"ARGH! YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!!"

There might have been one point in your life when you found yourself completely frustrated by a game. Think about it. Just once. Maybe that one boss who seemed completely unbeatable or that one item that was just so far out of reach. Maybe it got to the point that you tried everything in the book and, as a result, you found yourself frustrated and maybe even got upset, cursing loudly at the TV or maybe even going as far as launching your controller across the room or slamming it down on the ground.

You're not alone. Frustration can happen quite a bit in a video game, depending on two things. First, the content of the game at hand and the challenge level that it's set at, and two, the player, and his or her experience with such a game. There are a number of games out there that seem to be built for the more "hardcore" player, instead of the casual gaming audience that seems to approach such a thing as "just another challenge", unaware of what the development team has stored away for them.

One prime example of such a "hardcore" game is Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden titles. When the original Ninja Gaiden launched for the Xbox, few gamers had any idea just what kind of challenge was lying ahead of them. Many found themselves frustrated, cursing off the game and swearing never to touch it again, while others managed to work through it like a process, bringing a great deal of anguish and a mental push just to proceed to the next level. Some might not get the idea of why they would do this, but it just shows the kind of drive some gamers have. There are some who actually appreciate this kind of painful push in a game, not only as a reminder that they're amongst the elite to beat the damn thing, but maybe as a tool to help remind them how alive they are.

Ninja Gaiden Black managed to push gamers even further, even on something as simple as the "Ninja Dog" difficulty level. It brought with it a number of staggering new challenges filled with damn near unbeatable boss enemies and other creatures that required only the finest skills around to beat them. The main game itself was bumped up as well, with new difficulty levels that made the game that much more of a task to beat. I still haven't beaten the game completely yet, even months after I picked it up and swore that one day it would fall at my feet a broken challenge.

And that's where my experience of gameplay comes into play. During my play time with the original Ninja Gaiden to complete a review, I found myself getting mounted with various challenges and, as a result, letting my frustration rise more and more to the surface. Eventually, this resulted in a few headaches, as well as a couple of broken controllers (including a nice wireless Logitech controller that obviously didn't deserve such a fate). The challenge was just a bit overwhelming and something I didn't expect, so, as a result, I had to take a breather several times from the game, regather myself, and approach it with the intent of beating the damn thing. Needless to say, this method worked rather well, because if I had kept pushing myself, I would've done some real damage to my head and brain (not good when I have a family history of aneurysms).

However, it wasn't Team Ninja's fault. All that development team was trying to do was create a new type of experience that, as stated before, was presented to the "hardcore" style of gamer, the one that cranks the difficulty to a high level and doesn't look back. Ask anyone who's beaten God mode in God of War or the highest setting in Devil May Cry 3 and they'll probably have several stories about their struggles, or how hard they "pushed" in order to beat the sucker and put it on their achievement list.

The "hardcore" gamer out there is one who isn't afraid of any kind of challenge, despite the damage done to his or herself or possibly their game equipment. And, yes, these "hardcore" gamers manage to push themselves sometimes beyond their means just to reach their accomplishments. But, believe it or not, most of them don't really mind. Sure, they get mad and curse aloud like I did at the beginning of the article, but that's just part of the drive to get where they're going. Besides, better they release their anguish verbally rather than smash into things or even take it out on a fellow family member that isn't deserving of said anger. Nobody said climbing a mountain would be easy, but there are some who still happily hold their climbing gear.

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