Youve got that boss down to just a sliver of health.

One more hit and its done.

Your controller flies across the room as expletives roar out of your mouth.

Heres how to keep under control.

Personally, I love difficult games.

As a kid, my favorite games were titles like Battletoads, Ghosts n Goblins, and Ninja Gaiden.

As an adult, Ive moved on to Bloodborne, 1001 Spikes, Super Meat Boy, and Trials.

After all, Im a grown man.

I shouldnt be stomping around the room and yelling at the TV like some obnoxious gamer stereotype.

Take Breaks

Most game-induced anger comes after repeating (and failing) a task multiple times.

So whats the point?

Go over that, and you probably wont make any headway.

The best part about taking breaks?

It gives you some time to relax and think about things.

I was better than that.

Easy mode was for wimps, and I wanted to feel accomplished.

As an adult, however, Ive learned that this is a recipe for frustration and wasted time.

I now have no qualms in turning down the difficulty.

There isno shame in easy mode.

If a game stops being fun and becomes a source of frustration, why play it?

That obnoxious turret level in a first person shooter that destroys me every time?

Ill drop that down to the babiest setting available.

That ridiculous boss fight in an RPG that requires me to grind for 20 hours?

Ill drop it there too.

Obviously this is only useful with certain types of games.

Tips forhowto play certain types of games are also really useful.

Asweve pointed out before, that emotional swing between stress and reward is exactly what makes games so interesting.

Failing over and over again?Its how you get better.

I wouldnt play difficult games if I didnt enjoy the swing between stress and reward.

The game (usually) isnt being unfairinstead, its trying to teach you something.

The more you fail, the better you get.

Our own Patrick Allan admitted to setting up pillow landing zones around the couch.

Instead of tossing that controller at the wall, hed toss it into a nice little pillowy happy spot.

You get out the rage and your controller is still useable.

If this isnt your first rodeo, you might also have a few broken controllers sitting around already.

I had one friend who broke a couple PS3 controllers during his first playthrough of Demons Souls.

If this sounds familiar, keep those broken controllers nearby when you play.

Instead of crushing that brand new Dualshock with your Hulk hands, grab the busted one instead.

Really, anything works here.

If you should probably go out for some exercise, do it.

Need to dial up your friends to whine a little?

You canembrace that anger and use it a bit more productivelythan breaking a controller.