DII vs. Titan Quest

[--Pete]

Hi,

The stipulations . . . make it impossible for the vast majority of players to finish Nightmare unaided, let alone the whole game.

Exactly. Operative phrase, "the vast majority". If anybody can do it, then where's the challenge? That's where difficulty levels should come in. They should be a way for the less capable player to see all the content (playing at 'easiest') while still giving a good, experienced, player a challenge. Since the game companies no longer seem to care about the gamers that want more than mental masturbation, then those gamers have to figure out their own ways to enhance the challenge. And if the enhancement makes the game impossible, so much the better. That's what makes you think. That's what makes you devise new strategies and tactics. And that's what makes you a better player and the game a better game.

As for Minesweeper, there's an arguable case that it and games like it are genuinely rigged against the player - and that is the number one Bad Thing ™ in the world of video and computer games.

Rigged how?

But being the underdog is exactly where a player should be when playing against a machine. Look at chess, where even the world champion can no longer beat the machine. And yet, chess programs have difficulty settings that let even putzers have a chance.

--Pete