I'm normally a bit of a wimp when it comes to difficulty. I generally just roll with the default setting, sometimes dipping into the "easy" or "casual" territory depending on my enjoyment of the game and whether or not I'm getting my ass handed to me on normal.

So yesterday I ordered the Bioshock Ultimate Raptor Edition on Amazon. (God I love that first game. I'm itching for another play through, and since I'm a new Xbox 360 owner, it's the perfect game to work on my gamer score too!) I've played the first Bioshock at least 5 times. I've played it twice on the PC (one playthrough each for saving all the kids and one for harvesting them all) and 3 times total on the PS3. (Platinum, baby.)

That got me thinking about my playthrough at the highest difficulty with vita chambers off. Damn that was tough. Big Daddies on the highest difficulty don't fuck around, AND they don't go down. It took me some time to get through that, and I realize what got me through wasn't "skill" or "being better" so much as just being patient. Play the game slow, play it methodical. Clear rooms thoroughly, don't take any chances. Make sure to investigate every crevice and pick up every shotgun shell.

That reminded me of my crushing playthrough on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was the same deal. Horribly, horribly difficult. Practically broken difficult. But I got through sections like the plane in the tree level by being slow, methodical and patient. This same philosophy applied to Uncharted 2. Far Cry. Hell, it even applies to Xcom. How easy is it to clear each "level" in that game if you just don't let any of your squad members get too far ahead and isolated? Hmm.

So is that all you need to do in FPS games? Take it slow? Strategy, RPG, whatever. Is the answer always just take it slow? And if that is the case, am I okay with that? What are some other strategies to deal with ultra difficulty settings?