By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
S.T.A.G.E. on 19 November 2012
Edit Thread
happydolphin said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:

When I grew up playing super mario I only needed two buttons to jump and spit fire. The skill came at how much enemies and environments hurled themselves at you and how you best avoided them. I played harder games as a child. Complex control schemes in hardcore games are demanding and really demand mastering of complex control schemes. Also, we know the audience has grown up, which is why these games have these mature themes and stories. Nintendo knows exactly who they are trying to get the attention of with Super Mario, but everyone can play the game. Mario Sunshine was probably as hardcore as its ever going to get for Mario.

To this day, I still find completing Super Mario Bros. on the NES a challenge.

Does complexity of controls really make a game hardcore, or does the difficulty level make it more hardcore (catering to advanced gamers)?

Its so funny, You couldn't get me off of the damn floor when I was younger when I was playing Mario. Super Mario 3 and World and 64 were the best Marios to me filled variety in their levels and suspense, but relatively easy at its core. I guess its that easy to play but hard to master type of thing. I got Aladdin and Contra on my SNES and then we were rockin'. I lived in fear of contra on hard until I got into my teens. I dunno, you probably look deeper into than I do, but I just jumped on everything and ran past certain things to keep time with the stop watch in Mario, because again, another part of the game is to keep time and get to the end before time runs out.

Hardcore games tend to have themes that and characters that draw to the heart of the die hard gamer, control schemes that are complex and ai that is incredibily smart and also less lives to live. Playing Gears, Halo and Uncharted on the hardest settings got me to realize this, but for instance, when you play Uncharted on the hardest difficulty when you shoot at characters they bob and weave to try and get out of your line of sight when you're firing and if they shoot you good they can kill you in two shots at times. Its amazing how smart the AI get in those games when you just crank up the difficulty. They will be in your quarters guns blazing and sometimes even in formation.