Azcentral.com published an interesting article several days back slating Rockstar Games and Take2 Interactive. The article blamed to two companies for “trash[ing] the reputation of the entire game industry [more] than any other companies ever” apparently. So I decided to put this so called “article” to the test and discover the flaws in its information and, already evident, biasness towards the two companies.

“When the pair announced that Manhunt 2, the sequel to a poorly reviewed but notably violent game, was coming to the Nintendo Wii, the buzz started almost immediately.”

I find it interesting in this part of the article (3rd paragraph) that the author only refers to the Nintendo Wii, where we know the game was scheduled for release on three consoles, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Wii. The article states that Manhunt was “poorly reviewed” where facts show that it received a average of 76% ( MetaCritic, 2003 ) which isn’t at all a bad rating for any game. The top 3 gaming website gave it an 8.5/10 (IGN), 8.3/10 (GameSpot) and a 5.0/10 (1UP.com). These don’t seem to me like “poor” reviews; even 5.0/10 makes the game average.

“I won't reprint some of the information included in previews of the game written by some of the gaming Web sites, particularly IGN, but suffice to say that enemies can be dismembered and killed in ways that make movies such as Fargo, Seven and Reservoir Dogs look tame.”

One thing you should never do when writing an article is refuse to show facts, although you don’t require a rewrite of the articles being related to links and in-text referencing would do a world of good. Relating games to movies has always been a pet peeve of mine. How anybody can compare a movie made in the real world using real actors; real props and real effects generated by computer using the blue and green screen technique to a game made using pixels and 3d models with scripted storylines is beyond me. There is no relation between the two, one is real; one is fake. Movies are more realistic then games due to the fact they use real affects, games depend on spooky noises, scary voices and gruesome photoshopped textures for 3d models to add shock value for the player. A game cannot make a movie look tame, an 18 year old could watch Reservoir Dogs an possible have nightmares about it or trouble sleeping, whereas they could play a violent game and not think twice about it once they have switched off the console.

“The AO rating is extremely rare, especially for mainstream games. It's the equivalent of a XXX rating on movies.”

An AO rating is rare yes, but it is not exactly equivalent to an XXX rating on movies. An XXX rating on a movie means the movie contains material of a pornographic and explicit manner. Most games that have had the AO sticker slapped on them, as in the case of Manhunt 2, have nothing more than strong violence and gore. An AO rating is also only applicable in the US. The UK and Australia have a different rating system altogether. The UK has 18+ which is similar to the AO but doesn’t cover the same depth as the AO does, and Australia currently lacks a rating higher then MA 15+ meaning at the current point in time Manhunt would not even be looked at for release. MA 15+ is the same rating all Grand Theft Auto games have received as well as the original Manhunt early before being banned.

“So where does that leave the companies that created the game?

Well, they're trying to argue that a game that lets you saw a man in half should be recognized as art.”

So wait a second, don’t we call movies art? How can movies be classified as art and games not? Everyone seems to have this idea that games, nothing more than pixels; models and scripts, are worse than a movie with the same, if not more, scale of horror and gore that uses real people and special effect. If games are in the same league as movies then shouldn’t they also be classified as art?

The article by Victor Godinez of Azcentral.com was one sided, with no facts or evidence to back up his claims. With all honesty it made no sense and really didn’t warrant an entire article. Your opinion isn’t news, it’s your opinion.

I wish Rockstar Games and Take-Two all the luck in the world, in my opinion games should not be rated harder then movies, at little they should be rated the same, if not easier. At the end of the day it should all come down to the consumer, which in this situation is parents and adults. The government can’t dictate what you play or watch, but they can advice, which is what ratings are for. It falls into the hands of the parents as being their job to monitor what their children play and watch. If they aren’t doing that then they aren’t doing their job. If parents cannot control their children, who can? As a society we have the right to our own opinions, as well as the right to play what we want in just cause.