Cheating and/or playing on 'Easy'

[Rummy]

So, quite a few months ago I read an article on Kotaku entitled 'Learning To Love Easy Mode' which I felt resonated with me, but as a gamer who has generally always gone for the 'Easy' route.

 

One path down this route is, of course, cheating. Whilst not commonplace now, in my younger days I spent some time as not only nefarious emulator, but also a nefarious cheater. The emulators had the tools, and I've always been intrigued by cheat codes etc - especially learning the idea behind 'finding' codes through logic searches, and applying this through my N64 PAR, and later through the same tools of say Snes9x or ZSnes.

 

Even before this though - I was a cheater. We somehow, from I think Tandy, ended up with a Game Genie for our SNES as kids. Now of course at the time it was good just to have ALL THE LIFE(and I definitely used it to such effect with SMW) - but even that had an element of customisation and 'finding' new codes through digit changing. I tried it with a few, found little success cos I was too stupid to apply the logic sensibly, but nonetheless 'modded' a few codes for interesting effect - one example being a strange moon jump of sorts for SMW. Did it help me win/beat the game? Yes. Did it matter that I wasn't doing it 'right'? I'm not sure. I also found such a code(one I got used to its nuances) was interesting in that it even helped me find/reach further secrets within the game that I might otherwise have not.

 

Back to my emulation days - I played many a game in some respects, and I'd often play 'with cheats on'. I'd try not to be completely overboard in some instances(ie not have infinite life, but essentially just be a badass powerhouse instead) and I never thought anything too wrong of it. Sure, I wasn't experiencing the game as it was originally meant or intended - but one big plus point was that it allowed me to not waste time fighting through the game struggling, and getting to experience aspects of story, gameplay(sometimes more theoretically), that I might never have done otherwise - especially given the means by which I'd acquired some of these games.

 

The plus sides of cheating was I learnt about limits of games, an intermediate learning of hex, decimal and binary relations, and of course experiencing things that might have taken me too long otherwise that I never would have or even experiencing things that in a light different to what was quite intended.

 

 

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Now, I find I game less and less, due to lack of time and somewhat motivation. A side point, I've recently seen a resurgence in the Xenoblade thread, a game I absolutely loved by left shy of the end and fell off of - despite investing in excess of 80 hours into it. I do want to go back and actually finish it - but do I have those 80 hours to repeat put in? I don't think so, and so I'm tempted to go back to my youthful ways and make the most of my hacked Wii to just cheat my way through it - I experience the story, the atmosphere, graphics, audio - a majority of the game, as I would otherwise. However, I'm not getting the 'true' experience - but if I'm unlikely to get it otherwise - is it better to have a half experience of greatness than no taste at all?

 

 

tl;dr: Is playing on easymode for wimps who only get half the experience? Are cheats always bad and for people who can't hack(lol) it? Is it better to experience some of a game at least a little bit with cheats/easymode/beneficial bugs, rather than none at all?

[Ashley]

I play on easy mode if I just want a fun bash at something rather than a big challenge. Or if I'm reviewing and have a deadline :p

[Ville]

tl;dr: Is playing on easymode for wimps who only get half the experience? Are cheats always bad and for people who can't hack(lol) it? Is it better to experience some of a game at least a little bit with cheats/easymode/beneficial bugs, rather than none at all?

 

Well, I usually play on Normal or Hard depending on the game difficulty, and don't really use cheats. I don't know why, but I've always been more interested in beating the challenges in any game than messing around with unlimited ammo or whatever. Sure, it's fun for a moment, but there's really no point to that, is there?

 

Still, anyone who has tried clearing their backlog knows that there are gonna be problems there. Some of the older games can be just brutally difficult, ugly, and / or horribly antiquated in terms of game design. Yet you might still wanna finish them...in which case easy mode and cheats it is. I don't think I've beaten much more than Age of Empires 1&2 with this method, but I was happy to finally finish all of the campaigns, especially since I've sinked so many hours into these games during the years.

 

So yeah, I don't really mind either of these tactics. Sometimes you just want to finish the game and see the credits without spending a ton of time on it, so do what you gotta do.

 

PS. Actually, I just remembered, I did use weapon cheats in some of the GTA games so that I didn't have to go collecting guns and ammo if I died. Same with the Elder Scrolls games, I couldn't be arsed to go back to town every 10 minutes because of a full inventory, so I used a carry capacity increasing mod. In other words, if a game has some tedious elements, I see no problem in skipping over them with cheats / mods / whatever. After all, I play games for fun, not for self-torture...

[Rummy]

I play on easy mode if I just want a fun bash at something rather than a big challenge. Or if I'm reviewing and have a deadline :p

 

Do you ever tell yourself or plan to go through on a harder difficulty later though? I'd always tell myself that, and never actually do it. Definitely agree, I'd rather have a fun go rather than a big challenge.

 

Well, I usually play on Normal or Hard depending on the game difficulty, and don't really use cheats. I don't know why, but I've always been more interested in beating the challenges in any game than messing around with unlimited ammo or whatever. Sure, it's fun for a moment, but there's really no point to that, is there?

 

...

 

After all, I play games for fun, not for self-torture...

 

Skipped some of the post, but I think these points are kinda relevant. Cheats are somewhat 'fun for a moment' but also it's kinda what you end up touching on - lack of can sometimes mean a tedious and ardous journey. Do I spend 2 hours dying and dying and seeing very little of the game(though possibly getting an experience) rather than an easy and progressive 2 hours that shows me more of the content? I guess whilst I do play games for their gameplay - I appreciate seeing as much of them as I can. Mario for example - I like the variety between worlds. I like to see how they take what they start with and evolve with it. For some games, I like to see where the story might go because it's good. I dunno, I don't mind sacrificing 'beating' the challenge in favour of seeing the work and effort that went into the craft - if anything maybe because I'm focused less of struggling I can take in more of the other bits?

 

Tis an interesting topic, I guess. I don't know why I don't mind not playing as much - maybe I'd be better off with some more narrative heavy games!

[Jonnas]

I tend to play on "Normal", going for Harder difficulties if I particularly like the game. I usually just do this because a game better make me earn my ending, but don't make it too steep a goal unless I'm willing to do it.

 

An interesting variation on difficulty levels occurred with Hitman: Contracts. This is a series where you have several options on how to carry out your missions (pick your disguise, your weapon, etc.), but higher difficulty settings actually turn perfectly good disguises utterly useless, for no reason at all. In the first mission, there's a full-body SWAT Team disguise, with helmet and goggles: in Easy, it works, but in Normal everyone sees right through it for no reason.

So in this case, I prefer Easy, since higher difficulties actively take away what I like about the game.

 

As for cheating, I almost never do that. I prefer to play games like they were meant to be played. Cheating is like reading the abridged version of a book, no way.

 

As for older games with archaic mechanics... I tend to draw my own lines there. No save-states/restore points whatsoever unless I only mean to turn off the game to continue later. I believe that a lack of check/respawn points was always part of the original game's design, but that an "extended pause" was something any developer would've done, if given the chance.

 

 

In a nutshell, just play the way you want to. That's the beauty of video games, we can enjoy them the way we choose to.

[Guy]

I have no reservations about switching the difficulty down to easy if normal mode is stopping me progressing in a significant way. Games should be fon, sun. That said, I'm not beyond appreciating the prestige of acing a tough game on a rock solid difficulty. That takes some doing, I'm just not often a guy that can do it.

 

People can cheat their way through single player or agreed multiplayer as often as they like. Play your way! Cheats actually make a lot of games a lot more fun. However, people who cheat to win in legitimate multiplayer games should be battered to death with a pillowcase full of Game Genie cartridges.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Guy

[Clownferret]

cheating in single player mode is fair enough, but multiplayer is not on if you're gaining an unfair advantage over other players. Having said that I do recall using a cheat code on NBA Jam on the SNES that meant if i pressed the tackle button my opponent would drop the ball wherever he was on the court, I only did it for one or two games as I was actually laughing out loud as my mate went into meltdown. When I told him what i had done you would have thought I'd slept with his girlfriend. Happy Days

[Rummy]

Oh yeah of course, multiplayer cheating is off the cards unless you're all in on the joke! Or unless you want to briefly do it for a hilarious trolling joke - I'd never actually cheat in a mutliplayer game/online. I might be a bit of a dick in local, though :p

 

I have no reservations about switching the difficulty down to easy if normal mode is stopping me progressing in a significant way. Games should be fon, sun. That said, I'm not beyond appreciating the prestige of acing a tough game on a rock solid difficulty. That takes some doing, I'm just not often a guy that can do it.

 

People can cheat their way through single player or agreed multiplayer as often as they like. Play your way! Cheats actually make a lot of games a lot more fun. However, people who cheat to win in legitimate multiplayer games should be battered to death with a pillowcase full of Game Genie cartridges.

 

I'd say I probably identify most with yourself so far - I'm no averse to playing through a tough game(or failing enough to get good at it) - but sometimes I don't see much reason for it so I don't. The times where I'll persevere are generally multiplayer games, and that's just a case of playing for playing's sake and finding I'm getting better.

[Jimbob]

I used to stick "invisible" walls up on FIFA to stop a mate of mine deliberatly kicking the ball off the field as it was annoying me.

 

Yeah, i used to use cheat codes in single player mode. My most memorable use of these was in Goldeneye on the N64. I used cheat codes to unlock all the cheats, then used a combo of codes i found in the back of N64 Magazine to allow me to be "invincible with unlimited ammo" in the missions on any difficulty so i could unlock all the levels. And i also used to play on "easy mode" when i was younger, wasn't as experienced a gamer back then.

 

These days, i don't use cheat codes (well, except in GTA to get a spawning tank or something) when i want to have a rampage/fun outside of story mode. And i start my games on "medium" or "normal" to get a feel for the game before i venture into "hard mode" once i've got the experience of the levels.

 

I have a pet hate for anyone whom cheats to get an advantage in multiplayer mode, i do purposely go for players whom cheat. Same as my mates whom see it happen. Red Dead Redemption springs to mind (before Rockstar fixed things) with players whom hid in buildings after finding a hiding spot inside buildings which were never meant to be accessed, whom became "invincible". This prevented people from finding them, let alone being able to kill them.

[M_rock]

Games are entertainment, I think people should experience them in a way that makes them happy, even if that involves easy modes or cheat codes. Online matching is a different case of course.

[Rummy]

Find it interesting on the 'allowance' of some for codes in GTA, though more in the sense of Saint's Row. I recall in Saints Row 2 the more activities you completed as the game went on, you essentially got given benefits usually equivalent to cheat codes. Saints Row is one of my most appreciate game(s) of all time due to a variety of reasons, but that slight meta-ness of cheat codes just essentially built into the game as a reward for actually playing/completing certain things is yet another notch on its post for me.

 

I recall how long the button codes for Goldeneye stayed a secret - by the time they'd come out I'd endeavoured to actually legit unlock a lot of the 'wanted' cheats(golden PP7, invincibility(FUCK), DK mode(piece of piss), forget what others now). I recall having to get the golden PP7 for a mate - I liked that idea of rewarding you with 'cheats' for meeting a target. Payoff, I guess.

 

Yeah, i used to use cheat codes in single player mode. My most memorable use of these was in Goldeneye on the N64. I used cheat codes to unlock all the cheats, then used a combo of codes i found in the back of N64 Magazine to allow me to be "invincible with unlimited ammo" in the missions on any difficulty so i could unlock all the levels. And i also used to play on "easy mode" when i was younger, wasn't as experienced a gamer back then.

 

These days, i don't use cheat codes (well, except in GTA to get a spawning tank or something) when i want to have a rampage/fun outside of story mode. And i start my games on "medium" or "normal" to get a feel for the game before i venture into "hard mode" once i've got the experience of the levels.

[S.C.G]

'Wait... there's an 'Easy' mode?'

 

Is usually my response after blasting through most games on at least Normal if not hard, it has always been the way that I've played. : peace:

 

I only tend to touch Easy mode if it's relevant to a review.

 

Speaking of... *gets back to finishing the Kirby review*

[Blade]

Never use cheats but will use easy mode if it means I don't end up smashing my games console

[Goafer]

I play most games for the story nowadays and I don't have as much gaming time as I used to, so I just want to experience the story in the most time efficient way possible.

 

Unless it's a game that I'm playing for the actual gameplay, I normally play on easy or start off on normal and scale it back to easy if I get stuck.

[Grazza]

I used to cheat all the time with the Mega Drive, and honestly can't remember which games I completed legitimately, although I certainly don't think I ever played Shinobi without infinite shuriken or Golden Axe/Altered Beast without infinite lives/continues etc. When you're a kid you just want to bask in the enjoyment of the game. It's probably a purer and more honest form of enjoyment, in a way, because you're genuinely doing it for fun, not a challenge.

 

Whilst I don't do that now, I certainly approve of Easy modes - they actually make more sense to me than Hard modes. Normal mode should be the perfectly-balanced game that the developers intended, whereas Easy offers a way for people who can't handle that. Hard is, almost by definition, too difficult and the "Hero Mode" in Skyward Sword, for example, leaves me knowing I didn't master the game.

 

Another great, modern, way of cheating is Restore Points. I wouldn't have been able to complete Zelda II (amongst others) without them. You still have to be able to do everything properly, just not in a perfect sequence.

[EEVILMURRAY]

I don't think when playing a game on easy, the main difference on later difficulties is you having less health/effective attacks and the enemy having more health/better attacks, is not a bad thing.

 

If harder missions take this and add extra missions, one example which springs to mind is GoldenEye, then I feel a little robbed.

[ChloboShoka]

I've only ever used cheats when I'm stuck or to make things a bit more challenging for me. When it comes to modes, I normally stick between easy and normal. Though if I get enough game experience, I will try the harder levels.

[flameboy]

Gaming has fast become my primary form of consuming narrative and with that in mind there is simply no way I have time to play everything and get the maximum challenge so I just have to accept that easy is the way forward, I don't view it as cheating in the least bit.

[Cube]

With regards to difficulty, it depends on the game. Mass Effect, for example, I play on casual (yes, shocking). I really enjoy the gameplay and story, and it's the kind of game I want to just sit back and enjoy.

 

On the other hand, I felt like I had to play The Last of Us on hard. It seemed like the kind of game that went hand in hand with challenge.