Meat Shield, New Chainsaw Attack Prompting Gears of War 2 Controversy
Meat Shield, New Chainsaw Attack Prompting Gears of War 2 Controversy
May 20, 2008
The Phoenix News has published the first of what are likely to be numerous mainstream media stories on violent new features in the upcoming Gears of War 2.
GamePolitics readers may recall that the original GoW, released in 2006, was banned in Germany over government concerns about the game's level of violence.
Citing a Yahoo! Games report which detailed a press event held last week by Microsoft in San Francisco, the newspaper frets over a pair of new moves:
A popular video game for the Xbox 360 is getting a sequel this year - and it seems to be raising eyebrows with its level of gore and detail... The game... features a chainsaw for melee attacks.
In the demo, the player can use the chainsaw to cut a person in half, starting at the groin and moving upwards. Also, players can pick up the corpses of fallen enemies and use them as a "meat shield" to protect themself from enemy fire as they engage in battle from behind the corpse.
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LOGINGamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 07/20/08 at 07:08pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: -he's disbarred. I was thinking Leland Yee, since he has actual medical credentials and all, not to mention political power.
GRIZZAM PRIME: -he's disbarred. I was thinking Leland Yee, since he has actual medical credentials and all, not to mention political power.
Posted 07/20/08 at 07:03pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: Well shadow, every time I look at the shoutboard I see JT over and over, and I'm wondering who'll be spoken of the most when
GRIZZAM PRIME: Well shadow, every time I look at the shoutboard I see JT over and over, and I'm wondering who'll be spoken of the most when
Posted 07/20/08 at 06:59pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Point of relevancy there Grizzam? j/w
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Point of relevancy there Grizzam? j/w
Posted 07/20/08 at 06:48pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: So, in the future, who's initials will we use the most? LY(Leeland Yee)?
GRIZZAM PRIME: So, in the future, who's initials will we use the most? LY(Leeland Yee)?
Posted 07/20/08 at 03:52pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @PHOENIXZERO: IDK, why don't you ask him over e-mail?
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @PHOENIXZERO: IDK, why don't you ask him over e-mail?
Posted 07/20/08 at 01:47pm
Silencets: I might miss JT when he's disbarred.....nah I won't
Silencets: I might miss JT when he's disbarred.....nah I won't
Posted 07/20/08 at 11:45am
PHOENIXZERO: I wonder how many times Jack has seen The Dark Knight so far....
PHOENIXZERO: I wonder how many times Jack has seen The Dark Knight so far....
Posted 07/19/08 at 11:32am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Don´t you think that maybe Fat Princess will generate a lot of controversy?
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Don´t you think that maybe Fat Princess will generate a lot of controversy?
Posted 07/19/08 at 08:46am
Paul T. Farinelli: To say that he did say it seriously, considering all of the rhetoric that he's spewed before.
Paul T. Farinelli: To say that he did say it seriously, considering all of the rhetoric that he's spewed before.
Posted 07/19/08 at 08:45am
Paul T. Farinelli: Apparently it was a joke on JT's part. He acts as though we all should've realized that, but it's not to big of a stretch
Paul T. Farinelli: Apparently it was a joke on JT's part. He acts as though we all should've realized that, but it's not to big of a stretch
Posted 07/19/08 at 07:14am
LuNaTiC: JT was not loved as a child. What jack ass forgot to pull out when creating this abomination??
LuNaTiC: JT was not loved as a child. What jack ass forgot to pull out when creating this abomination??
Posted 07/18/08 at 10:32pm
Paul T. Farinelli: Seriously, i haven't been so awe-struck by someone's sheer audacity in...ever!
Paul T. Farinelli: Seriously, i haven't been so awe-struck by someone's sheer audacity in...ever!
Posted 07/18/08 at 09:45pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : And I can take "No" for an answer.
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : And I can take "No" for an answer.
Posted 07/18/08 at 09:45pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : JT is such a tool. He thinks he can have his way just because he's a Christian. Listen up, Jackie-boy, I'm a Christian, too.
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : JT is such a tool. He thinks he can have his way just because he's a Christian. Listen up, Jackie-boy, I'm a Christian, too.
Posted 07/18/08 at 09:09pm
Paul T. Farinelli: Also, I must say that Jack honestly looks like a serial killer in that pic. (not saying he is one, just that he looks creepy)
Paul T. Farinelli: Also, I must say that Jack honestly looks like a serial killer in that pic. (not saying he is one, just that he looks creepy)
Posted 07/18/08 at 09:08pm
Paul T. Farinelli: Jace was apparently polite.
Paul T. Farinelli: Jace was apparently polite.
Posted 07/18/08 at 09:07pm
Paul T. Farinelli: I agree, it just seems like pure insanity that Jack would seriously say that to the man's face during an interview, one in which
Paul T. Farinelli: I agree, it just seems like pure insanity that Jack would seriously say that to the man's face during an interview, one in which
Posted 07/18/08 at 07:48pm
Jack Wessels: If not then... Damn...
Jack Wessels: If not then... Damn...
Posted 07/18/08 at 07:48pm
Jack Wessels: Hey Dennis, I know you can't share the videos JT sent you, but was there perhaps even a slight amount of sarcasm in his replies?
Jack Wessels: Hey Dennis, I know you can't share the videos JT sent you, but was there perhaps even a slight amount of sarcasm in his replies?
Posted 07/18/08 at 06:21pm
tallimar: ... news story so much as a punch line.
tallimar: ... news story so much as a punch line.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
Its not even out yet. jezz
That didn't stop Jack from going after GTA IV once he heard about that one mission where you take out a lawyer inspired by him and his rantings about how games kill people.
I guess this guy never watched the running man
"this chainsaw is a part of me, im gonna make it part of you"
"No thanks, you keep it"
The only thing that came to mind with this story was quite literally "So What?" Like the first responder said, the game isn't even out yet, and it's not intended for minors in the first place.
---- There is a limit for both politicians against video games, and video games against politicians.
Does anyone else think that those flying things the locust have look like the sentinals from the matrix?
Seconded. Lets face it... epic makes great games, but their art design team are real lazy bastards.
so whats new? chainsaws have been in games since the original doom and earlier probably and human shields have already been done in games like hitman. A little late to start complaining this is just like the manhunt controversy ignore the first one and then go after the sequel like its this whole new level of violence...
And they can make any civilian prisioner and hold them indefinitely in a concentration camp without trial and torture them to obtain information and... Wait a second. I think this is not a game, it's the US Military.
Remember: It's all about interactivity.
---- There is a limit for both politicians against video games, and video games against politicians.
Yeah, but in Sweeny the blood and gore is so obviously fake no one would be overly disturbed by it. Except maybe blondes, but they have their own problems.
---------------------------------
So speak I, some random guy.
"In the demo, the player can use the chainsaw to cut a person in half, starting at the groin and moving upwards."
The thing being diced in the game is a MONSTER called a Locsut, which are out to destroy humanity. If humanity is in danger, you can defend yourself with an olive branch all you like, but I'll opt for soemthing more lethal. Also, the enemy race i nthe game isn't real, get over it.
"Also, players can pick up the corpses of fallen enemies and use them as a "meat shield" to protect themself from enemy fire as they engage in battle from behind the corpse."
Oh? Well I've seen a video game where the gunman used a live person as a shield. Oh, wait, that was also the evening news.
In NZ, 16 year olds can legally buy and play Gears of War. Games like Crackdown and Condemned are restricted to only people 18 and above (and strangely so is Doom 2) and Manhunt is banned, but 16 year old can play Gears of War. Seems some classification bodies don't believe the chainsaw is that much of a bad influence. Which I agree with. I don't think chainsaw violence is really that easy to imitate and it usually isn't. (Coincidently, although I have said this, about the chainsaw, for a while now, there was an incident with someone threatening police with a chainsaw a week ago...)
CONSIDER WHAT YOURE KILLING YOU PHUTZES!!!
The thing to remember is that after death is sacred. I've heard before that games in certain regions must not alow desecration (by shooting, or any other interaction) of dead bodies.
---- There is a limit for both politicians against video games, and video games against politicians.
Dude, if there is a monster that is coming at me to kill me and I had two choicies between a beating stick or a Chainsaw. I would go for the Chainsaw.... I would keep the beating stick though...
I don't think any of those things are particularly original.
Chainsaws have been in other games including the Doom series, and GTA Vict City
You can slice people in half in No More Heroes (a game which would undoubtedly catch a lot of crap if it were more mainstream)
I'm sure I've played games where I can take human sheilds before, but I cannot think of what they were off the top of my head.
It seems like the real issue isn't that you can do these things in Gears 2, but that they will look good. I've still seen all of this and worse in movies that never got so much as a second glance from the what-about-the-childrens people or the media.
-- I am the master of low expectations
http://mallvillestory.blogspot.com
Nintendo isn't gonna do anything cause its anime.
It seems like it's getting more and more about how "lifelike" (or more accurately in this day and age), how "holywood" glamorized it's been given.
---- There is a limit for both politicians against video games, and video games against politicians. http://www.goteamretard.com
I've always had an issue with the meat-shield concept -- namely, would it really provide that much protection? I guess if you're carrying around a body clad in kevlar armour, that could help, but it obviously didn't help the poor sod who was wearing it. Even the live hostage thing has always given me pause; most videogame baddies are portrayed as self-interested killers for hire or single-minded armed drones, neither of which strike me as personalities that would have any problem shooting their own allies for the chance to take down the protagonist.
But I'm liking this news about the chainsaw. Maybe they could combine the ideas: carving the limbs and head off a body would leave a perfectly serviceable torso that would actually resemble a shield. (Cue new enraged headline: "GP commenter discloses grisly new ideas for battles, proving all gamers are sociopaths.")
---
The Mammon Industry
I know Gears is set in a futuristic world where weaponry may be different. As far as modern weapons go, most bullets are designed specifically to not penetrate the target but to "tumble" and inflict as much internal damage as possible. For this reason, a "meat shield" would actually prove very effective against hollow point bullets and most assault rifle ammo.
If you ask me, the concept sounds pretty disgusting.
Monster shields are pretty useful they are dead and can't feel pain so by holding them up you are protected. :P
Like in Total Recall where the hero grabs a bad guy and uses him as a meat shield? Video games have caught up to the violence in movies in the 80's? *sigh*
-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...
Splinter Cell was the game. You could grab a hostile and aim over his shoulder. But wait, where is the uproar? Oh, there isn't any, because you're fighting terrorists. Nevermind the game being more realistic than GoW.
Thank god the media is protecting us from alien homicide simulators.
Hey, Arnold used a dead body as a meat shield in Total Recall, so why can't we do that in a game? I guess people don't like their kids learning good ideas for how to survive on the battlefield...
I guess they were okay with the original bloody chainsaw attacks, since there were less animations used. After all I didn't hear any controversy buzz around the first GoW. Like others have implied here, using a LIVE PERSON as a shield seems more brutal than a corpse that can't feel anything.
I don't understand why Yahoo! Games would even do a write-up like that. Its really no different from a lot of games that have come and gone over the years. The original Yahoo! story came up as a featured story on their main page, which suggests it is content to attract readers. It's a VERY unusual article from a writer who is part of the "enthusiast" section of Yahoo!.
Of course, other outlets will be picking up on this now, which may fan the flames of another panic...
I guess Big Brother government and Big Sister media knows best!
I mean,when have both ever lied to the American people and made up misleading,untruthful bullsh*t before!?
OK, lemme get this straight, its bad to cut people in half from the groin up with a chainsaw but its okay to cut james bond in half from the groin up with a laser?
-The Bird
Of all things they make a hoopla over this? What about the chain saw in GoW 1, the curb stopping, the Torque bow, the grenade tag, the Krill ripping ou limb from limb, the gooey head explosions from sniper shots, the bodies dismembered by Wretches, ect, ect, ect. Man, talk about turning a blind eye...
Bandwagon chasers follow hype, not its actual content.
Controversy up the ass when this comes out
They're also factually incorrect about two things;
A Mature rating recommends, but cannot bar or prohibit people under 17 from playing the game (as opposed to 16 stated in the article)
Precedent has shown that no law can bar or prohibit the sale of any media (unless we're dealing with explicit pornography) and remain consititutionally sound, just ask Jack "Epic Fail" Thompson.
The bandwagon's a little late to the party, eh?
I think I can speak for everyone here when I say...
This is totally awesome.
The meat shield might be something new, but chainsaws certainly aren't.
So 15 years of "instagib" on multiplayer games goes unnoticed and THIS is what people are upset about?
Oh wait, its an election year... nevermind...
even "righteous indignation" feels like its being outsourced lately.
I don't have the patience to read through all these replies, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the first one to point out that the chainsaw isn't starting from the groin. He sticks it in his lower spine and goes up. Intentional inaccuracies such as this are the kind of things that fuel ignorance of the ignorant. Next we'll have parents on the 11 o'clock talking about how they're afraid their kids are going to attack their genitals with landscaping equipment in the night.
"....the player can use the chainsaw to cut a person in half, starting at the groin and moving upwards. Also, players can pick up the corpses of fallen enemies and use them as a "meat shield" to protect themself from enemy fire as they engage in battle from behind the corpse."
box quote anyone?
maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but couldn´t you use LIVE soldiers in metal gear solid as meat shields? you could also snap their necks if you held them long enough and feel the snap through the controller, no? now that´s a real murder simulator :p
wow. this game is so grey even the gore looks grey! give us more grey my beloved graymedevelopers! grey walls, grey trees, grey sky, grey aliens, grey vehicles, grey flesh! awesome greyness is awesome grey!
It's too bad 18 year olds are SO much more mature than 17 year olds (because they totally are) or Epic could just slap on AO rating on it and not have to think twice about toning it down a notch.
seriously though, you can't sell mature games to minors anyway so the AO rating difference of 1 freakin' year is kind of moot.
Hello!
I'm an Austrian studying in video games and a regular reader of Gamepolitics.com
"Gears of War" actually was not "banned" in Germany, but "indiziert". Which means it can only be sold and advertised to adults. Speaking about it is therefore also prohibited in public.
Banned games in Germany are "Mortal Kombat 2+3", "Manhunt", "Dead Rising", "Condemned - Criminal Origins" and the international version of "Scarface - The World Is Yours".
For a game, getting banned in Germany means it has to get the attention of a court.
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