BIIIIIIIIIIG difference from other articles I have read here.
I think Marathon: Dundral should have been on here.
Anywho... great job.

Great read, I always found it annoying how only violent games are known as Rated M games

this all very true Bioshock and Mass Effect PWN all

Nice...but how about Metal Gear series? Warfare which is similar to the present situation, a man's acceptance or own dictation of fate, family, friends, loved ones & self-sacrifices for them, you name it. You know,just thought about it.

AGREED.

You should do a article "games that should not be Mature"

I think Call of Duty 4 should've been there.
It gave you great game-play but then just gave you the perspective of dying people.

I Clive barkers Jericho should have been on there if you go into the back story there is references to child murder, mass religious suicide, cannibalism, incest, beastality and others that can make even the most mature people uncomfortable.
also shouldn't bioshock have had child murder seeing as you can harvest little sisters? you may not consider them children but if you turn them back into a child does that not make it murder?

i meant at the start of my paragraph i think Clive barkers Jericho just to clear that up

lol

You listed CoD4... EXPLAIN YOURSELF!!!!

XscorpionX, that's exactly the kind of maturity they're NOT talking about.

So that's why I didn't enjoy mass effect, here I thought it was because every time I was done talking to people I would say out loud "exit, stage right" which probably took away from the immersion.

Great article man, assassins creed would be good to include, so would all the issues brought up in MGS, but those are beyond mature: they're baffling.

"After assuming for hours that your mute and unseen protagonist is just another blank slate Everyman, you discover he is actually a mentally programmed slave, trained to blindly follow his evil master’s orders at any cost."


Thanks alot. I just purchased Bioshock a day ago after finally deciding to pick it up. I was having a great time, but if what you said above is a true spoiler, I'm going to be pissed. Think about not ruining plots of fairly recent games in the future.

This article makes me think of past wrongs...

How about starwars knights of the old republic 2? it has a very deep story line and can be downright spooky at times.

Excellent article. I read deep into it, and I'm glad to see the points addressed, but I think that Metal Gear Solid deserved a true analysis; I'll admit, it's a bit too deep and hard to follow, but it has its moments where you are sure that it makes so much sense and that it is speaking to you personally. It's statement on the United States and its military aggression and poor foreign policy is so firm and baffling that its just begging to become a novel. Not only is the U.S. criticized by Japan, which is seen as a complete opposite in its culture, social taboos, and policies, but we see other national powers addressed, and the game becomes a direct jab at oppression and dominance of government and the effects that technology and decisions have on the world.

Look at the concept of nanomachines and the genome soldier project. In attempts to strengthen defense and mold an invulnerable army, we lose our identity and traits that make us human. We see how people are driven to insanity or are taken as puppets.

This article is refreshing and interesting because the writing style of its author mirrors his mature subject. I'm disgusted with video game "journalists" universally paroting the same cliches and buzzwords spewed by marketers. Even better, this piece contained zero baditude. I want to sincerly thank Charlie Barratt for not wasting my time or insulting my intelligence with dead language like "basically," or "core" or "in terms of." Every time I hear or read some journalist describe anything as "core," it seems like the strangulation of thought. Fire every hack "writer" in games jouralism, and put Barratt in charge.

That article about Hikikomori was pretty interesting by the way. Kinda applies to me.

CoD 4 made me laugh, but what's even funnier is people calling for MGS.

MGS is confusing, but isn't that mature. It is a game where your choices hardly matter and you have to listem to a few ours of a mix of mind-numbing or aneurism causing cut-scenes. Most of the in-jokes are very, very childish. Pretty much anything regarding technology is very far-fetched or simply crippled for counting on basic high school level of scientific knowlege. But, worse of all, the game and the characters contradicts themselves when they're COMPLETELY SERIOUS pretty much every time they open their mouths. The only one that was almost mature was MGS3, and only because Kojima went for a far less convoluted story of pawns in a scenario that was actually half-way believable.

MGS is entertaining if cutscenes are ignored and mostly void when you actually watch them. It is by no means more irrealistical or less than any other game, but the premise that the game itself is realistic and philosophical makes Matrix 2 and 3, which were only action fests with a poor excuse for symbolism and conflict, a treatise on the existence of men actually worth discussing in Universities.

Wars are portrayed wrong, tactics are portrayed wrong, philosophies are portrayed wrong, espionage is portrayed wrong, psychology is portrayed waaaaaay wrong and technology (most of all) is portrayed wrong. A good game, but the only real mature aspect of it is that it actually rewards you in the end if you go through the bother of not killing anyone.

Truth is, Japanese game designers are mostly immature. They may put nudity and violence in, but they're incapable of making a game that can actually relate to the real world and people unless in very rare occasions. Americans aren't that much better either... but sure seems to make games more grounded. Usually only european games seem to hit this sweet spot consistently, even then, the norm is that games are more to the Romantic school of literature than the Realist one. Not complaining, games are primarily entertainment, but if they want me to bother with the inside lore, they must make it matter.

I say the guys at gamesradar are right.But does anyone pay attention to the rating as 'M'?