I think I'm getting old...

[srgbilco]

Ye gods, how old are you lot? Is 30 the now mandatory age for a mid-life crisis?

Maybe it's not you who are getting worse, but the games that are getting harder.

[Molloy]

Considering how much time I had when I was young I do alot better nowadays.

I was getting rather apathetic about gaming in general recently and decided to go back to basics. I got rid of all the **** I would never finish and restocked with arcade games.

After an evening of pure pick-up-and-playability (GitarooMan, Shinobi, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and Psyvariar) I felt like a new man.

Competitve, skill based games are wonderful for ones sense of self esteem. You come away from a session with a feeling of personal accomplishment that storydriven epics rarely deliver. ****ing meandering adventure/rpg/collection based games were killing my enthusiasm.

[MD]

What you lot whinging about? Most modern games are pretty pants anyway, just treat yourself to whipping some kids at Super Streetfighter 2 Turbo and you'll feel like a new person.

[Tom Salter]

Yeah, it definately is a lack of practice. As for games getting harder, no way! With my old ZX Spectrum, finishing a game really was a spectacle, one hat didn't happen often. Games like Turrican, Shadow of the Beast, and oh so many others were so damn hard it wasn't funny! Now games are a lot more accessible to the casual player, which means that we can all get into these sort of games.

However, a perfectly designed game will let a beginner get through the game, and an advanced player rise somewhat above the beginner in some way. Look at games like Psyvariar, which let a total beginner play through and enjoy the game, and then the depth in which an advanced player can go into.

So yes, you must be getting old gits then

[Sandman]

LOL - me and the kids used to play multi-player Halo on the widescreen TV in the Lounge and I really struggled to see wtf was going on so I had to hog the nearest chair to the telly.

I went from being "teh Daddy", to being owned on far too many occasions by the eldest, so I insisted that we got a LAN set-up then I could banish them to their 'Boxes and TVs in their own rooms.
This would then stop the eldest (16), "from cheating and looking at everyone else's screens"!

Didn't make the slightest difference - in fact things got worse - I'm now the lamer at LAN Halo ft:

I still whup their arses at WE6FE tho'...

..and if a game "uses" too many buttons, then I'm well flustered.
I've had to go back to Amiga retro gaming on the 'Box to show them how Rick Dangerous should be played, or demonstrating my skill at catching a babel fish on the PC (no reflexes needed for Infocom!).

I'm worried now that in a coupla' years when I turn 50, all my gaming goodies will have to be put out to pasture..

[JRMacumber]

Man, today I feel a lot better. For the longest time I've been at a roadblock with Buffy, stuck on the stage after you fight Spike outside the Bronze (you know, the stage with the vampire dogs). Anyway, for some reason the combat in the game hasn't been clicking with me. I'm okay (usually) it is't a one-on-one fight, but bring in one or two more vampires, and it was all over for me. I couldn't hit right, I couldn't move right, nothing was working for me like I wanted it to. But this afternoon it finally made sense, and the key was doing what a lot of you said, just sitting back and CONCENTRATING. I stopped fighting the controls, and I actually did well! I was taking on one, then two, then three, and then four vampires at a time! It wasn't easy, but I was doing it, and withOUT having to swallow elixer after elixer, either. I was spinning and kicking and punching like you're SUPPOSED to. It was great. I got past that level, and then I got through several Cemetary stages too, all without throwing my controller to the ground in frustration. In fact, now I have all the potions I can handle, as well as crossobw bolts loaded with Holy Water AND that fire potion! w00t! Plus, I think I've found every secret as well.

And then I went back to the Viewtiful Joe demo, and bashed my way to the end of it, too! Before I'd gotten stuck on the boss guy with the revolvers, but today I got passed him, and got right through the helicopter, all with plenty of health to spare! And the key to that was the same as Buffy. I watched the screen, saw the signs, worked the controller instead of fighting it, and I succeeded.

I"m so proud of myself. I know some of you are probably snickering and thinking, "That poof, what a loser, I beat all that easily," but for me I see this as somewhat of a breakthrough, and something I can carry over to the rest of my games. I've remembered what I used to know: Play the game, don't fight it.

[zeroboo]

i think im getting old too...

Every game i play seems to be too hard or too fussy.

I remember enjoying games like FF7 and that was playing it in japanese.
Nowadays, i find it annoying if i have to sit through any more than 2 lines of text. I just want to get down to the action.

If my objective for any game is not BLATANTLY obviouse i tend to get frustrated very easily.

Actually the hardest part is probably getting myself to actually sit down in front of a game for more than 10min.

Its kinda weird how i still get hyped about all the new games and actually wanting to own them even though after owning them i dont actually play them.