Something happened on Facebook that I have to share with you all

Basically, a friend of mine (a girl, no less) who plays videogames posted about how she dislikes COD, especially Black Ops, with so many people going on about it like it's the greatest game of all time, a few people posted with their opinions on the subject. Of course, my righteous hardcore side came out, and I posted this:

I'm a member of the old school of Hardcore Gaming, back when playing online was something that normal people wouldn't do, ever. Because whenever they would they would get the shit owned right out of them.

I spent 6 years of my life learning how to control recoil in CS, and learn every map inside and out, I can still draw a near-perfect eagles eye view of DE_Dust.

The new 'gamers' as they like to call themselves, no nothing about having to learn a game. They just pick up a controller and automatically can win games without even trying.

I hate new school gaming it's killed everything that I've ever believed in as far as videogames go.

R.I.P. the hardcore.

I miss hardcore gaming dearly. The console generation has kind of killed it for me a bit, considering that things are so much easier than they used to be, before this I also posted:

I fuckken love CS, It was the beginning of the whole Online FPS hype that's blown into the mainstream as of lately. I think some of these COD "Pros" should sit down and try to play some CS1.6, they'll probably burst into tears and ask "How do I aim down the sights!?"

After I brought up CS as a better alternative FPS game.

Whatever, I just dislike modern First Person Shooters, but I thought this'd be interesting.

Now, before some people get angry, I'm not saying that they're bad games at all, I can understand why people enjoy them and why they're as popular as they are, but I just, personally, dislike how FPS games have grown out of the true, hardcore scene they where once in.

I've long dropped out of the race for FPS superiority, because to be honest, I never had a chance. Yeah, I'm bad at shooter games past and present. I remember the original Halo for Xbox. I was easy picking when I played with my friends. I still think I can relate with you though.

You see, I was a diehard Madden NFL player back in the late 90s, but with the number of changes introduced over these past couple of years, I'm horrible in online play. That's a stretch, but I wad never a player of CS, so I'm trying to relate.

I think it all comes down to a monumental shift in the targeted audience of video games. They are certainly more main stream to appeal to a wider audience. I think some of that gritty, hardcore value can be lost when game developers make things easier, or "level the playing field" per se.

There's my quickly written two cents anyway.

I've never considered myself a hardcore gamer if the term involves mercilessly winning games. I choose weapons based on how they look, not how they perform. Rainbow six 3 is another example of a game where you died in like 2 shots, but I still choose my pistol over an assault rifle (Gotta love the USP, Jack Bauer style!). In games like oblivion, my character is level 20 and uses a Steel Katana when he should really use a Daedric Claymore, which can hack any enemy into pieces with a single blow!

But nooo... I love squaring off with demons of hell, slowly circling them, with my katana or long sword drawn, deflecting their blows with the same ease of a Swashbuckling pirate.

Less goes for games like fable, where stronger weapons look badass, but I choose standard weapons over shiny magic ones all the time. The shine of naked steel is all the shine I need.

The satisfaction of completing a level stylishly always beats completing a level with the best weapons.

Try completing Devil May Cry 2 on Dante Must Die mode, only using double pistols on the final boss. Try it. It's super fun, and makes it feel like something the Wachowski brothers coordinated.

Games like NHL, I have my teams. I support Fribourg Gotteron in Europe, so when I buy NHL '11, I'll get the Swiss League Special Edition, which contains all swiss teams too. I would never consider playing as another team. I don't know US teams well, European ICe Hockey is my thing.

The point I'm trying to make here, is that games for me are a way to do things I would never be able to do in real life. For a Game like Black Ops, where it's easy to complete, it's good, as I can see the main story, but for me, it'll be more badass, as Mason'll be a real cool Operative toting a Pistol the whole way through (When possible).

Tariq, I can relate to all of the entirely.

A friend of mine 2-manned Rainbow Six Vegas using only pistols (Desert Eagle, ofc) on realistic mode, and it was fun as hell.

I just have a bit of a problem with the mainstream of videogamers having been given a backseat into hardcore gaming, because everything's so much easier now.

Probably a bad example of this was when I first entered college. I met a few cool guys who accepted me into their group near instantly, and their thing was that they used to play Super Smash Brothers: Brawl together. The thing with the SSB series is, I've played them religiously all my life since I could hold a controller, pretty much. In no way to brag, I'm very, very good at SSB games, although not so much anymore as I don't play them anymore. But yeah, I was challenged by the guy who was meant to be the "best" in their group, and I destroyed him. A benifit of this was, however, that as they continued to play the game with me, they all ended up getting thrown in the deep end and all progressed at the game greatly.

Anyway, I still hold to the fact that all the "pro" COD players should play some CS1.6, because maybe then they'll understand the meaning of gamesense.

games aren't less hardcore than before, they simply don't alienate the less skilled players like they used to. more casual players have options now that make modern games more accessible, but the skill ceiling is no lower than before; competition among the best is still challenging.

if anything the differences are relative. people become skilled at a game, and when something newer comes out, they find they aren't quite as good at it, so they stick with what they know. the most recent example is how Halo 3 vets complain about the armor abilities of Reach. they could probably be as good at Reach as they were in 3 with a little time, but they don't want to leave their comfort zone.

Archanist, if you like games like that... you need to check out AssaultCube

just look it up on google... it's a small game (around 60-70 MB), but it is good for the size...

ADS is nowhere to be seen except for with the sniper rifles...

and it just kind of looks like the old sort of FPS game... great for casual stuff but for HC people as well... as you can make/change maps

I am not very good at FPS games and I played it recently while getting kicked out playing FFA... I was just nearly unstoppable for some reason.

actual FPS games (not that AC is not an actual one, I just mean mainstream [BF, CoD, MoH, CS... etc.]) are harder for me and I like the challenge that the games can give me