What type of games are you getting? Is it a specific genre, or all over the place? I suppose it's worth asking if you try using easy mode/cheats.

I kind of have the opposite problem-games that I find annoying or difficult turn me into a masochist, and I'll refuse to play on Easy and I'll slog through it until I beat the game. For example, I absolutely despised Resident Evil 4, but I kept with it until I beat the game and most of the extras. It was pretty much miserable most of the time. I think there's a good value for sticking with games and getting better at them-some very enjoyable games have steep learning curves- but at a certain point if you just aren't having any fun it's time to walk away.

Well, I like to think I have a varied taste in games. I like economic sims (Patrician), 4x games (Conquest of the New World), RPGs, etc. I was being a little over the top in that I do well in some games (CotNW). I play pretty much on default settings and I can count on one hand the number of times I've used cheats/guides.

I guess what really rankles me, and this happens most in RPGs to me to be sure, is to spend hours having cultivated a good character/party only to see it/them torched by a seemingly random event. It just completely de-motivates me.

Until I buy the next game, which I'm sure will be different than the last. :-)

Well a single death here and there isn't too bad-I suggest trying to view a death as a new type of challenge or learning experience. Hopefully, a death reveals a flaw in my character/party that I can correct with different tactics or skills. It does truly suck if-and this doesn't sound like it's happening to you-you have poorly developed your character to the point where progressing past a particularly tough part is extremely difficult/impossible.