Gears of War ain't easy, defends Epic
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Sep 28th 2006 at 1:00PM }
In response to concerns that Gears of War, with frequent checkpoints and regenerating health, is too easy, Epic's Mark Rein has chimed in over on Epic's forums. Rein has clarified that the Gears demo is set to "casual" (easy mode) and implies that first-time players will encounter plenty of challenge on harder difficulties.Games like Halo 2 and Call of Duty 2 have proved that regenerating health does not impede on our sense of accomplishment when we pwn Legendary or Veteran mode. Here's to hoping Gears follows in their footsteps -- and not down Prey's path.
[Thanks, michael]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LunarDuality @ Sep 28th 2006 1:09PM
This is a great example of Game Studios listening to the community. And responding quickly!
Now, let's just hope they deliver.
reguy @ Sep 28th 2006 1:09PM
i kinda saw this coming, gears will have several settings.
kyle was just being an ass
Cage @ Sep 28th 2006 1:10PM
To the haters,
Pick something else to complain about. This game is going to make the 360 red hot come November.
Todd @ Sep 28th 2006 1:13PM
Never played Prey, was it really that easy or simple?
Judd @ Sep 28th 2006 1:14PM
I haven't tried Legendary mode, but I will say that beating Call of Duty 2 on Veteran, was the hardest thing I've ever done in a video game. Considering all the Achievements were in Veteran I had to do it. Now in Prey I actually beat it quicker on Cherokee(hard) mode, because the fighting was easy either way and the challenging part of the puzzles, I already knew. Now that I have all the multiplayer Achievements I'll just trade Prey in because the multiplayer has to much lag, and Prey doesn't have much replay value. As for Gears of War, I never worried for a second that the game would be too easy, because I'm sure the game will have multiple difficulty levels.
P.S. Nice pic. Even though they should give it away, they actually sell those at Staples. They try to justify charging $5 for a promotional material by giving a portion of it to charity.
chimp o death @ Sep 28th 2006 1:22PM
Yeah, well I heard on the easier skill level there's no challenge at all. When you encounter the Locust hordes, they put down their weapons and engage you in a rock-paper-sciscors minigame. Correctly time your button presses and you'll win! After which your foes shuffle away crying like little girls, but not before leaving a tasty bucket of +1000 health restoring popcorn shrimp.
The hardest setting palys the same, except without the popcorn shrimp.
spoo @ Sep 28th 2006 1:25PM
@ 4. "Never played Prey, was it really that easy or simple?"
It is easy in the sence of when you die you go to a mini game to get your health back and then brought back the same spot/moment that you died. Still a fun single player game with great level designs, puzzles and story. A great rental (for 360) but not much more.
elnico @ Sep 28th 2006 1:26PM
yea, regenerating health doesn't necessarily mean an easy game. Cod2 on it's hardest setting was insane
wanted creative @ Sep 28th 2006 1:31PM
I was really surprised that a Gears of War demo wasn't released over live.
They had a lot of good announcements and Doom is an awesome title to add but, if they wanted to make people really freak out with X06 a Gears of War demo release would have made people shat down both legs.
Jake @ Sep 28th 2006 1:38PM
I would pay money for a GoW demo, sadly enough.
So, Epic, I'll give you 3 bucks to make that demo. Anyone else want to pitch in?
algernon @ Sep 28th 2006 1:40PM
saw the video of the demo... i have to say it wasnt very impressing.
Vercin @ Sep 28th 2006 1:45PM
I, for one, am glad that the easy setting isn't too hard. I understand the need for a challenge, and love that most games come with different settings, but I know that if a level in a game takes 50 re-starts for me to finish on easy, I won't buy it. Challenge is fun, but I prefer if the challenge is, as Lisa Simpson put it, "a challenge I can DO."
geekinabox @ Sep 28th 2006 1:54PM
wanted creative --
it's been stated for a while that there will be no demo. GoW will sell on hype alone ... Epic has no need for a demo right now. If anything, a demo could hurt sales (what if the demo doesn't live up to some peoples' hype-o-meter).
I bet we see a demo januaryish next year, once the hype-driven sales and the holidays have run their course.
KBeat @ Sep 28th 2006 1:54PM
I think part of the concern about the ease of the game comes from Epic's other statement that the entire single player game can be wrapped up in under 10 hours by the average gamer on the default difficulty level. The single player game is either fairly short meaning GoW is primarily designed as a multi player game, or fairly easy if his time estimate is accurate.
Steve Roger @ Sep 28th 2006 2:05PM
This is so stupid. The game hasn't been released yet. Sometimes talking about features and strategies is worthwhile before a game is released, like about yesterdays Marvel/COH blurb and question. However, a claim that GOW is too easy is the dumbest thing I have have ever heard. Most games like these have difficulty levels to be set, further as the games progress they become progressively more difficult. There is no reason to doubt that this shooter won't be the same. DUMB ARTICLE.
KBeat @ Sep 28th 2006 2:17PM
I know Steve, can you imagine a gaming oriented blog like Joystiq posting some conjecture about one of the highest profile games set for holiday release based on developer commentary and journalist previews. That's just crazy talk!
Are you sure Joystiq is the right site for you Steve? You should probably stick to GameRankings or the like.
Ghost Box @ Sep 28th 2006 2:42PM
I think if someone had just asked Epic if there would be difficulty settings, they would have given them a straight answer.
That being said, there are plenty of people I know who don't ever play their games at higher settings and complain about the gameplay being boring :p
Mal F4cti0n @ Sep 28th 2006 2:52PM
Epic has stated that there may be a demo after the game is released. To entice those who haven't bought it on release day.
Demos are almost always set on easy, aren't they? I mean, you don't want to frustrate someone with a hard setting, especially when you are dumping a first time player right into the middle of the action.
Plus, I like to read manuals, and you don't get one when you download a demo, so you don't know all the ins and outs of the controls yet. I hate when they are showing you the controller setup screen when the level is loading, and as soon as the level is loading it jumps right in. I mean, let me look and learn and hit 'A' when I feel that I have them memorized. EVERY demo should do that. "Hit 'A' to Start"
Matt @ Sep 28th 2006 4:03PM
I'm sure there will be an insanely hard setting for this game.
The reality is, that these games all have to have a setting which ain't too hard, otherwise old farts like myself (30 years old) without a lot of time (wall street lawyer) but with lots of disposable income (wall street lawyer) won't have fun and continue to play and buy video games. Work is enough of a challenge at this point for me to go home late at night and spend a couple hours figuring out the optimal way to beat that next checkpoint on the legendary setting of some game. No need for 14 year old video game savants to get worked up over the easy setting for blokes like me.
The Intangible Fact @ Sep 28th 2006 4:19PM
I'll tell you whats hard. Ninja Gaiden Black on master ninja.
Lekko @ Sep 28th 2006 4:20PM
I really wouldn't take the creator's word as a credible source for an opinion like difficulty. When have you ever heard a game maker bashing their own game in terms of anything, including difficulty levels? Sorry, but I'm not gullible enough to listen to first party opinions.
dsub @ Sep 28th 2006 4:46PM
"I'll tell you whats hard. Ninja Gaiden Black on master ninja."
hell yes it is. hardest shit ever. best $50 I ever spent on a game though. Because Ninja Gaiden is the greatest game ever made. End of story.
atomicpondula @ Sep 28th 2006 5:07PM
Epic have always listened to the players (sometimes to a fault) so If anyone really cares about what we think it's them.
If they say it's gonna rock on non casual mode then I believe them and Casual mode is still good for a warm up when you first get the game.
It's a sweet time to own Xbox360 right now (and the comming year).
KBeat @ Sep 28th 2006 6:32PM
@20
You ain't lying. That was a challenge.
rokobungi @ Sep 28th 2006 8:58PM
I have more trouble with type of game because they're made that way the games that you try to hold onto limited life and get heath ups (and even a few without healing items) I find much MUCH easier probably because they don't rely on endlessly regenerating enemies
Doom3 @ Sep 29th 2006 1:26AM
Interesting We'll see if it's the kind of hard that makes you feel like you are a master at the game or the kind of hard that is just plain cheap and clumbsy. It was always cool to see some one beat SF2 what ever version on super hard. It all depends on how fun the streatgy is going to be. And also if it's boring choices verse action packed choice since this is a game floating on action elements. And to top it off if there was any skill used then that along can make difficulty fun and rewarding.