Hard or Easy

Like most normal humans I got my ass kicked last year by Mega Man 9. It was frustrating to the point where I felt like there was no fun in the game for me to have. That isn't to say that I don't understand why other people loved it. Truly challenging games are hard to find to in this day and age and I do think that some people just need a game to be frustrating before they can really get anything out of it.

For me MM9 was a huge disappoint. It was a game that I was really anticipating and to load it up to find that I was absolutely wretched at it was heartbreaking. I don't use the term "heartbreaking" here lightly either. This was the same feeling of heartbreak I used to get all the time as a kid when I would get a game, try to play it, and find that I was just too terrible at it to get anywhere. I knew that the game itself wasn't bad, but rather I was bad. For a person like myself who loves games this type of revelation is akin to an art collector realizing that they've gone blind. Being unable to see something that seemingly everyone else could was (and still is) depressing. Now I do know that I'm not the only person who sucks a MM9 or the only person who loved video games growing up and was awful at them, but when you suck at a game you know to be good you sometimes feel like you're the only one.

I've read some places and heard some people I know wonder aloud why games have (as I alluded to earlier) become easier. The answer is simply because of people like me. Developers have grown past wanting to create games that are challenging for the sake of it in favor of games that can challenge players without being frustrating. Devs want players to see the worlds they've created; and why wouldn't they? There is no point in pouring all that effort into something only a small portion of your potential players will see. That isn't to say that there is no room for hard games, in fact there should be plenty of room for both levels of challenge in games today.

Mega Man 10, was announced earlier this year with the addition of an easy mode to the game. Whether or not it was a decision made due to the whining of people like me or someone at Capcom wanted to share their creation I don't really know. I'm just glad that I'll be able to see the game like other poeple.