no, i dont think so... i think its the same difficulty. i heard theres a "professional" mode opposed to normal, but i havent unlocked that one yet.... which i think i should have, but i duno, b/c i started the 2nd time from the first ending save. yeah, the only guns ive bought, and the only ones i think are a nessesity, are the Red9, the Shotgun, and the semi-auto rifle. youll need the rifle to kill the "regenerators" in the future. id buy more guns now to experiment, but i wanna save my $$$ so i get that infiate ammo tommygun