Adult Only games

[PunchClockVillain]

So I've been thinking of adult only games recently. Nothing specifically, but just the idea in general. It seems to me that they are to video games, what Howard Stern is to radio: not serving any real point, just there for shock and to push the borders. So my question is: has anyone played any adult-only rated games for the gaming experience before?

Note: I'm not including GTA: San Andreas in this discussion because it wasn't meant to have that rating.

 

[Smokepuddle]

Isn't the Saw game that's coming out going to be Adults Only?

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Wasn't Manhunt 2 rated AO. Well, it's M now, but there was something about how you can unlock the AO versoin of it.

EDIT: Just saw footage. Really fucked up.

 

[NoriYuki Sato]

the uncut version of Manhunt 2...the were forced to take things out to make it rated M rather than A-O..i know this isn't technically what you ment, but i have a few buddy's who are into PC gaming much more so than i am ((i'm not much of a PC gamer..i'm a console guy myself)) who has played an A-O game or two for gameplay ((he's got strange friends from his tech. class)) they tell him about games they think he should play...so he goes and plays them..he says some are actually really well done ((mainly the direct imports from Japan if you have a translator))...again..he has weird friends...honestly i've always been curious about if they actually are well done in gameplay or not...but not enough to go and actually find out...anybody got first hand experience other than wih MH2?

 

[PunchClockVillain]

I know the first one was only rated M. What caused the second one to have AO rating?

Edit: nevermind, didn't see that (look up)

 

[The Madman]

You mean porn games, or just highly mature games? Because I've played a few of those and some of them are quite good.

I'm continually amazed that Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines was only rated M. There are a couple scenes that involve strip-clubs and prostitutes, plentiful murder and mayhem, an insane asylum where the doctor vividly describes the mutilation of his patients, what could only be described as a 'human meat house', and even a scene in Hollywood where you're tracking down the creators of a snuff film... I didn't even know what a snuff film *was* before I played that game, and now I wish I didn't. Sick stuff!

But because there were no nipples involved it's only an M. Ain't the rating system grand? If any game -deserved- an AO it was that game. And I mean that in the nicest possible way because Bloodlines was amazing.

As for porn games, never played any. I hear they're big in Japan, but not really my thing. I'm sure a couple of the otaku or whatever they're called can tell ya about em.

 

[TheBluesader]

There's a degree of arbitrariness to the rating system that confuses the question. You have games like Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Saints' Row 2, and Silent Hill 2, that are clearly adult games intended for adults. But they don't show any hardcore porn or graphic decapitations, so they're not AO games.

I think there are plenty of directed-at-adults games that fit this bill, but were never rated AO. So yes, they're great games with sometimes very good game play mechanics, but they don't attract attention because they're not rated AO.

Maybe an AO game is only AO because the devs wanted it to be AO - as in, they put stuff into it that they had to know was going to get it that rating. But the quality of the actual game play never comes into it. Some very PC games have great game play, some AO games do not, and vice-versa. I think game play mechanics and content are really two separate things, and it's pointless to try and group them together.

 

[PuppetMaster]

i have playboy mansion for ps2. It's like sims but with sex, nudity and you have to produce an issue each month

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Only all the time.

Escape From Butcher Bay, anyone? Completely unsuitable for kids, but an excellent title.

Likewise, The Punisher simply wouldn't work as a "Teen" game. Besides, it has an option to remove most of the violence (though why you would use it I have no idea).

As far as AO rated games go, the developers pretty much have to want their game to have that rating. I've seen games with every kind of content under the sun and still they snagged an M Rating. You need to do something special for that elusive AO rating.

 

[PunchClockVillain]

There's a degree of arbitrariness to the rating system that confuses the question. You have games like Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Saints' Row 2, and Silent Hill 2, that are clearly adult games intended for adults. But they don't show any hardcore porn or graphic decapitations, so they're not AO games.

I've noticed this too. Comparing the footage of Manhunt 2's uncensored vs censored dismemberings, the details are fairly subtle: mostly blood on the camera, walls, and a little bit more anguish on the part of victim. It seems there is a fine line between the ratings, but you really begin to wonder what people were thinking when the drew the line. I suppose it makes the games in general easier to rate, but I feel they are definitely missing out on why/if games need AO ratings.

 

[The Madman]

Drow and I could go on and on about some truly great "eroge" as they're called that tell amazing stories and tell them well. Fate Stay Night is probably the most mainstream example. You may have seen the anime or manga, in which case you should slap yourself, grab a torrent, and play the game.

I've been to Japan, tried to like Anime and Manga, and generally dislike both. I somehow doubt 'eroge' will be the exception to that rule when from what I've seen it incorporates elements of both of the above. Not big on jrpg's either for that matter, hell, bluntly put the media is simply not something I enjoy about Japan or any other Asian country for that matter.

Some things just aren't for everyone. I maintain my stance; Just not really my thing.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

Adults only like the American Adults Only (SAW, Manhunt etc) or the Japanese Adults Only (Rapelay, I thank god I don't know any others)?

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

The thing about AO titles is they almost don't exist - it's like a feature film getting an NC-17 rating, which is colloquially known as the "Box Office Kiss of Death". If a ratings board looks like it might dole out an AO rating to a title, the developer/publisher will generally modify it so that they don't get slapped with that big "A Great Deal of Retailers Will Not Sell You!" designation.

The few that do were never looking to be mainstream or were probably some variety of porn, and from a game standpoint all the examples I've seen are bloody terrible at being entertaining games. Whether or not the story or 'artwork' can overcome the horrible gameplay to make the end experience a positive depends a great deal on the specific player (for me that was a definite "Nope").

Bloodlines was freaking awesome but since I'd gotten into the Vampire: The Masquerade Clan novels after playing the previous Vampire: The Masquerade title (Redemption, which was also good but not in the same league as Bloodlines), it wasn't really all that disturbing to me. Note that this says less about how disturbing the content in Bloodlines is and how extremely disturbing the content of those novels was (especially Clan Novel - Giovanni, egad!).

And I have the trailer of 8mm to thank for introducing me to the concept of snuff films (thanks a bunch Nicolas Cage!).

 

[JaredXE]

I own ONE actual AO-rated game, Rhiana Rouge....and it's so old that I can't play it anymore.

But I have played several japanese titles that would never be sold in america due to the porn in them, but I only played them for gameplay (Fate/Stay Night and the Baldur series are just two of them).

I personally think it's sad that stores won't carry AO games. Stores will carry porn mags, and you have to show an ID to purchase them, so why not games? Hell, I remember when Electronics Boutique (BEFORE they sold out and became EB games) sold AO games, then Walmart said that they wouldn't and well, if WALMART doesn't do something, why should they?

 

[badgersprite]

By adults only do you mean explicitly violent or graphically sexual? Or are you just talking about the rating itself?

Personally, there's a special place in my heart for the existence of adults only games, because one of the things that makes video games such a special medium for me is that, for such a long time, up until the last couple of years when people started getting up in arms about them, video games were able to sneak under the radar of censorship and political correctness. Take games like Postal, for example. You can't get much more offensive than that, but I love the fact that it exists, because it's all about freedom of expression. Not just for the designers, but for people who play video games.

It's actually getting annoying now how games have to constantly be on the lookout for things people might find offensive, more so even than TV shows or movies. I think that sort of censorship actually stops games from taking risks and exploring new ideas, and that it's more likely to make games fall into the same cliches that 90% of TV shows or movies do. I respect games that don't hold back - it brings back that sense of video games as being an underground, rebellious medium not affected by society's rules.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Paging Neutral Drow: Someone made a thread for us.

Curses. I'm too late.

Granted, I'm not sure eroge were quite what they're talking about...

Some things just aren't for everyone. I maintain my stance; Just not really my thing.

*pauses*

...shoot. Not entirely sure what incorporated elements you're talking about, so I'm not sure I could come up with a response. It's fine, though.

They just happen to be the focus of most of my <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.135672>reviews.

 

[syndicated44]

I own ONE actual AO-rated game, Rhiana Rouge....and it's so old that I can't play it anymore.

Okay I just looked up Rhiana Rouge and what. the. hell.

OT: When I think AO I think porn. I have played a handful of Doujin games, none of them I really liked and hell most of them I skipped over the drawn out porn scene to get back to the story. However a game so violent it gets an AO rating I think that is being excessive. If you make a game so violent it gets an AO rating you no longer have a good game you have a game that people are going to play just because it is so violent. You arent selling your game anymore you are selling blood and gore. I hate blood and gore. It has its place but to just make something based around it is just senseless.

Remember Postal? Why didnt that get an AO rating. Hell you could whip out your willy and take a refreshing wizz on the decapitated head of the half naked girl you just killed while she was walking down the street. I think it really is just the times we live in. People get more sensitive and at times they get less sensitive.

 

[syndicated44]

I own ONE actual AO-rated game, Rhiana Rouge....and it's so old that I can't play it anymore.

Okay I just looked up Rhiana Rouge and what. the. hell.

OT: When I think AO I think porn. I have played a handful of Doujin games, none of them I really liked and hell most of them I skipped over the drawn out porn scene to get back to the story. However a game so violent it gets an AO rating I think that is being excessive. If you make a game so violent it gets an AO rating you no longer have a good game you have a game that people are going to play just because it is so violent. You arent selling your game anymore you are selling blood and gore. I hate blood and gore. It has its place but to just make something based around it is just senseless.

Remember Postal? Why didnt that get an AO rating. Hell you could whip out your willy and take a refreshing wizz on the decapitated head of the half naked girl you just killed while she was walking down the street. I think it really is just the times we live in. People get more sensitive and at times they get less sensitive.

You could then light said girl on fire combind with the Urine you just covered her in, Shove a shotgun up a cats arse to use as a Silencer. And GTA was banned for Nudity? Fuck me...
GTAIV got censored here in Aus, the things that were taken out was Bloodstains on your clothes, and showing hookers crawl all over you with their clothes still on. I was going to be banned here if that wasnt removed.

Oh yea I forgot about the cat thing. Thanks for putting that god awful image back in my mind. But seriously I dont understand why there is so much buggering around with everything recently. Is it just because we have nothing better to do then yell at things for being violent? Or is it because we have become so utterly scared that someone somewhere will be offended and then sue and we have made out judicial system so ass backwards and flat out retarded that someone can sue someone for literally anything and 9 times out of 10 win?

Also remember the diseased cow head that made people throw up and eventually vomit blood?

 

[Pegghead]

Well no, they don't have an adults only rating here, and even if they did I think... Adult games (Nudge, nudge) are sort of stupid, and I can't take a game seriously that has more blood on screen than a surgical simulation video.