The new look isn't bad, but the way it was before (menus and all) was a lot more intuitive. Now it's just too simple. Also, it seems like most companies like to go for the "softer and simpler" look nowadays.
Yeah, games have seemed to soften up a bit on difficulty, but I'm guessing that was to reel in the casuals, which they've done a fine job doing, but they do need to re-up the ante a bit. However, game companies would need to remember how to deliver a challenging game correctly, since there's a huge difference between cleverly difficult and being just cheaply aggravating.
DarkKenshinX's comments