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Let me start by saying yes, I know that games are a lot easier in this day and age than they were in the NES and SNES era, but nevertheless, I have a big problem with the difficulty level in video games. These days, gamers are graced with checkpoints, save options, and tiered difficulty settings. In the past, most games were intimidating mountains that required a time-consuming, frustrating struggle to complete, that is if you even attempted to beat them. Luckily, games have grown easier with time, but the harder difficulty settings have grown out of hand. I'm fine with games having harder difficulty modes as long as the game remains fun. Once the game turns from challenge into a hair-ripping, eye-straining, seizure-inducing madness, the line has been crossed.
The culprit which so eagerly influenced me to vent the incoherent, vulgar ramblings that settled throughout my brain onto this virtual page is Call of Duty: World at War, the WWII shooter from Treyarch. I beat the campaign mode on the "Regular" difficulty setting in about 6-8 hours. Once I had completed the campaign, I felt it necessary to partake in some of the best online gaming available. I've not yet grown tired of the online play, but pretty soon I had a desire to play through the campaign mode again with more of a challenge. So tonight, I decided to try and start a "Hardened" or "Veteran" campaign, but after a half-hour of teeth-gritting, brain-melting torture, I had to call it quits and write this here wall of text.
Before anyone starts to type "What do you expect from a harder difficulty setting?!" or anything similar to that, just know that "Veteran" mode on Call of Duty: World at War is near impossible and almost unplayable. I heard IGN's Jeremy Dunham complain about this recently, and I have to agree that a harder difficulty should not be unbeatable; the game could be more of a challenge with smarter AI, not a constant barrage of grenades and bayonets. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's "Veteran" mode maintained its fun level up until a few of the last levels; I had completed about 75% of the game before I was completely stuck. With Call of Duty: World at War, I was never able to finish the first level and I would consider myself talented when it comes to first-person shooters. Not every game is the same as Call of Duty: World at War in this regard, but it still irks me when my mood sours from a video game. There should never be a point in gaming where one feels stressed or frustrated.
Thankfully, I have a place to vent out all of my pent up anger from Treyarch's torture chamber. Reading this has wasted five minutes of your life, but I think it's worth it to know the inner-workings of Jordan Snyder's opinions and beliefs. If you have anything to say on the topic, no matter where you stand, feel free to speak your mind below.
