Video Games and Difficulty Levels

I finished Dragon Age: Origins over the weekend.  I had a really good time playing the game.  Bioware did another great job creating a world and story that really keeps you wanting to return.  Now I am looking forward to the additional content coming later this spring.  My hardest decision is when to start the replay so I'm back in the groove when it arrives.

Dragon Age was a different kind of game for me.  Typically I stick with the turn-based RPGs like Final Fantasy or the strategy RPGs like Disgaea and Fire Emblem.  I got this game for Christmas with the PS3 and gave it a try.  I had my moments.  Played through some levels numerous times in order to make it through, but overall I was able to play the game.

The question is why do I really play games?  Is it so I can beat them at the most difficult setting? Never tried that, would have given up on games a long time ago. No, it really is for the story, the fun of taking my characters on their journey.  So it really didn't bother me when after a dozen or so tries at a difficult boss battle I decided to lower the difficulty so I could continue with the game.  There was no penalty, there was no big banner proclaiming my deed.  There was just the next scene in the story and I was able to continue.  I reset the difficulty level to normal on pressed on.

Now I'm sure my son would think that I cheated.  And initially I felt that way too.  I had saved the spot in the game just before the battle for a couple of days.  Unsure if I would go back to that point and try yet again to get through the fight.  I didn't.  I continued on, enjoying the story that was unfolding before me. 

It was a minor turning point for me.  I came to realize why I really play video games.  I enjoy a good challenge but I'm not going to ruin the experience because the game gets the better of me.  I try each battle to the best of my abilities but if I have to admit defeat and change a setting to continue, I think I will.  For me it doesn't lessen the value of the game, it allows me to enjoy the experience for what is...  an engaging story that I have some control over.

I'm started Mass Effect after finishing Dragon Age.  Talk about a different type of game for me.  So far I have risen to the challenge.  This just might open up a whole new video game experience for me.