Weapon 117
04-20-2009, 06:21 PM
Which games will leave you tearing your hair out?
The war cry if the modern gamer is that games just aren't as hard as they used to be.
It's true that games nowadays have to cater for all audiences and not just the hardcore, which is why multiple difficulty settings are becoming more important and why the general difficulty across the board is lower than it used to be.
Yet for those gamers who refuse to back down in the face of impossible odds and a stern challenge, which games still provide that kick? Which ones will have you launching your pad in frustration and wanting to go back to Pro Evo? Here are the 10 toughest games on Xbox 360 thus far...
10. N+
The ninja-esque platformer starts gently but quickly cranks up the difficulty until you're leaping across tiny ledges while a parade of deadly robots and mines lies below. With three homing missiles chasing you. And machine guns locking onto your position. And then once you get across and hit the switch, you've then go to go back...
9. F.E.A.R. (Extreme)
Getting forward in F.E.A.R. means learning how to play patiently in a stacatto rhythm - move forward, slo-mo, fire, hide, wait for slo-mo to recharge, repeat. Extreme forces you to spend longer waiting for your slo-mo to recharge than you do actually fighting and it's probably 360's greatest test of patience to date.
8. Metal Slug 3
SNK's old school shooter is a reminder of how hard games could be. A constant onslaught of enemies with almost no margin for error and some tough-as-nails bosses... compounded by the fact that one hit will kill you. Getting through the first level is fine. Getting through the second is doable. Getting through the third, the fourth and the why-is-it-so-long fifth? Pah.
7. Devil May Cry 4 (Dante Must Die)
While the challenge here doesn't quite get you cracking your fingers like Devil May Cry 3 did - what game really does? Instead, Devil May Cry 4 settles for being just bloody tough, with Dante Must Die mode affording you no mistakes as you dance, slice and weave your way through the numerous enemies and bosses in your way. Designed to be tough and by God, that's exactly what it is.
6. Call of Duty: World at War
Take away the grenades from the enemies and it would be a test of patience. Yet because grenades exist - and they drop around you like rain as soon as you dare to take cover - you're always being funnelled towards enemy fire, where two hits is enough to send you scurrying back to the last checkpoint. You'll learn to hate those grenades before the end credits roll.
5. Guitar Hero III (Expert)
It's a tough prospect in Expert anyway, especially when you have Slayer's Raining Blood tearing your fingers to shreds and Metallica's One lulling you into a false sense of security. Yet the boss battles on Expert are what make this such a tough prospect. All we need to say is the Devil Went Down To Georgia. Those who have experienced it will cry tears of pain having just been reminded of it.
4. Earth Defense Force 2017 (Inferno)
Without a second player to cover you, Inferno is stupidly hard. Not only do you need to farm the lower difficulties to get enough weapons and armour to take on Inferno, but a second player is absolutely essential. On your own, it's impossible to hold off the swarms of ants and spiders on your own. So not only is insane dedication required, you need an insane friend too.
3. Ikaruga
The classic shmup might have been around for a while now but that doesn't make it easier now than when it was released back on the Dreamcast. You can protect yourself by changing the colour of your ship to match the black/white bullets and some levels deliberately warp your mind around this gimmick as much as possible. Fiendishly difficult but so satisfying when you get it right.
2. Left 4 Dead (Expert)
Maybe a month ago, it would have sat around 6th or 7th in this list thanks to the high damage and friendly fire potential meaning the constant need for communication to ensure survival. Now almost all the glitches have been removed - no more turret-jumping, no more ledges where infected can't get you - it's gone from being hard to borderline impossible. A good team can just about crawl its way to the finale, where the final assault awaits...
1. Ninja Gaiden 2
"There's a minefield and it's covered in snow, so you can't really see the mines. There's a path through the minefield but sticking to the path means you can't dodge the homing rockets and machine guns, so either way, you die. And then when you get past that, there are these bats that fire fireballs. Oh, and there's a level in the Amazon river and all the enemies have homing missiles and you can't even see where most of them are!" This is one of the many tales of woe Ben tells us about Ninja Gaiden 2. Good luck those who brave it...Source: http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=9560
The war cry if the modern gamer is that games just aren't as hard as they used to be.
It's true that games nowadays have to cater for all audiences and not just the hardcore, which is why multiple difficulty settings are becoming more important and why the general difficulty across the board is lower than it used to be.
Yet for those gamers who refuse to back down in the face of impossible odds and a stern challenge, which games still provide that kick? Which ones will have you launching your pad in frustration and wanting to go back to Pro Evo? Here are the 10 toughest games on Xbox 360 thus far...
10. N+
The ninja-esque platformer starts gently but quickly cranks up the difficulty until you're leaping across tiny ledges while a parade of deadly robots and mines lies below. With three homing missiles chasing you. And machine guns locking onto your position. And then once you get across and hit the switch, you've then go to go back...
9. F.E.A.R. (Extreme)
Getting forward in F.E.A.R. means learning how to play patiently in a stacatto rhythm - move forward, slo-mo, fire, hide, wait for slo-mo to recharge, repeat. Extreme forces you to spend longer waiting for your slo-mo to recharge than you do actually fighting and it's probably 360's greatest test of patience to date.
8. Metal Slug 3
SNK's old school shooter is a reminder of how hard games could be. A constant onslaught of enemies with almost no margin for error and some tough-as-nails bosses... compounded by the fact that one hit will kill you. Getting through the first level is fine. Getting through the second is doable. Getting through the third, the fourth and the why-is-it-so-long fifth? Pah.
7. Devil May Cry 4 (Dante Must Die)
While the challenge here doesn't quite get you cracking your fingers like Devil May Cry 3 did - what game really does? Instead, Devil May Cry 4 settles for being just bloody tough, with Dante Must Die mode affording you no mistakes as you dance, slice and weave your way through the numerous enemies and bosses in your way. Designed to be tough and by God, that's exactly what it is.
6. Call of Duty: World at War
Take away the grenades from the enemies and it would be a test of patience. Yet because grenades exist - and they drop around you like rain as soon as you dare to take cover - you're always being funnelled towards enemy fire, where two hits is enough to send you scurrying back to the last checkpoint. You'll learn to hate those grenades before the end credits roll.
5. Guitar Hero III (Expert)
It's a tough prospect in Expert anyway, especially when you have Slayer's Raining Blood tearing your fingers to shreds and Metallica's One lulling you into a false sense of security. Yet the boss battles on Expert are what make this such a tough prospect. All we need to say is the Devil Went Down To Georgia. Those who have experienced it will cry tears of pain having just been reminded of it.
4. Earth Defense Force 2017 (Inferno)
Without a second player to cover you, Inferno is stupidly hard. Not only do you need to farm the lower difficulties to get enough weapons and armour to take on Inferno, but a second player is absolutely essential. On your own, it's impossible to hold off the swarms of ants and spiders on your own. So not only is insane dedication required, you need an insane friend too.
3. Ikaruga
The classic shmup might have been around for a while now but that doesn't make it easier now than when it was released back on the Dreamcast. You can protect yourself by changing the colour of your ship to match the black/white bullets and some levels deliberately warp your mind around this gimmick as much as possible. Fiendishly difficult but so satisfying when you get it right.
2. Left 4 Dead (Expert)
Maybe a month ago, it would have sat around 6th or 7th in this list thanks to the high damage and friendly fire potential meaning the constant need for communication to ensure survival. Now almost all the glitches have been removed - no more turret-jumping, no more ledges where infected can't get you - it's gone from being hard to borderline impossible. A good team can just about crawl its way to the finale, where the final assault awaits...
1. Ninja Gaiden 2
"There's a minefield and it's covered in snow, so you can't really see the mines. There's a path through the minefield but sticking to the path means you can't dodge the homing rockets and machine guns, so either way, you die. And then when you get past that, there are these bats that fire fireballs. Oh, and there's a level in the Amazon river and all the enemies have homing missiles and you can't even see where most of them are!" This is one of the many tales of woe Ben tells us about Ninja Gaiden 2. Good luck those who brave it...Source: http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=9560