Sony is also going to be including pacifiers in every subsequent retail shipment.

In the latest news to show how times are changing, Sony Santa Monica is caving into fan demand to make a challenging part of their video game God of War: Ascension easier.

Closer towards the climax of the game, the "Trial of Archimedes" has been reportedly too difficult for gamers, with some complaining that the lack of checkpoints and few health drops have made them take up to three hours to complete the level.

In response, game director Todd Papy has taken to Twitter to announce that a patch will be reducing the difficultly level.

"I personally tuned it. I didn't mean for it to be so hard. We are looking into patching it…"

In other words, some gamers got upset because "hard" mode proved to be "hard," and demanded a change, only this time the development team agreed.

Anyone remember when Final Fantasy XI had to be nerfed because gamers were passing out because of 24+ hour boss fights? That's a legitimate complaint.

And that's the most extreme example. I remember dedicating entire nights to running through my favorite NES games, sometimes coming up empty with little or no progress to show. What did I do? I tried again the next night, and another night if that's what it took to finally get past that part. There are games nearly 25 years later I still love but can't beat.

3 hours for a climactic fight in the game is piddlesticks and actually a refreshing notion in a series that has never been known to push the difficulty factor. You are playing a video game entitled "God of War," not "Candy Land". What do you expect?

Listen, if you can't handle "hard mode," then don't play it. If you expect developers to just hand you achievement points and trophies, then what's the point in earning them? You should not be rewarded based on simply putting "time" into a game and expecting to beat it.

Games take skill. Games take patience. Games take practice. Streamlining and gutting a solid experience cheapens the overall package, and that doesn't ring truer for any genre moreso than action. Demon's Souls, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising, and Ninja Gaiden II have all been met with criticism for being "too hard," which might be read by others as "delivering a pure unadulterated fair challenge."

What these misguided complaints fail to mention is that overcoming their adversity grants a far greater sense of satisfaction than a victory which is simply dropped on your doorstep or phoned in. Putting the final nail in each of those brutal games made me walk away far more pleased than any of the gimmie-gimmie experiences that have been turning up in recent years.

Developers, if you feel the need to make your games easier, don't do it at the expense of those of us who still enjoy a challenge. Do so in a way that keeps your original vision intact and far from the watered down dolldrums the kids are asking for these days.

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