Props to /gamer for unearthing one of the more intriguing gaming related YouTube clips that has ever graced the popular video repository. Kerry of Nerd Balloon has launched “Project D” a social experiment in which he sits down an 11-year old (raised on a steady diet of modern first-person shooters) in front of a computer emulator to play the games on which we were reared. Games like Contra.

Contra is known for three things: Twitch gaming, the Konami Code, and tough-as-nails difficulty. Oddly, I thought the latter was more hype than reality; a shared “games were harder back in the day” mentality used to elevate our skill levels to god-status (for those that finished it), or help construct a mythos of frustration (which explained why some were unable to finish it). I was wrong, it seems. Of Contra, the youngster says:

“It’s pretty hard. It’s not as easy as Halo 3 or Call of Duty World at War.”

That’s about as good as it gets, as junior proceeds to take a solid one all over Contra, as expected. The PlayStation may have very well have been his first console.

According to Kerry, the next game that kid will tackle is Battletoads. The kid’s toast.