How many times can you lose before quitting?

Beating a game can be very satisfying, especially if it’s a hard one. Some games, though, are so difficult that they become frustrating and not very fun at all. You have two options: keep trying until you beat it, or just plain quit.

I’d say I have above-average gaming skills, but from time to time there comes a game that tests my patience and sanity. One of those games was the first Ninja Gaiden for the NES. Reaching stage 5-3 was no easy task in itself, but having to fight three bosses in a row was just cruel. On top of that, if defeated, you were sent back to stage 5-1. It’s the only place in the game where you don’t continue on the level you were on. The first time it happened I thought it was a glitch. I was so naïve…

Another game that gave me grief was Street Fighter Alpha on the PlayStation. For some reason, I could not beat M. Bison using Chun-Li. It just wasn’t happening. I had to continue so many times that my fingers got blisters, but I finally won. As a reward for my patience I got a nice butt shot of Chun-Li, although it kind of looked like she was farting.

Chun-Li is not enjoying what M. Bison is doing to her, but I am...

Then there was the Mass Effect 2 playthrough on “Insanity” difficulty. There were a few tough spots here and there, but none as punishing as the Collector’s Ship near the end. You face wave after wave of the toughest enemies in the game: Scions, Praetorians, and the goddamn Harbinger. Your squadmates can’t keep up, and that awful “game over” music just made everything worse.

Which games made you pull out your hair and send controllers flying across the room?

Tags: Ninja Gaiden, Mass Effect 2, Street Fighter Alpha

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Ryan Knutson

June 11, 2011

When I was a kid, it was Bad News Baseball on the NES... if you didn't hit anything that wasn't a home run, or a gounder, the computer ALWAYS caught your balls with their magnet AI, and to make matters worse, you couldn't see your own outfielders soon enough to correctly place them for the out. There may have been some Startropics tantrums in those days too, but I think I've blocked them out.

Today, it's InFamous 1 and the computer's magic bullets, which have further hit distance than you, plus the ability to target your players arm around a corner. I can stand it when player skill is involved in my failures, but when the computer can imput commands faster than you, blindfolded, 7 moves ahead... I thank God for infinite checkpoint respawns.

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Samir Torres

That baseball game sure sounds like fun. For some reason it reminded me of Mortal Kombat 2. The first few battles against the CPU were super easy, but then they get smart. Not smart, but cheap. They can telegraph your every move and counter with their own. Unless you trick them into jumping forward, you won't stand a chance.

So it's not just me that's getting raped by bullets in inFAMOUS. I never see the enemies, just the bullet trails. If they can see you, you've already been shot. I'm not too far in the game. Will the lightning you shoot get more powerful in time? So far it kind of sucks.

Steve Holik

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I have been playing this game since the early '90s, and I still can't beat it without the game genie. I can make it up to the final palace, but that damn thunderbird slaughters me everytime. Also, I can't beat Contra without the Konami Code....sigh...

June 12, 2011

I could never beat Contra without the 30 lives cheat either. There was too much stuff going on at the same time, with enemies coming from all directions and a constant hailstorm of bullets. Super C had a 10 lives code, and even with that beating the game was tough.

A recent game that frustrates the hell out of me is NBA Jam. The first two quarters are child's play, but things start getting intense in the 3rd, and ridiculous on the 4th. If you don't build up a big lead in the first half, you are doomed.