I'm not that good at action games (depends on the game though) but I do feel that action games used to be more difficult in the 8-bit and 16-bit days than now.
That said, the action games nowadays are more complex (just not more difficult). Something like a Wolfenstein 3D or Doom for example is a lot more primitive than Halo: Reach or Gears of War 2. But personally I prefer the simplicity of those old 17-18 year old old-school shooters than modern "cover" shooters.







