Lunchtime Discussion: Gaming Style

I am quite possibly the only person who has ever got mildly annoyed whilst playing Flower. I remember djhsecondnature getting continually frustrated as I played through the downloadable title on his PS3, watching me loop back and around, making sure I collected ever flower in the right order. Apparently that wasn’t the right way to play the game, obsessively and meticulously going through the level making sure that I didn’t miss a single flower. It seems that other people take a more free flowing approach to the game, letting it relax them. Guess I’m just the outlier case.

I tend to play a lot of games in that style, trying to get every collectable I possibly can. In Mario I go through trying to collect all the coins, I try and get all the coins and bonus stages in Sonic, and as for games with challenges like the Tony Hawk series I’ll restart a section over and over until I get it right. It’s part of the reason that if I don’t get a combo right I’m terrible at fighting games, I’ve got very little flow I just want to hit that one killer combo.

On the other hand I’ve never really cared about Achievements or Trophies. Firstly they all seem to all be either so boringly simple – Well Done For Completing The Level – or insanely difficult multiplayer achievements that would take me far longer to complete than I realistically have time to invest in the game. I know it seems a weird split between the two aspects of my gaming habits but there you have it, it’s just how my funny little mind works.

So how do you play games? Are you mildly obsessive like me, or do you just lay back and go with the flow? Does it effect the types of game you play?

Thanks to bunimomike for suggesting this topic. Have your own idea? Go suggest it.