Guide 2 Games

BioShock 2

Eric Taylor — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:52:10 +0000

Rating: not-rated

Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language In this first-person shooter, players assume the role of Subject Delta, a genetically enhanced human (a "Big Daddy") who roams the underwater city of Rapture to protect a breed of "Little Sisters." Players' objective is to escape the city and thwart the plans of a villain who controls Rapture's citizens, who is creating large numbers of Little Sisters. As players explore Rapture's dark and dangerous wasteland, they will encounter its hostile mutated citizens, who attack and attempt to kill Delta on sight. Players use rivet guns, giant drills, and firearms (spear rockets, Gatling guns, shotguns, etc.) to defend themselves against the horde of frenzied humanoids. Special powers such as telekinesis, electricity, and fire/freezing can also be used to kill the attacking populace. Intense acts of violence are as follows: players can use telekinesis to bring enemies close-up before drilling them to death—blood splatters in all directions; players can freeze enemies and allow them to shatter into pieces; players can set fire to enemies, or electrocute them in standing pools of water. In addition to the spurts of blood from combat, players will sometimes encounter smears of blood on walls and floors, and corpses lying in pools of blood—or spiked onto walls with rivets. When players come across a "special" corpse, they may set down the Little Sister and allow her to harvest ADAM (a DNA-modifying substance); the depiction of a child-like creature using a needle to draw fluid from a corpse can be somewhat unsettling (though overtly fantastical). Consumers may wish to know that the game contains minor sexual content. While exploring Rapture's Red Light District, players can overhear conversations alluding to prostitution (e.g., "Hello there, how much? . . . Twenty bills and I'm all yours, sailor."); players may also see a variety of ads and signs for strip clubs (e.g., "Eve's Garden XXX")—these brief scenarios contribute to the Sexual Themes descriptor (i.e., the violence and profanity account for the Mature rating). The game includes frequent use of strong profanity (e.g., "f**k," "motherf**ker," and "c*nt") and some lesser four-letter words (e.g., "sh*t" and "tw*t"); in one instance, an enemy attacks Delta while screaming, "F**king sodomites everywhere!" [italics added]

adventure, First-Person Shooter, 2K Games, M (Mature), Pre-Review

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction

Eric Taylor — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:32:21 +0000

Rating: not-rated

Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language This is an action game/third-person shooter in which players assume the role of Sam Fisher, a former secret agent who has returned to Washington DC to seek the truth behind his daughter's death. Players track down and interrogate suspects, complete various espionage missions, engage in frenetic gun fights, and perform stealth moves against enemies. While players use pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, and grenades to kill enemies, stealth combat represents the largest component of gameplay: sneaking up on enemies and breaking their necks, throwing them out of windows, slamming their heads into objects (e.g., mirror, furniture, doors), etc. Most injuries and deaths result in blood spray, splatter effects, walls and floors stained with the red streaks. The most intense instances of violence occur during character interrogations, sequences in which Sam Fischer (sometimes another spy) questions enemies to obtain valuable information: some characters are grabbed by the throat, pinned to walls and tree stumps, threatened at gun point; information can also be obtained with the aid of environmental objects—windows, urinals, piano keys, and electric heaters; a co-op mission depicts a spy slamming a soldier onto a burning stove top; and at least one interrogation scene depicts the protagonist shooting a villain in the leg, kneecaps, or head. Thus the violence accounts for the Mature rating and the Intense Violence descriptor (the strongest descriptor at M for violent content). During the course of the game, players can encounter exotic dancers dressed in lingerie—some passed out on beds, others performing on stage in front of mobsters; references to sex can be heard in the dialogue (e.g., "trafficking . . . young girls," "pay[ing] for an hour with an American girl," and "passed out hookers")—factors for the Sexual Themes descriptor rather than the Mature rating. Other pertinent content in the game includes strong language (e.g., "f**k," "c*cksucker," and "a*shole") and references to drugs (e.g., "he's coked up and freaking out"; "transporting a ton of poppy every month"; more lines about the drug trade; "blow," "oxycontin," "tranks").

action, Ubisoft, adventure, M (Mature), Pre-Review

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

SeriousGamer — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:17:16 +0000

Rating: some-issues

Mild Violence: Combat against human-like and non-human enemies with a variety of weapons. Multi-colored drops spray from enemies, and enemies bloodless fall apart and sometimes burn. Cutscenes depict moments of pain.

Heavy Spiritual Content: Use of fantasy magic and magic items. Two NPC's are witches, main character can change forms by wearing masks, possession is implied, titular object is occultic in nature.

Scantily Clad Females: Female NPC's wear bikini tops and other skimpy outfits.

Alcohol References: One character comments on getting tipsy.

Gambling: Mini games involve betting, player bets on horse race to advance plot.

Wii, Some Issues, action-adventure, GameCube, Nintendo 64, Nintendo, E (Everyone)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Guest Reviewers — Sun, 23 May 2010 20:01:15 +0000

Rating: squeaky-clean

Sexual Content: None.

Language: None.

Alcohol/Drug Reference: None.

Violence: Enemies disappear in puffs of smoke. Mentions of characters being "terminated."

Spiritual Content: Fantasy magic in line with Final Fantasy, previous Kingdom Hearts games, and Disney in general.

Other: The player can play as other members of Organization XIII who were villains in past games, but cannot do anything evil when playing as them.

Square Enix, action, RPG, Disney, Squeaky Clean, h.a.n.d. Inc.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

SeriousGamer — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:38:21 +0000

Rating: squeaky-clean

Cartoon Violence: Player jumps on enemies and throws fireballs at them. Enemies fall off the screen or are flattened.

Fantasy Magic: Player encounters supernatural enemies, bosses use fantasy magic.

Nintendo, Platformer, Squeaky Clean, Wii, E (Everyone)

The Darkness

Evili — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:37:49 +0000

Rating: strong-caution

Incredible violence, massive amounts of language. Player uses a dark power throughout the game. Some sexual and drug references.

M (Mature), Starbreeze Studios, Strong Caution, First-Person Shooter, 2K Games

Mass Effect 2

Michael Caleb L. Garrett — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:19:55 +0000

Rating: strong-caution

Violence: Death by explosion, gunshot, physical trauma, high falls, bludgeoning, immolation, electrocution, and freezing; blood; exploding bodies; corpses; torture.

Spirituality: Passing religious allusions; references to Hinduism, polytheism, and reincarnation; characters referred to as gods.

Language: Crude and profane language is used throughout.

Adult Content: Various kinds of sexual predators; sexual humor; cleavage and lingering camera angles; mostly mild, avoidable sex scenes.

Miscellaneous: Crude humor; drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

Positive: Player choices affect morality of player character.

M (Mature), Strong Caution, EA Games, BioWare Corp., RPG, adventure

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

SeriousGamer — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:00:54 +0000

Rating: some-issues

Mild Violence: Bloodless violence against human-like soldiers. Enemies blow away and bloodlessly explode. Story hints at more intense violence.

Destruction: Vehicle-to-vehicle combat. Vehicles fall apart, sink, and explode.

Language: The words d**n, h**l, and c**p are seen in text-boxes at least once.

Scantily-Clad Females: Two female characters wear revealing outfits.

E10+ (Everyone 10 & up), Some Issues, Intelligent Systems, RPG, Nintendo DS

Final Fantasy IV

SeriousGamer — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:56:46 +0000

Rating: some-issues

Mild Violence: Mild violence against human-like and non-human enemies with swords, other weapons, and arrows, impact is only shown with arrows. Enemies vanish upon defeat, cutscene shows death of a character.

Spiritual Content: Fantasy creatures, game features “white” and “black” magic as classifications, one character can summon large monsters to fight some with pagan names or a demonic appearance, plot revolves around magic crystals, major enemies embody the elements, Death is seen personified.

Sexual Content: Some female characters show cleavage, some enemies are topless, players can watch a scantily-clad dancer, one boss wears a bikini, optional location appears to sell ladies, some suggestive dialogue from NPC's.

Mild Language: The words d**n and h**l are spoken in cutscenes and seen in a text box.

Some Issues, Square Enix, RPG, E10+ (Everyone 10 & up), Nintendo DS

Army of Two: The 40th Day

Eric Taylor — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:55:46 +0000

Rating: not-rated

Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language This is a co-operative third-person shooter in which players try to survive the city of Shanghai as it collapses all around them. Players shoot their way out of the city after a mysterious invasion: they assassinate targets, infiltrate guarded areas, and kill many enemies in their way. Sniper rifles, shotguns, machine guns, and grenades are used during the frenetic firefights; knives and bayonets can be used to "stealth-attack" enemies from behind. The gun battles are depicted realistically and are often intense: civilians and enemies scream when shot; the dead can be shot on the ground—sometimes causing decapitation; characters emit frequent splashes of blood that stain the city streets, walls. Precise shots from guns, rifles, or sniper rifles may result in civilians' and enemies' heads exploding in a red blood effect. Players also have the ability to use people as human shields, and can opt to kill hostages at the expense of "morality points"—an "execute" or "release" option is given to players. Characters use profanity such as "sh*t," "a*shole," and "b*tch" in dialogue, in battle.

Third-Person Shooter, not-rated, M (Mature), EA Games

Guide 2 Games

BioShock 2

Rating: not-rated

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Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction

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The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

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Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

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The Darkness

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Mass Effect 2

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Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

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