i started playing the game when it was launched (Q4 2002?), playing it for a couple of days in my normal game time. i picked it up a few times, feeling lost for a good half hour until i finally made some small progress. If i decide to go through it again, half of the game will be a new experience. It's tempting to stay up and beat it just to have hard mode to play, because the difficulty is my only gripe in the game.