GTA has become far, far to easy

[craigdyid]

So I'm 21 now and I think I was 10 when I played my first GTA game, Vice City. I then played GTA 3 and got San Andreas a couple of months after it came out.

 

What I noticed in GTA 4 is how quickly I completed it compared to other GTA's which took me about three or four months! GTA 4 I completed in about a week despite not playing it as much as I did the previous games.

 

Now with GTA 5 it seems to have got even easier than 4 which is really saying something. I thought that my age may have meant that I struggled more as a young gamer than someone who's spent about 16 years playing games, but when I went back and played San Andreas the other day the differences in difficulty were easy and plane to see.

 

I think the next GTA neeeds to be more difficult. It's catering for the casual player which I can understand as that's where the revenue is. But GTA could now do with a difficulty system so that those of us who want to play the challenging game that GTA's can be can actually have some sense of achivement in compelting it.

[ElBiggus]

Meh. Real life is hard enough so I see no pleasure in making my leisure activities difficult too; I tend to play games for the story, and if a game makes me want to rage-quit because it's too hard I don't go back to it. GTA V is a narrative-driven experience, and seeing a resolution to the story is where the sense of achievement comes from. Having the patience to replay the same bit twenty times in a row is because it's difficult is, as far as I'm concerned, precisely the opposite of achievement, and definitely not fun: it breaks the narrative flow, is frustrating, and does nothing to enhance the experience. You want it to be harder? Play it left handed or in a mirror or something: it's just as artificial as the traditional ways of increasing difficulty (less ammo, less health, more enemies), but doesn't spoil it for those of us who're along for the ride. (And before you accuse me of being a casual gamer or anything, note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were really difficult.)

 

(Look at it another way: would you enjoy a book more if the print was really really small and in a hard to read font? Would movies be better if all the scenes were in the wrong order and you had to watch it a few times to work out precisely what bit goes where?)

Edited June 4, 2015 by ElBiggus

[k0NG3ØRN]

Turn off your radar, the game changes dramatically.

[Homicidal Hipster]

Turn off your radar, the game changes dramatically.

this. and change to free aim. I guarantee it won't be so easy then.

[oCrapaCreeper]

You say it's too easy but you can't seem to describe why exactly you think it's easier. What is easier?

I'd recommend turning off the game's autoaim off to start. It is one of the most dumbed down aiming systems I've seen in video games even by standards of console aiming, turning it off and using free aim makes it so that you can't clear about 10 enemies in seconds by flicking your stick left or right.

 

Turning off the radar always makes things harder but it's not ideal during missions having to constantly pause and check your map, it moreso enhances free roam.

Edited June 4, 2015 by oCrapaCreeper

[Homicidal Hipster]

another thing to add. if you ever die, whether its ever in free roam or during missions, reload your latest save and try again.

[J Cobra]

[Sveittjpong]

Meh. Real life is hard enough so I see no pleasure in making my leisure activities difficult too; I tend to play games for the story, and if a game makes me want to rage-quit because it's too hard I don't go back to it. GTA V is a narrative-driven experience, and seeing a resolution to the story is where the sense of achievement comes from. Having the patience to replay the same bit twenty times in a row is because it's difficult is, as far as I'm concerned, precisely the opposite of achievement, and definitely not fun: it breaks the narrative flow, is frustrating, and does nothing to enhance the experience. You want it to be harder? Play it left handed or in a mirror or something: it's just as artificial as the traditional ways of increasing difficulty (less ammo, less health, more enemies), but doesn't spoil it for those of us who're along for the ride. (And before you accuse me of being a casual gamer or anything, note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were really difficult.)

 

(Look at it another way: would you enjoy a book more if the print was really really small and in a hard to read font? Would movies be better if all the scenes were in the wrong order and you had to watch it a few times to work out precisely what bit goes where?)

You sound like you should watch movies instead of play games.

 

To turn the tables, why should they cater to scrubs like yourself that "just wants to get through with the story", and not dedicated gamers that aim to better themselves? Wheres the logic in that?

 

And " note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were reallydifficult."

 

[ElBiggus]

 

You sound like you should watch movies instead of play games.

To turn the tables, why should they cater to scrubs like yourself that "just wants to get through with the story", and not dedicated gamers that aim to better themselves? Wheres the logic in that?

 

 

If a game is "too easy" it doesn't prevent you from playing it, but if it's "too hard" it will prevent other people from playing it. There is the logic in that: if you're spending $265M developing and marketing a game you need to make sure you're going to sell lots and lots and lots, which means you don't want to make it too difficult for the "average" gamer. There are plenty of stupidly difficult games out there if you want a challenge but I realised a long time ago that playing games on an easier difficulty setting was more fun, and when it comes to sitting on the sofa playing a game I want FUN and not DIFFICULT -- if I wanted difficult I could just try threading a needle blindfolded whilst wearing boxing gloves.

 

 

 

And " note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were reallydifficult."

And? What's so funny about that? In the olden days they made games last longer by making them difficult as hell -- none of this "unlimited saves, regenerating health, regular checkpoints" nonsense. One touch from an enemy? Back to the start of the level, and say goodbye to your powerups. Lost three lives? Back to the very beginning for you, then. (An example: Castlevania takes maybe 25 minutes from start to finish, but to get that 25 minutes takes hundreds and hundreds of failed attempts, and it is not fun. Sure, there's a sense of accomplishment at the end of it, but it's not sufficient to compensate for the countless hours of frustration, swearing, repetition, and general annoyance.)

[Sveittjpong]

 

 

You sound like you should watch movies instead of play games.

To turn the tables, why should they cater to scrubs like yourself that "just wants to get through with the story", and not dedicated gamers that aim to better themselves? Wheres the logic in that?

 

 

If a game is "too easy" it doesn't prevent you from playing it, but if it's "too hard" it will prevent other people from playing it. There is the logic in that: if you're spending $265M developing and marketing a game you need to make sure you're going to sell lots and lots and lots, which means you don't want to make it too difficult for the "average" gamer. There are plenty of stupidly difficult games out there if you want a challenge but I realised a long time ago that playing games on an easier difficulty setting was more fun, and when it comes to sitting on the sofa playing a game I want FUN and not DIFFICULT -- if I wanted difficult I could just try threading a needle blindfolded whilst wearing boxing gloves.

I think your logic is beyond retarded. You are comparing physically nerfing your ability to play the game, with the game actually being harder.

What you consider FUN, i consider brainless flashing of colors. When i play a GAME i want to PLAY, i don't wanna sit there and WATCH the game PLAY itself as i SPAM 2 buttons over and over. This gives the game LONGEVITY and a sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT when and if you actually finish it.

 

CAPITALIZATION of words, hell yeah!

 

 

 

 

 

And " note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were reallydifficult."

And? What's so funny about that? In the olden days they made games last longer by making them difficult as hell -- none of this "unlimited saves, regenerating health, regular checkpoints" nonsense. One touch from an enemy? Back to the start of the level, and say goodbye to your powerups. Lost three lives? Back to the very beginning for you, then. (An example: Castlevania takes maybe 25 minutes from start to finish, but to get that 25 minutes takes hundreds and hundreds of failed attempts, and it is not fun. Sure, there's a sense of accomplishment at the end of it, but it's not sufficient to compensate for the countless hours of frustration, swearing, repetition, and general annoyance.)

 

How old are you? The funny part is that you seem to think i am 12 years or something. And again, what you seem to HATE, i find great enjoyment in. Literally git gud.

[ElBiggus]

 

How old are you? The funny part is that you seem to think i am 12 years or something. And again, what you seem to HATE, i find great enjoyment in. Literally git gud.

 

 

I'm in my 40s, and my age comment was directed at the OP who is 21; I picked up my first paddle controller about 15 years before he was born.

 

And yes, this is one of those subjective things -- there's a place for difficulty in games, but for me things like GTA should be an experience rather than a struggle. Personal taste aside, there is a commercial logic to making games "easier": most people don't have much spare time, so if you only get an hour here or there to play a game the vast majority of people are not going to want to spend it playing the same section over and over again because they keep dying due to the difficulty level. I won't say R* shouldn't add a difficulty level setting, but if there isn't one then it makes far more sense to err on the side of making it easier rather than harder; nobody wants to pay $60 for a game and not be able to get past the first 10 minutes because it's difficult and they don't have the time to devote to practicing.

[comet_]

...but for me things like GTA should be an experience rather than a struggle.

It's not about being a struggle, simply being a bit harder. In V, the game literally gives you money for doing stupid things. In GTA III's last mission, you were stripped of all your weapons and armor, and you had to take a huge army of gang members AND an armored helicopter on your own, and in the end you got a nice ending and a sh*tload of money. THAT IS REWARDING, your hard work in the end paid off. In Vice City, you defended your mansion from the Forelli gangsters and Sonny himself, plus with your best friend that betrayed you. In the end, you defended the place, got revenge and a rewarding ending and ingame money. The list goes on and on, but in V the scores are simply make the player feel like a god in a stupid outfit taking out cops in scripted sequences to make it look like a movie for no reason, drive to this place with no real blocking or issue, and BAM, HERE'S MILLIONS FOR YOU! You can easily finish the story without even trying, there is an actual option to SKIP STORY MISSIONS, the missions are so scripted it feels worse than an E3 demo. GTA IV let you take multiple approaches on a mission with tons of alternative dialogue and outcomes, but in V this is just rare. I think I get what OP means; due to the ''casuals'' that couldn't handle GTA IV's story, the whole concept was dumbed down A LOT so people could play it and feel like they're good players. I actually think this is something that shouldn't even be considered in the first place, and I hope they simply make GTA VI an actual proper GTA game with actual challenge and leave the next GTA Online silly and as stupid as possible for ''casuals'' to be able to enjoy with their friends.

[GtaFanatik]

Some things that made the game easier were Supported Aim, CheckPoint system and GPS... Remember? Back in San Andreas when you needed to travel from LS to Las Venturas and you only had a yellow triangle as guide. You had to figure out where the bridges are and what streets lead you to the destiny... GTA IV made it easier with the GPS on, resulting in the most fast, green-highlighted route to your destiny. GTA V made it even easier showing you the distance in numbers to it..

 

Supported Aim: Remember GTA VC? That mission which involved you firing from an helicopter commanded by Lance Vance with your minigun? A big circle with a centered dot was all. YOU had to aim and shoot everyone. Now is "Press L2+R2" until you kill everyone...

 

Checkpoint System: Same here, I wouldn't imagine End Of The Line in GTA: San Andreas with a checkpoint system. I think Sweet died like 20 times back in my PS2 days in that mission.

[Mr. Scratch]

The autoaim in the III era was way worse than the one in IV and V.

[zXy]

 

Meh. Real life is hard enough so I see no pleasure in making my leisure activities difficult too; I tend to play games for the story, and if a game makes me want to rage-quit because it's too hard I don't go back to it. GTA V is a narrative-driven experience, and seeing a resolution to the story is where the sense of achievement comes from. Having the patience to replay the same bit twenty times in a row is because it's difficult is, as far as I'm concerned, precisely the opposite of achievement, and definitely not fun: it breaks the narrative flow, is frustrating, and does nothing to enhance the experience. You want it to be harder? Play it left handed or in a mirror or something: it's just as artificial as the traditional ways of increasing difficulty (less ammo, less health, more enemies), but doesn't spoil it for those of us who're along for the ride. (And before you accuse me of being a casual gamer or anything, note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were really difficult.)

 

(Look at it another way: would you enjoy a book more if the print was really really small and in a hard to read font? Would movies be better if all the scenes were in the wrong order and you had to watch it a few times to work out precisely what bit goes where?)

You sound like you should watch movies instead of play games.

 

To turn the tables, why should they cater to scrubs like yourself that "just wants to get through with the story", and not dedicated gamers that aim to better themselves? Wheres the logic in that?

 

And " note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were reallydifficult."

 

 

Were they harder or were you just younger.

[B Dawg]

Some things that made the game easier were Supported Aim, CheckPoint system and GPS... Remember? Back in San Andreas when you needed to travel from LS to Las Venturas and you only had a yellow triangle as guide. You had to figure out where the bridges are and what streets lead you to the destiny... GTA IV made it easier with the GPS on, resulting in the most fast, green-highlighted route to your destiny.

Actually the GPS in GTA IV showed you the fastest 'legal' route, it didn't show you the fastest road that was a one way street with cars heading straight towards you, or the alleyways that you could go through. So you were better off not following the GPS route for the most part.

 

Seriously, R* seriously overdid it with GTA V. What, the Auto-Aim feature wasn't enough for people?

Edited June 6, 2015 by B Dawg

[CarlitoDorito]

Don't take cover at any point. It makes things a lot harder.

[UshaB]

Don't use a gun either.

[lolznc]

Yes, GTA V is easier than some other GTA's, but does that massively hinder the experience? Personally, no. If you want to make the game harder, turn off auto-aim. Some of SA's missions were way to difficult, and I really don't want a repeat of those missions. Use your imagination. Play through the entire game without auto-aim, and without dying once. If you die, restart the entire game from the beginning. Is that hard enough for you? I saw nothing wrong with the difficulty. The amount of times I did die are testament to that.

[Cyper]

Games today are developed to be ''accessible'' and ''streamlined''. That is the answer. It's not just GTA - its 90% of all modern games.

[craigdyid]

Meh. Real life is hard enough so I see no pleasure in making my leisure activities difficult too; I tend to play games for the story, and if a game makes me want to rage-quit because it's too hard I don't go back to it. GTA V is a narrative-driven experience, and seeing a resolution to the story is where the sense of achievement comes from. Having the patience to replay the same bit twenty times in a row is because it's difficult is, as far as I'm concerned, precisely the opposite of achievement, and definitely not fun: it breaks the narrative flow, is frustrating, and does nothing to enhance the experience. You want it to be harder? Play it left handed or in a mirror or something: it's just as artificial as the traditional ways of increasing difficulty (less ammo, less health, more enemies), but doesn't spoil it for those of us who're along for the ride. (And before you accuse me of being a casual gamer or anything, note that I've been gaming for way longer than you've been alive and I remember when games were really difficult.)

 

(Look at it another way: would you enjoy a book more if the print was really really small and in a hard to read font? Would movies be better if all the scenes were in the wrong order and you had to watch it a few times to work out precisely what bit goes where?)

 

 

I understand everything that you're saying but that's why I suggested a difficulty option being implemented as well. A bit like when you play Gears of War you have four different difficulty's, you play Call of Duty you have however many, sports games etc.. that way you can stick with whatever difficulty you feel comfortable with whilst others can increase the difficulty if you choose to do so.

 

You say it's too easy but you can't seem to describe why exactly you think it's easier. What is easier?

 

I'd recommend turning off the game's autoaim off to start. It is one of the most dumbed down aiming systems I've seen in video games even by standards of console aiming, turning it off and using free aim makes it so that you can't clear about 10 enemies in seconds by flicking your stick left or right.

 

Turning off the radar always makes things harder but it's not ideal during missions having to constantly pause and check your map, it moreso enhances free roam.

 

Yeah, I've turned off free aim which has made it more difficult and IMO more realistic then popping up from behind cover and knowing instantly where your enemies are. I'll probably try turning the radar off during my next play through but as you say, having to pause and check the map would be more of a pain.

 

The reason I feel it's too easy is because you seem able to take a lot of bullets without health draining too much whilst the enemies you encounter seem to drop with a couple of shots. I'd prefer it if I was having to take my time, picking out cover and actually worrying about how much health I have left. (saying that though, removing the health bar has helped compensate for that somewhat.)