Russ nailed something fundamental about modern game design back in June. He enjoyed playing “Red Faction: Guerilla," but only by playing it on the easiest difficulty setting. I had the same experience this summer. I had a blast playing through “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” on “Casual”, because busting ghosts was the point of the game, not the challenge. Do I really need to die a hundred times to feel like I’m getting the most of bustin’ when it’s the bustin’ that makes me feel good?
But switching to easy isn't always something that's encouraged by a game. In fact, there have been a few games that have blatantly chastised you for taking the simple path. Here's a few that spring to mind:
When you die repeatedly in a “Splosion Man”, the game pauses to offer you “The Way of the Coward”, an option to skip the current level and head straight to the next one. When you get there, your character has to wear a ballerina’s tutu for the whole level. Misogyny aside, it’s an effective way of incentivizing skill at the same time as giving you the same leeway the casual mode would.
“Ninja Gaiden Black” goes a step further. For players that can’t best the evil shinobi hordes, “Black” has an easy mode. Enemies go down quicker and your life bar is significantly longer, letting you learn the game’s stylish moves and see its later levels without killing you every two seconds. But it’s called “Ninja Dog” mode, and when your stats go on leaderboards online, everyone sees that you’re a dog.
“Madworld” isn’t as viscerally demanding as “Ninja Gaiden” or “Splosion Man”, but it’s very traditional, a hardcore game whose main goal is a high score, only attainable through expert skill. “Madworld” throws the subtlety of emasculation out the window and just flat out starts insulting the player though announcers Greg Proops and John Dimaggio. It’s especially satisfying when you finally beat the game too, since the announcers spend the end-game credits insulting the staff.
Is an easy/casual mode still an easy mode when the game degrades you for using it? Can you still have the same amount of fun or be as enriched by a game even you’re repeatedly reminded that, even though you’re playing, you’re not playing it right? They’re questions of taste at the end of the day, but I’ll say this: I’d rather beat a level than wear a dress, be called a dog, or get ragged on by a dude who was the freaking Podrace announcer in “Star Wars: Episode 1."