[Xenalyte]

Why is it that some games provide us frustration that we enjoy working through, and others we toss aside after a couple hours and never pick up again?

For instance, I slighted "No One Lives Forever," because I'm not that adept at shooters and it's discouraging to get capped every 20 seconds. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with the game. It's loads of fun.

[Foxfire4]

Why is it that some games provide us frustration that we enjoy working through, and others we toss aside after a couple hours and never pick up again?

Hm...maybe it's whether or not you feel like you accomplished something? I'm insufferably smug after I get past something nasty playing Thief (ask Moose4, who had to put up with me after I took out four guards the other night), and I think that's largely because it's a well-designed game with lots of surprises. On the other hand, I played Master of Orion 3 and am thoroughly unimpressed - I've never been able to do anything other than fumble my way to a win, and it doesn't feel like you do anything other than push buttons.

And I've never been good at FPSs. I can play the Thief games because there's little to no combat involved, but twitch-gaming isn't my style. :shrug: