Games that push you to the limit

[jon]

I was playing Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar the other day and it was so intense, and requires so much hand eye coordination and perfect reflexes to do well. And I can't imagine how well coordinated someone must be to beat every level, the game's just so insane. It literally felt like I was improving my reflexes and it was making me think really hard, pushing me to the limit mentally. I thought, this must be really good for my brain. It got me thinking about what other games are as intense as that and really makes you push you to the limit.

[Sut]

I'm sure most on here have never heard of this game let alone played it = Cobra on the ZX Spectrum.

It's just an onslaught from the get go, enemies everywhere that all just charge at you, projectiles and prams (yes prams, the game has a bizarre sense of humour) also hurtle in your direction. Definitely old school hard.
There are only 3 levels to the game before it loops but I've only ever managed to get to the second level.

Only true Hardcore gamers and sadists need apply.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/zx-spectrum/cobra

[Hardcore Sadism]

Nanostray on the Nintendo DS can get hectic, and the highest difficulty settings are close to bullet hell.

[scotland]

I'm sure most on here have never heard of this game let alone played it = Cobra on the ZX Spectrum.

Those of us across the pond didn't have the Speccy, but I have a Commodore 64 as an adequate substitute. I thought for sure you meant 'Cobra Force', which is a Super Cobra / Choplifter mashup that is like R-type for 8 bit. Darn thing is hard. No, you meant this $#@@!% game. I had not realized America had inflicted this movie, let alone the game, on our allies. It should have been directly To Russia, With Love or something.

Its an primitve beat'em up, but you are the one getting the beat down. The nasties are everywhere, and they are armed with shurikens, guns, knives, hand grenades...even a huge ax. It looks like even the Ghostbusters are after you. Its like Thunderdome out there.

[Rev]

I know this game may sound ridiculous but I have always had a fond spot for CoolBoarders 2. The hard mode on that game is insanely difficult and the competition mode requires you to perform tricks to determine your placement in the races. On normal mode, it is quite easy to go from last to first in a race if you pick a fast enough racer, but on hard mode you need those top spots to have a chance of finishing first. Also, whatever character and board you pick for the tricks is what you're stuck with on the course itself so it requires strategy to pick the right board and character from the get go. You also can't afford any mistakes on certain levels. I've scored a perfect on hard mode twice in 20 years and have attempted it hundreds of times. You really have to be on your A game to get a perfect score on all the races. I never understood why people like the other games in the series more as the competition mode is the whole reason I like the game. It's super intense and does things in a way that no other snowboarding game has done since.

[Sut]

I had not realized America had inflicted this movie, let alone the game, on our allies. It should have been directly To Russia, With Love or something.

I think it was last seen in Guantanamo Bay as an 'aid' in communications with the enemy combatants.

[Tron]

I interpret this as "games that require full attention". For me twisted metal 2 (ps1). I get seconds breaks to get a sip o coffe. It's intense. Wanta play now.

Moon patrol. No adhd here. Look off screen & die.

[ESauce]

Frequency, Amplitude and Guitar Hero 1-3. You have to get into a trance to play those on expert. I'm looking forward to getting back into a trance when the new Amplitude releases for PS3 (did the kickstarter and a little annoyed I have to wait longer than PS4 owners).

[Red Clash]

all on the 360:

Call of Duty Classic on Veteran difficulty

campaign mode on highest difficulty Unreal Tournament 3

the final 3 missions in the original Just Cause (highest difficulty)

Most of the Force Unleashed 1 and 2 on the highest difficulties.

And yes, I've successfully finished them all.

And now that I think about it, the final level of Metal Slug 3 on the original Xbox- which has a programming error where the final two levels merge into each other without a break.

[Rev]

And now that I think about it, the final level of Metal Slug 3 on the original Xbox- which has a programming error where the final two levels merge into each other without a break.

Yes!!! OMG, that final level is a beast... it's literally 30 mins where you can't lose up to 5 lives (which in a Metal Slug game is asking for a lot)...