The Wednesday letters page asks why more games don’t have a dynamic difficulty level, as one reader hopes for a GTA: Chinatown Wars remaster.
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Change nothing
I have to admit, the idea of a Nintendo game on PC is crazy. Even if it’s only a mobile game and just a rumour at the moment, albeit a believable one. It’s tempting to say all Nintendo games should be on PC but even as an advocate of the idea I can’t see it ever happen, not even once with a ‘real’ game.
Apart from it immediately making buying a Nintendo console unnecessary (remember, Nintendo make a profit on theirs – unlike Microsoft and Sony) Nintendo would hate the idea of people using unauthorised controllers and not necessarily having the experience that they intended and carefully designed for them,.
The biggest issue though is modding. Nintendo will completely hate that. It would be kryptonite to them and I think they’d rather go bust than see people change their games like that. And you know that’s the very first thing fans would do too.
When Nintendo sees what they do to Mario Kart Tour (assuming modding is possible if it’s going through half a dozen emulators) I think that will kill any idea of any more, from Nintendo’s point of view.
Cosmo
PS: Never knew about those fake Interplay Nintendo games, hilarious!
Sequel trilogy
We have recently had a definitive edition of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas released, however it is still possible for Rockstar to do more.
Liberty City and Vice City Stories have not had definitive editions and while this would only be two games there is one thing Rockstar could do and that is also add Chinatown Wars. They could also include this for the first time on home consoles, as well as give it more than just a top-down view so that it can be given the upgrade it needs and give people a vastly improved upgraded version of this classic.
With the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, this could very easily be done and I think Rockstar will eventually remaster its other GTA titles with another GTA Definitive Edition.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)
GC: Recent rumours suggest Rockstar is done with remasters for now.
Dream DLC
I’ve been playing the Streets Of Rage 4 Mr X Nightmare DLC a lot recently and have to say it’s one of the best bits of DLC I’ve ever bought. It kind of spurs you on each run to unlock extra special moves for each character. The choices you have to make between stages on power-ups are sometimes the key to success or just pretty irrelevant but the chance of a really outstanding upgrade, depending on which character you choose, makes you keep playing in hope of a massive score run to unlock even more content.
My best ever was with Shiva at level 21 but today out of nowhere, and thanks to some devilish upgrades for Max, I managed to take my personal best over level 30. Does anyone know what is the end level or does it run forever? It was getting crazy hard but loads of fun. Sometimes you need the enemies to get your life back so the more the merrier.
Kudos to the reader who wrote the Sonic article at the weekend. I bought Sonic Origins and I thought they were spot on with what they wrote. I really enjoyed it. The music is a disappointment. The Labyrinth levels on Sonic 1 used to be my pet hate when I was young but now I love the music and the flow of the levels.
Nick The Greek
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Pain and gain
I am really dismayed reading the letters from people almost demanding an easy mode for certain games. I wonder if the same people go to the cinema to see a horror film but request a scare free viewing? Or maybe they go to a restaurant and order the spiciest dish on the menu but ask it to be toned down a little so they can fully enjoy it?
The challenge and difficulty are intrinsic to the experience of these types of games. Lose that, and you lose what makes it amazing. The euphoric moment when you finally hear that audio cue signify you have finally beaten that boss and can now progress! Pure adrenaline fuelled joy.
James
Making it harder
I’ve seen lots of articles/comments from people wanting an easy mode, with reasons including a game not appealing to them because it’s hard and putting a lot of time into a game they’d really like to see the second half of but can’t. Alongside this, there’s always the argument around disabilities and accessibility, and making games that are equally available to these people rather than excluding them.
I’ve also read an equal number of valid points about it not working in a certain style of game, or that having an easy mode would destroy the point of the game.
What I’ve never seen though is someone complaining about a game that has an easy mode in it, for the specific reason that it has an easy mode. So, I wonder has anyone played a game they feel was ruined by an easy mode?
Tim
GC: It happens. The recent Psychonauts 2 was criticised for being both generally easy and including a lot of accessibility options that made it easier – but none that increased the challenge.
Reactive difficulty
I completely agree with Wendel when they argue that every game should have an easy mode. Or rather a selectable mode of difficulty. The stark truth is that all gamers are not created equal and that different levels of difficulty are needed to address the needs of players with different abilities. To say nothing of accessibility.
I am a 65-year-old gamer and although I love my PlayStation and have time to play, I freely admit that I lie in the lower range of natural ability. Nevertheless, I read so much about Elden Ring that I purchased it. I ended up investing nearly 150 hours in the game, making progress by getting help from the internet and levelling up as far as I possibly could. This worked for the first two-thirds or so of the game, but eventually halted with a nasty boss that I simply could not defeat. I reluctantly gave up because the game had ceased to be fun. I don’t understand why the game had to be so inaccessible to many gamers. I got my money’s worth but was nevertheless let down by the developers. Why?
And finally, to my main point. It should not be beyond the wit of game developers to automatically adjust the difficulty level of a game based on the actual actions and progress of the player. If a user is breezing through enemies then increase the difficulty, if they are struggling give them some help. The actual difficulty score that they are playing at could be displayed, allowing them to brag (or otherwise) to their friends. It could also be used in multiplayer games to better match players of similar ability.
Chris Harlow
GC: This does happen occasionally. Gods on the Amiga was one of the first to use such a system but so too does Crash Bandicoot 2, Max Payne, and Resident Evil 4. Although oddly most don’t advertise the fact.
Double victory
Down go the Godskin Duo after nearly 40 attempts. What a foul, objectionable engagement that was. Easily the most frustrating boss/s in the game thus far for moi.
Kind of reminded me of the contemptible, gruesome twosome in Redmane Castle, but much more annoying.
A punishing pair that strategically complement one another, like Ornstein and Smouth, these baneful creatures were most certainly not. More of a random, in tandem, being mugged and kicked in the goolies in Camden, sort of affair. Good riddance!
Galvanized Gamer
Multiple choice
I feel like I want to respond to loads of letters in the Tuesday Inbox!
Wendel: A very small proportion of games are hard and with no easy mode, so you shouldn’t feel like you are being pushed out of your hobby because of that. I have some sympathy with games not having an easy mode, though I understand that for a minority of games that is actually the appeal. Elden Ring does have a de facto easy mode though. You can level up, summon AI help, summon human help or try a different area – all of which got me through Elden Ring. I’d recommend it.
Gaston: Yes, I used to love Battlefield, though I think some of its recent issues have come from listening too much to the most vocal fans. Larger player numbers, unkillable aircraft, excessive destruction, too many modes, overpowered vehicles – all have contributed to its demise. It needs to refocus on what made it work around Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3, i.e. good map design, good weapons, and vehicle balance and Rush.
Rulande: I’ve also just upgraded PS Plus for the £20. I’ve bounced off Returnal and the Outer Wilds (though I need to give the latter longer I think), but am really enjoying Guardians Of The Galaxy, which has surprised me! What a fun game it is.
Anon: I think the weekend feature’s main point is that if developers spend all the time producing old games there will be less resource put into creating new games. I get frustrated by what feels like a high volume of re-releases, but while there are plenty of excellent new games to play (and I think there are loads), it’s hard for me to complain too much. I’d much rather try new games myself, but as long as both new and old seem to be able to exist, everyone is happy, right?
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)
Inbox also-rans
I really wish Mario Kart Tour didn’t exist. It’s a stain on an otherwise glorious franchise and the microtransactions are so expensive it makes me think less of Nintendo.
Whistle
Lollipop Chainsaw is definitely a game I didn’t not expect to see return. Hope it’s a success and leads to a sequel!
Tom Heeds
This week’s Hot Topic
Since we’ve just passed the halfway mark of the year this weekend’s Inbox will act as a half-year report and ask what is your favourite game of 2022 so far?
It has to be a game released for the first time this year (here’s our top 10), so it can’t just be whatever you happened to have played from your backlog. Given that, which was your favourite and why?
What do you think of 2022 so far for games and how have you felt about the relative lack of new titles, and previews, recently? What are you most looking forward to in the second half of 2022 and how bothered are you by the smaller number of releases, compared to previous years?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
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