- You would have room to keep it

- Scientists would take DNA samples to clone it and study it without harming the animal

- The escape pod would have a saddle for when it reached maturity

     He still found it hard to decide. Finally, I said neither of the animals would die. Whichever one he chose was his, and that I got the other one. At this, he chose the Tauntaun. It took the better part of an hour for him to decide.

     After we left the fire, I sat there and started thinking about what had just happened. We loved Star Wars so much that when the question was posed, we actually had trouble deciding what to pick. At first I sat there feeling ashamed at myself. How could I care that much? It's just a stupid film franchise. But then I thought of how I had grown up watching the films, reading the books and comics, playing with the toys, and playing the video games. It was a childhood memory. Star Wars had given me something to love and cherish for the rest of my life. How could I be ashamed about something I had loved since childhood? The thought quickly passed over me, and I just laughed at the conundrum my friend and I had just faced.

     So, Tauntaun or Rancor? Either way, Star Wars still has an impact on people. No matter what they say.

HAPPY STAR WARS DAY!

So yeah...

  Welcome to a place that isn't Writer's Block! At least for me anyway. So basically to sum up this blog; I'm a Nerd and also a Writer.

     I'm going to be using this blog to keep my writing up, which I've been having trouble with for a few months. You see, I'm working on a novel, and sometimes life can get me distracted from it. After a month or so of not writing anything, I found it hard to keep going. Even though I knew exactly what I needed to write, I just didn't. So I thought, "I'll write a blog to at least keep myself writing, even if it's not for my current project!" That was a few months ago...

     So obviously that idea never happened (until now). I finally sat down one day a few weeks ago and forced myself to write a few pages in my novel. Before I knew it, I had 10 more pages under my belt. I've been semi-keeping up, but not like I had been before my little foray into Writer's Block. So now I'm thinking of my blog idea to keep myself in the "writing spirit".

     Nothing on here will probably make sense. And by that I mean there won't be a real pattern to go by. Sometimes I may write about movies, other times it will be about video games. I really don't know what will happen, just so long as it keeps my fingers typing. So hopefully you'll enjoy at least something on here.

     But be warned: Just like I said, I'm a Nerd. So if there is any semblance of a pattern on this blog, it will be in showing that this is exactly what I am.





I have a bad feeling about this...