Hatred Rated Adults Only by the ESRB

[SmugFrog]

the AO rating should be an industry standard, not a threat of ad hoc censorship. There are plenty of games rated M that should be rated AO. Not because of any moral grandstanding, but because the rating system should be properly utilized.

I think the problem behind this stems from the big debate about games rated Mature or AO. There are certain people that want these games where the boxart, ads, etc can be seen by anyone that isn't of the age required to play the game. Hence, many stores would remove it from their shelves or be required to have a "backroom" to go view these titles, similar to going to buy pornography.

It's not as much of a problem in today's world of digital distribution; but the fact that games like Grand Theft Auto 5 could be treated the same as hardcore pornography is a messed up way to treat it. I also agree that there are probably more games that should be rated AO; however it's left up to the parents (however obviously incompetent they are based on the number of kids playing these games). Personally, I don't let my kids play anything that I haven't played myself; and some games that I think they're ready for I hold off on because of certain scenes of language/violence.

 

[Ramus]

I am personally glad it got the AO rating because maybe this will open up more discussion on the distribution of AO games. There needs to be venues willing to sell AO games if AO is going to be anything more than a "we don't like this game" rating.

 

[vgmaster831]

I am personally glad it got the AO rating because maybe this will open up more discussion on the distribution of AO games. There needs to be venues willing to sell AO games if AO is going to be anything more than a "we don't like this game" rating.

I agree that it's an important discussion, but this is not the right game for it. The Adults Only rating could be an accurate rating for many hypothetical games discussing a wide variety of issues only suitable for adults. A few issues I can think of that would be beneficial for gamers to think about are rape culture, the existential and literal horrors of war, and domestic violence. Games have- to name one of games' many unique qualities- the ability to give and take away agency from the player and use that to make a statement. That said....

I would call Hatred many things, but mature is not one of them. It's a game with little to say on a subject that is deeply in need of discussion. It seeks to offend and push the boundaries without adding anything to our culture by pushing those boundaries. The very best it can do is open the path for another game which does say something. Even that's unlikely though, because this is not gaming putting its best foot forward. This game will just make gaming look bad. At least gaming as a whole isn't really susceptible to bad press anymore. Despite the best attempts of some people in our lovely community to make us all look like intolerant, reactive trolls recently, gaming still contains more people looking to make actual progress in the world than any other medium, I think.

That might have gone beyond the scope of my original reply.

 

[blackrave]

So I wonder.... if your in-game victims make smart ass quips while you beat them to death (GTA, Saint's Row) it get's you an M rating. If your victims beg and plead for their lives while you do it that ups things to AO. That appears to be the only difference between the two games. What am I not seeing here?

In GTA and Saint's Row, it's all about catharsis. Although GTA is fairly tasteless, the people you kill still aren't made to look realistically sympathetic--on some level, you're aware that they're lifeless simulations that exist solely for your amusement. Hatred goes out of its way to show your victims defenseless and pleading for their lives. It deliberately paints what you're doing as something horrific and terrible. I'd actually say that it would be better for a child to play Hatred than GTA, since Hatred makes murdering innocents terrifying where GTA makes it fun, but it's rather silly to say that the violence in Hatred and GTA are equivalent.

Dammit, stop ruining my fun.
Stupid people Time travelers from future who know everything about game that will come out in ~6months may actually realize what this game is about and stop embarrassing themselves.

Spoiler: But in all seriousness

This is one thing I liked about Fallout and Fallout2- they often had civilians (even kids) in middle of firefights.
And this is where Spec Ops:The Line fucked up.
Yes Spec Ops had civilians in few special places, but not in the middle of "ordinary" combat encounters.
Men, women, children, everyone doesn't get magically teleported away from combat zones.