Which difficulty will you pick?

[Bioshock_FTW!]

As Ken elaborates a bit on here, there are obviously difficulty settings, where he comments on how the Very Easy mode is for the "tourist", or run and gun type. The Normal mode is for those who will essentially be taking advantage of the environment as much as possible.

I know this was sort of discussed on this other thread, but i'm asking what you would choose the first time you play...

I can only assume there's a Hard, and Easy, and maybe a Very Hard? I don't know..

Regardless, what will you choose? I'm thinking Normal the first time through.

I'm just guessing there will be 5 settings...

[lurchibald]

i think ill TRY very hard for starters just to actually FEEL the helplessness in rapture

[splicer]

I'll probably stick my neck out first time and play on hard,not because I'm the ace gamer or anything,but because I tend to enjoy it more when the difficulty is up.My intention is still to boot the game and play until completion..its gonna be a blast!

[lurchibald]

I'll probably stick my neck out first time and play on hard,not because I'm the ace gamer or anything,but because I tend to enjoy it more when the difficulty is up.My intention is still to boot the game and play until completion..its gonna be a blast!

funny thing is that on skalker i ws playing fine on master difficulty because i thought i choose stalker difficulty that is untill i found out it was master

[intercision]

If the options are as above, I'd most likely choose Hard - I like to have a challenge left for when I replay.

[splicer]

Really easy mode seems like a waste of time,that must be what the player was using in all the videos.I want that desperate feeling of being outnumberd,with no resources,wading thru the splicers with my wrench,and really using the enviroment to survive the BD onslaughts-pure gaming heaven!

[Redraf]

I generally start on normal. If its too easy i can always change the settings later.

[jimmys]

I agree, normal to begin with, but if it's too easy I will probably bump up the difficulty!

[Poison17]

Normal I usually play games on Normal at first.

[Soulsphere]

Normal I usually play games on Normal at first.

That's what I tend to do as well. I think normal should provide enough ease to allow for plasmid experimentation, but won't be so easy that you can breeze through.

[Soulsphere]

Really easy mode seems like a waste of time,that must be what the player was using in all the videos.

Well, invincibility helps when the developers wish to showcase a game. After all, it wouldn't be much fun to watch if the person playing kept getting killed all the time and was unable to show us what else the game offers.

[The Management]

I'll start it off on Normal.

Unless of course there is an achievement for completing it on Very Easy.

[borgdrone89]

i play on normal first, but in the case of bioshock, hard sounds so much more appealing, entertainment wise.

[Derangel]

I will start at the bottom and move my way up, playing the game differently each time. Thats the way I play FPS games usually. I like working my way up the difficulty ladder, that way it adds replayablity and also gives me the sense that I've got my money's worth from my purchase. After that I will likely find where I feel I reach the best balance of difficulty to my level of skill and play it through on that level again and again and again and again and...You get the picture.

[LaughingManic]

I'm definitely going to choose normal to start with, as I normally find that the normal difficulty is the one that is most fun to start with.

[BloodRayne]

I usually go into normal mode and cheat my way through the first run of a game (I know it's frowned upon hahahaa). But I simply love exploring new area's and gamemaps, look at the technologies used, try out different tactics and see how the AI works. As a kid I'ld get a toy and pick it apart before I'ld actually play with it (if it would still work).

After that I usually go into hard mode and play it without cheats and just enjoy the game experience.

Bioshock might be the first game where I won't go into that scenario and simply play it to get the full effect of it all.

[DaMetzger]

I'll go for Hard. When I play scary games, I like them to be difficult too, so I can really feel the atmosphere of being alone, weak and almost without chances to survive.

[splicer]

I'll go for Hard. When I play scary games, I like them to be difficult too, so I can really feel the atmosphere of being alone, weak and almost without chances to survive.

Hi,and welcome!
Thats exactly my attitude towards scary games too!

[v.dog]

I'll probably play it first on Normal on the first playthough, Hard once I know what I'm in for, and Very Easy later, just to muck around and explore.

[Giftmacher]

I'll probably go with normal then replay in harder modes if available. I tend to do this with most of my games so I get as much replay-ability I can muster

Gift.

[BigDaddy93]

ill probably play on normal and then switch to hard when i get the hang of the game

[A.D.A.M. Addict]

Yeah normal to allow the right mix between plasmid and weapon experimentation, and that feeling of desperation, horror etc.

[Jeff]

I assume that "normal" is generally how the developers intend for the game to be played, so I usually play through on normal first.

[501105]

First normal to learn how it all works then all the way up to hardest.

[Necros]

I think I'll start on Normal. I don't want to disappoint myself after some time because I don't know the game well enough and suck all the time. But it would be cool if I could change the difficulty settings while playing without having to restart. Like in TESIV: Oblivion.

[a rabid chicken]

Has anyone ever said that adaptive difficulty is optional? I was under the impression that it was not.

Anyway, I will most likely play on hard the first time through. That's what I did with SS2, and it really felt just right to me. On normal the game is super easy, and on impossible you start with kind of low numbers of hitpoints for a first-time playthough (in SS2 of course). I would assume that BioShock will be comparable.

[Necros]

Has anyone ever said that adaptive difficulty is optional? I was under the impression that it was not.

If you mean the pop-up helps, they are optional. The game tracks your actions and sends you these little tips. I'll use them, I think but if they won't stop after some time, (when I'll get to know the game) I'll turn them off.

edit: Alexx Kay said that it could be turned off on the TTLG forums, if I remember correctly. Like everything else, this is a choice for you as well in BioShock.

[Rapture_Survivalist]

Normal on my first playthrough. Hard/very hard after that.

[vrap]

Has anyone ever said that adaptive difficulty is optional? I was under the impression that it was not.

Both the adaptive difficulty and the mission arrow are optional.

[jimmys]

Both the adaptive difficulty and the mission arrow are optional.

There's a mission arrow? If it's anything like the mission arrow in Dead Rising I'll turn this feature off right away. Nothing kills a mood in my opinion better than being told exactly where to go in a game like this...it can be helpful at times, but it's hardly realistic...I mean if I'm told by some recording that I need to locate Sir Bobbie's Dance Emporium, I want to find it on my own, not have some mystical floating arrow guide me to the entrance

[Jeff]

raptures a big place though, how aggrivating would it be to spend 2 hours going in the exact wrong direction. I'll probably use the mission arrow until I have the basic lay of the land.

[splicer]

Mission arrow? -Youve got to be kiddin me!

[Raveness]

Mission arrow. Another dumbing down for those who now apparently are visually inobservant of their surroundings. Ken hs already mentioned how the layout will have distinct areas, and is only 12-20 hour game. Based on that info I seriously doubt anyone with a decent level of wits and perception would need to be directed by a miraculous arrow from the heavens of gaming.

If you're getting lost, start from point A (where you're standing, and cerebrally map out your surroundings from that point, making note of distinct signposts and unique architecture. Something as simple as a fallen Big Daddy (as long as corpses stay) or a distinct collage of advert posters is all anyone should need to ground themselves.

[Nihil]

I always do normal first time around then try beating the game again (if it's a good game) on the hardest difficulty.

[splicer]

The next thing to be announced will be a Rapture Tourist infomation booth guarded by a grumpy spicer who'll give you directions in exchange for Adam!-Even thats better than a blinkin arrow!

[Raveness]

The next thing to be announced will be a Rapture Tourist infomation booth guarded by a grumpy spicer who'll give you directions in exchange for Adam!-Even thats better than a blinkin arrow!

That's another facet of it. If they insist on putting it in there, for chrissakes integrate it into the bleeding gameworld context, don't have a floating arrow that looks like it came out of TRON to direct the player where to go. Occasional shimmering (ugh) maps with a "You are here" marker along with a "You go here" marker would be fine and get the same job done.

I'm wondering if this is more "functionality" placed in after that oh-so wonderful meeting with the obviously clever Gene-Bank focus-group

[splicer]

I'm really starting to wonder just how far this hand holding mentality is going to go in Bioshock,it seems now we've got,Arrows to tell us where to go,objects that seem to contain their own light source so that we dont forget to pick them up..and also in one of the magazines I've read it mentions the game extending maps and using other clues to guide the player if they get lost.
I dont mind getting lost! I dont need a guide dog to help get me around rapture.all i hope is that all of these gimmicks can be toggled off..otherwise I'm gonna be doing an awful lot of swearing when playing it!

[nyoe]

if theres an arrow it will probably be for those on very easy who want to just run through the game and miss everything, i plan on turning off all the help except for the tool tips (just for the beginning though because i like shallower learning curves as apposed to splinter cell chaos theory's way of teaching)
then i'll playthrough on hard

[Raveness]

I'm really starting to wonder just how far this hand holding mentality is going to go in Bioshock,it seems now we've got,Arrows to tell us where to go,objects that seem to contain their own light source so that we dont forget to pick them up..and also in one of the magazines I've read it mentions the game extending maps and using other clues to guide the player if they get lost.
I dont mind getting lost! I dont need a guide dog to help get me around rapture.all i hope is that all of these gimmicks can be toggled off..otherwise I'm gonna be doing an awful lot of swearing when playing it!

Quite a mentality games have fallen into. Anything remotely difficulty or requiring cleverness from the player is shunned in favor of hand-holding them. It almost feels like us hardcore gamers, and apparently that means 'not monumentally dumb', are being appeased through higher difficulties the publishers would rather not bother with and the developers have to sneak in. Whats wrong with expecting a level of skill from your market? Games like this have been around for over a decade.

No gamers left behind, splicer No gamers left behind......

[splicer]

Quite a mentality games have fallen into. Anything remotely difficulty or requiring cleverness from the player is shunned in favor of hand-holding them. It almost feels like us hardcore gamers, and apparently that means 'not monumentally dumb', are being appeased through higher difficulties the publishers would rather not bother with and the developers have to sneak in. Whats wrong with expecting a level of skill from your market? Games like this have been around for over a decade.

No gamers left behind, splicer No gamers left behind......

I'm really dissapointed now!-I mean can we trust what KL says or what?-We are hooked in and mesmerised by bold claims of total freedom of exploration,mature and intense moral choices,yet these promises seem to be wilting before our eyes.If I want my hands held,I'll ask my girlfriend,I dont need it in a game.