Gaming: Challenging vs Frustrating

[d8alus]

Is it just me, or do more and more console games these days include a situation that involves little more than dumb luck and lightning reflexes with clumsy controls?

Case in point...Metroid Prime (GCN) when fighting the metroid prime, it's attacks are fast and furious and difficult to dodge. Your weapons do almost no damage. The controls do not allow turning and strafing at the same time. Hitting the metroid's small target area is more a result of rapid firing and dumb luck than precision aiming. Movement is limited by a small room. Movement speed is about half what it should be.

Case #2 Shinobi (PS2) constant platform jumping above bottomless canyons from a third-person perspective with a very clumsy camera. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we outgrew platform jumping when we invented 3d games. How can you tell if your feet are in the right place when you can't see below you?

there's more but I'm sure you've all had your experiences with this.

Now, I'm an avid gamer, but my reflexes are nowhere near fast enough to keep up with today's action games. Also, the controls are so many and so awkward that my brain can't keep up with what does what in the heat of battle. Am I just behind the times or are developers throwing in frustratingly difficult and near-impossible situations rather than real fun challenges? Are they just too lazy to do it right? I mean what's with boss fights? Why do they always have these huge creatures with tiny weak points and massive attacks? What's wrong with smaller enemies with weaker attacks but more mobility that require actual skill and timing rather than rapid button mashing and a four-leaf clover? What's wrong with control setups that are simple and effecient?

I do know this: If I'm yelling and screaming and throwing the controller, then the developer has done something wrong. On the other hand, If I'm getting ripped to shreds and I just stare at the screen in awe and quickly look for the continue option with a childish grin on my face...well, you get the picture.

Really I just wanna know if I'm a gaming loser or if games are ridiculously difficult.

P.S. What's with the shortage of Co-op games? Why is everything 'kill your friends'?

[Epsilon 5]

People are VERY aggressive nowadays, and the concept of teamwork is falling more into the concept of following another guy to kill what he didn't, instead of the use of strategy.

People don't like teams because stats are personal. Because people hate each other for something stupid. Becasue people think they are better than all. People in fighters don't want to escort slower bombers, they want to kill now, and respawn ASAP.

[Kartoffel]

Self-obsessed idiots are on the rise... just yesterday, I was playing a game of BF1942, and I was screaming for someone to spot for artillery so I could hit stuff, and make their lives easier.

One whole game goes by (approx 30 minutes) and out of half a dozen scouts, one person is actually intellegent enough (or not completely stupid) to spot for me... about 4 seconds before the game ends. Spotting isnt even that hard anyways.