ESRB rating?

[katscan]

Hi all

I wonder what the ESRB rating will be for this game? I would love for my 9 year old to get into it.. I'm sure he will love the game. It seems like it will be fine since I don't see any indications that there will be profanity. And unless they see the need for terror missions to occur while NPCs are getting down and dirty, there doesn't seem to be sexual content. The violence, from what I can see from gameplay videos, isn't gratuitous and graphic. Just not sure if there are going to be any gruesome alien moments. Maybe some funky cut-scene? No way of knowing I suppose until I play through first, I guess.

[Gen_Pho]

I hope they don't sacrifice the mood to get a T rating. An alien invasion would probably result in buckets of blood being spilt and while I'm seriously not advocating for gratuitous violence, the combat shouldn't be too sanitized either.

[fastestlouigie]

X-Com should be pitched at people 15 years old and over (we have a 15 rating here in Blighty). This is a game with adult themes and any attempts to "soften" game play would be frowned on in my view.

[Inkidu]

I wouldn't be surprised if it got the T or the M. It'll probably be one of those T-rated games that's really a soft M. Like the Arkham games. The only thing stopping those from being M-rated is that they have no real copious amounts of blood.

The rating system is adequate, but it's not exactly in depth. You have to be pretty savvy about it. Partial Nudity (thong, lingerie, Soul Calibur, etc) can be in a T-rated game. However, everything up to an F-bomb or any overt reference to genitalia can be in a T-rated game (Battlefield Bad Company drops a lot of S-bombs).

I've heard the heavy say, "Payback is a ☺☺☺☺☺!" So I'm putting my money on a hard T-rating. Lots of descriptors, but not quite M.

[katscan]

I hope they don't sacrifice the mood to get a T rating. An alien invasion would probably result in buckets of blood being spilt and while I'm seriously not advocating for gratuitous violence, the combat shouldn't be too sanitized either.

I suppose.. but look at the gameplay videos.. there's really no 'blood spilled'

[katscan]

I've heard the heavy say, "Payback is a ☺☺☺☺☺!" So I'm putting my money on a hard T-rating. Lots of descriptors, but not quite M.

Oh.. my.. god.. how corny.

[katscan]

X-Com should be pitched at people 15 years old and over (we have a 15 rating here in Blighty). This is a game with adult themes and any attempts to "soften" game play would be frowned on in my view.

There's really nothing adult about the gameplay we have seen so far. It's really been not much more different than say, mario brothers. May a itty bit of blood but nothing graphic.

[Inkidu]

Oh.. my.. god.. how corny.

Actually, it was said pretty well and not like a Bond one-liner at all. The kicker is that it was said when he killed an alien after the support guy's death I'm pretty sure. So they've given it thought at least.

However, in your universe all soldier's have their vocal chords replaced with a scream machine.

[katscan]

LOL Inkidu

Anyone see any evidence of graphic violence?

[Gen_Pho]

I suppose.. but look at the gameplay videos.. there's really no 'blood spilled'

The floater introduction had a guy getting shot with a spray of blood. It was subtle but it was certainly there. Are we really that jaded?

[ShanDaMan]

Has Firaxis ever made a game rated "M"? I can't think of one. There is some blood splatter and some bloodstained ground near bodies, but I haven't seen dismemberments.

A "Gore Level Toggle" would be nice for those who want younger kids to play it as well.

The original had some pretty gruesome scenes but at the low resolution they left a lot to the imagination.

I'm banking on "T" for this one.

[Jeep-Eep]

Heavy Teen or light Mature, that's where my money is.

[IrishSamurai]

So far it's only been a little mild profanity, a little blood mist from the soldiers and green alien blood from the dead Sectoids. A Teen rating seems to be in the cards.

Having said that, we still haven't seen the revamped Chryssalid yet. Seeing a a soldier turn into a zombie and then watching the skin shed as the new Chryssalid emerged from the husk was pretty gruesome back in the original, despite the poor graphics. A modern rendition could push the rating towards Mature....and i'm all for it!

[IdeasGuy]

I'm hoping Mature myself. I mean, you do see a dude get beat to death by the hulks little brother. So far...mmm, I don't know. I'm just going to say, that I wouldn't be exactly surprised if it turns into Teen.
Hopefully it'll be Mature with a Gore setting that people can tweak for younger players.

Still, you're shooting and killing stuff. That's not saying much though... I think I'm basing this off of Halo or something, lol. That's rated M and you're shooting aliens and junk, so. Yeah. *shrugs*

[MrSourGit]

Make the aliens look brutal , no cartoony and wimpy lookin stuff plz !

Plz make it brutal , this is supposed to be an alien invasion .... People should be torn/blown/cut/crushed in all sorts of ways.....

Plz don't make it like halo , hate the look of that game , so pretty >:/

[katscan]

Plz make it brutal , this is supposed to be an alien invasion .... People should be torn/blown/cut/crushed in all sorts of ways.....

Seriously.. WTF is wrong with people today? Its no longer enough for a person/your soldier to die, they have to die in a brutal, gut wrenching way. The more graphic, the more nauseating, the better. Why?? Why do we need to see this? Unbelievable.

[Inkidu]

Seriously.. WTF is wrong with people today? Its no longer enough for a person/your soldier to die, they have to die in a brutal, gut wrenching way. The more graphic, the more nauseating, the better. Why?? Why do we need to see this? Unbelievable.

Yeah... I'm getting kind of nervous in this thread now. A lot of call for gratuitous violence. Also, would plasma cause bleeding?

I'm happy with a little blood some gruesome sound effects (like that berserk's crunch >_<

[b15h09]

Seriously.. WTF is wrong with people today? Its no longer enough for a person/your soldier to die, they have to die in a brutal, gut wrenching way. The more graphic, the more nauseating, the better. Why?? Why do we need to see this? Unbelievable.

Cause graphics can do more than show a Chrysalid bursting out of a zombie these days? Seriously though, if the mechanics supported aimed shots and the like, I'd love to see dismemberment on crits and things of that nature. Without those mechanics though, it doesn't really matter.

[MrSourGit]

Seriously.. WTF is wrong with people today? Its no longer enough for a person/your soldier to die, they have to die in a brutal, gut wrenching way. The more graphic, the more nauseating, the better. Why?? Why do we need to see this? Unbelievable.

..... Because that's what the most likely outcome would be ?

Soldiers don't usually die to a strong gust of wind ..... The result of someone getting too close to a bear is ..... The result or someone getting shot or melted by some type of gun is ?

Sorry , don't think we should make it all nice and dandy just for your kid tbh :/

Maybe have a gore rating ? Cut out the nasty bits if u must.

You wanna ruin the 'realism'effect for the sake of no blood , plz.

[MrSourGit]

Cause graphics can do more than show a Chrysalid bursting out of a zombie these days? Seriously though, if the mechanics supported aimed shots and the like, I'd love to see dismemberment on crits and things of that nature. Without those mechanics though, it doesn't really matter.

Ooooo , CRIT hits severing limbs ,,,, seriously good idea , just make it a RARE occurrence and a major amount of recovery time for that unit , maybe have to order in a mechanical arm and get your unit down the medic room for 2 months hehe !

[katscan]

Once again, WTF. Why does violence need to be 'realistic' ? Why do you care? Obviously because you find it entertaining, which disgusts me. I do watch people die in my line of work, and the people that find that entertaining are sick.. I'm going to stop getting angry now and shut up. Who cares if gratuitous violence is "realistic"... it's a goddam game not real life.

And no one is saying 'no blood'. A kid can handle blood spatters on a soldier. Crits on limbs is fine (maybe not for kids, which is also fine) But what the OP was referring to is what most of us consider gratuitous violence. Does it really add anything to see bones, connective tissue and other stuff hanging out of a limb just to demonstrate the point of a limb crit hit?

[b15h09]

Yup, no need to get angry katscan. I love zombie flicks. Gratuitous gore and violence have a certain cheese factor that cracks me up. That said, it's not necessary in this game. I'm fine with Star Wars type dismemberment. A little smoke and a stump. May not look quite right with ballistic weapons, but would be fine for plasma. Preferably there's a password protected parental control toggle in there if they get all mature with it, for situations such as yours.

[MrSourGit]

Once again, WTF. Why does violence need to be 'realistic' ? Why do you care? Obviously because you find it entertaining, which disgusts me. I do watch people die in my line of work, and the people that find that entertaining are sick.. I'm going to stop getting angry now and shut up. Who cares if gratuitous violence is "realistic"... it's a goddam game not real life.

And no one is saying 'no blood'. A kid can handle blood spatters on a soldier. Crits on limbs is fine (maybe not for kids, which is also fine) But what the OP was referring to is what most of us consider gratuitous violence. Does it really add anything to see bones, connective tissue and other stuff hanging out of a limb just to demonstrate the point of a limb crit hit?

Ji ji , I didnt know only your opinion mattered , sorry !

Your choice of job and how that makes you feel doesn't rly have anything to do with it , it's a game , I don't want 201 pints of blood coming out of each character , but , if they are about to die brutally , then sure , I wanna see . Sorry if that upsets you but in my opinion and expierience , it can only add to it for me , then again I even get exited when I burn Cult of Si units hehe .

Anyway , like you said , it's a game , so no mater how they die , it doesn't matter , it ain't real , no need to fetch your needle and thread to sow your dismembered units back together !

[katscan]

Actually it does have an impact because I see what all of 'you' need to be insulated from. There is a big difference between gamey violence and what the OP was referring to as 'brutal' violence. That is just unnecessary. It is unnecessary for you to see the details of violence, it adds nothing to the game, and just serves to desensitize society to violence. Now don't get me wrong, I've played all the GTAs and have no problem with them.. because they are gamey violence. Not realistic. If you need realistic violence, go watch some jackass movie like Saw or something else.

Again, it adds nothing to the game, so why add it.

[MrSourGit]

Seen every horror film going .... Can't name many I haven't hehe , I've even watched most of the cult horrors .

So , as you can see , maybe it's just in my taste ? And it seems a lot of others too , maybe your the minority here ? Saw is average , can name worse ...... A lot less fictional , just saying.

Anyway ..... It adds realism and it adds to the feeling of how brutal the fight your troops are in , is. Also I'd rather not see a troop I've trained and invested in being torn in 2 , so maybe I'd work harder to not have to see it . Who knows.

Lucky old you get to see it all more than us , spare some for us for gods sake ! (joke , relax relax).

Anyway , it seems for whatever the reason , most people want brutality , and what the consumer wants ...... Well , that's why devs make games , it's a business , and thank god.

I've played battlefield 3 since it was released , a lot of time , and would I like to see a c4 blow my player apart ? Yes I would . Why ? Because after I die like that my mate shouldn't be able to come up to me and defib/revive me , it makes no sense.

[babis]

Actually it does have an impact because I see what all of 'you' need to be insulated from. There is a big difference between gamey violence and what the OP was referring to as 'brutal' violence. That is just unnecessary. It is unnecessary for you to see the details of violence, it adds nothing to the game, and just serves to desensitize society to violence. Now don't get me wrong, I've played all the GTAs and have no problem with them.. because they are gamey violence. Not realistic. If you need realistic violence, go watch some jackass movie like Saw or something else.

Again, it adds nothing to the game, so why add it.

Where your line what's 'acceptable' violence is yours, and yours only - going around telling people that they need to be 'insulated' from what you deem as 'bad' violence is a remarkably ineffective approach.

"Saw" and the like contain violence as a byproduct of torture, as well as gore, which are a bit different (=worse) than other typical violent movies. But definitely gore is quite unnecessary for xcom as you say. If the devs have soooo much artist time in their hands, they could devote it to doing more maps/soldiers/map clutter; they would definitely add more to the experience.

most people want brutality , and what the consumer wants

Relax, you are not 'most'. I know you feel important and all, but..
For your fix, go play an action game and soak up some gore. I'd really appreciate to see chopped dragon ribs in Skyrim, but wouldn't give a ☺☺☺☺ for seeing chopped muton arms/legs, it's a completely different game, where 'visceral action' is lower on the priority list

[katscan]

Where your line what's 'acceptable' violence is yours, and yours only - going around telling people that they need to be 'insulated' from what you deem as 'bad' violence is a remarkably ineffective approach.

Relax, you are not 'most'. I know you feel important and all, but..

Ill flip it back to you. What do you consider acceptable violence? Where's your line?

And actually, I am representing most people. If you spoke to most people on here, Im pretty sure most would vote against gratuitous violence in XCom... which is what we are talking about. This isn't a political discussion on video game violence, which I SUPPORT.

And SourGit, FPS like the ones you mention ARE ALL ABOUT action. They are essentially an action movie. One could argue about higher levels of violence in those games. But this isn't that. It's a strategy game. It adds nothing to the game to add gratiutous violence, it's just stupid. It's like making Chess violent. Why? WTF is the point except for adding it for violence sake.

[babis]

Ill flip it back to you. What do you consider acceptable violence? Where's your line?

What I consider acceptable violence is irrelevant, but as you're asking, I'd stop at anything torture-related as well as detailed depiction of the internal parts of the human body. So, on the 'squishy' side. But again, that's me. The only people I'd try to 'insulate' would be my children (if I had any), and pass absolutely no judgement to anybody else.

And actually, I am representing most people. If you spoke to most people on here, Im pretty sure most would vote against gratuitous violence in XCom... which is what we are talking about. This isn't a political discussion on video game violence, which I SUPPORT.

I was referring to MrSourGit, as you might see from the quote. But you could do with a bit of relaxing as well

It's like making Chess violent. Why? WTF is the point except for adding it for violence sake.

Hey, have you seen battle chess? it rocks

[babis]

On the ratings note, I've seen many people here (myself included) playing the originals before they were teens. Was the game bad for us back then? Nope. What did it result in? Quite a few more people craving for the remake, because we had a hell of a good time back then. Would it be better for us not to have played it back then, just because some older kids or adults wanted some extra red pixels to spill at every death? DEFINITELY not.

So violence-supporting people don't be all selfish and demand the game to have gore just because you like it. The more players, the merrier - the game's focus isn't super-violence, it's sci-fi strategy goodness. Let everybody enjoy it.

[katscan]

What I consider acceptable violence is irrelevant, but as you're asking, I'd stop at anything torture-related as well as detailed depiction of the internal parts of the human body. So, on the 'squishy' side. But again, that's me. The only people I'd try to 'insulate' would be my children (if I had any), and pass absolutely no judgement to anybody else.



I was referring to MrSourGit, as you might see from the quote. But you could do with a bit of relaxing as well



Hey, have you seen battle chess? it rocks

Don't get me wrong, I am relaxed and happy I just have nothing to do at work right now so I am on here posting. I caps for emphasis.

Sorry, I was skimming at that point since I got called to do something

I agree completely with your above post - this game isn't about crazy violence or "full-on in your face action" so it has no place.

[obi-one-kaboozi]

I feel strongly for both sides of the argument. I for one would at least like a slider to enable/disable more gore. From my perspective the gore aspect adds to the immersion and how intense the enemy is or can be. Perhaps like critical hits etc. I dont buy into the desensitized to violence babble in general, but do understand wanting to limit what children have access to, as the fact their brains are not developed and unpredictably influenced by exposure. Adult brains on the other hand are developed and their value of life is unlikely to be effected by what they see like that of a child whos imagery is directly influencing the context of their surrounding.

I'd like to have a password protected slider that adults can use should they choose. I however do not feel it is a game manufacturers duty to protect anyone from the effects and the market will dictate which options players want and that is how it should be any way. If more buy it due to less violence, so be it, the market has chosen.

[b-0]

Hi all
I wonder what the ESRB rating will be for this game? I would love for my 9 year old to get into it.. I'm sure he will love the game. It seems like it will be fine since I don't see any indications that there will be profanity. ...

Actually I saw some cussing in one of the game videos. One of the developer interviews had some cussing in it too, so its not surprising that they'd include it in the game when they present themselves that way in interviews.. The in-game cussing is the reason i will NOT be buying this game.

[MrSourGit]

Relax, you are not 'most'. I know you feel important and all, but..

... Cute . I'm just expressing the way I'd like it to be , the irony in your statement is amusing though

[MrSourGit]

The in-game cussing is the reason i will NOT be buying this game.

Hey don't worry ! You don't even need the 'gore slider' !!! You can use the sound slider !!! Your good to go !

[Inkidu]

Hey don't worry ! You don't even need the 'gore slider' !!! You can use the sound slider !!! Your good to go !

Better, now you can cut off soldier quips with a click of a button.

Seriously though, swearing? I think Batman Arkham City will have more swearing in it than the new XCOM.

[katscan]

I mean, seriously, this is NOT a combat simulator. Nor is it even a simulator of tactical warfare. It's not even close (I exaggerate a little there). So why treat it as such to demonstrate how intense it can be ?? Just silly. Its a strategy game no different than Civ 5. It doesn't/shouldn't have the same level of gore as Total War, for example. If you want a combat or tactical sim, go play one like Combat Mission. Amazing game, but totally different. There, I expect certain things, like demonstrating brutality of warfare (not gratuitous)... but at least it belongs in a game like that.

Not Xcom.

[b-0]

Better, now you can cut off soldier quips with a click of a button.
Seriously though, swearing? I think Batman Arkham City will have more swearing in it than the new XCOM.

It's fine if they want to include swearing, I don't hate them for it. It just turns me off to wanting to buy it for myself or my children/family/friends etc. I won't be paying for Batman either. 'Turn the sound off'? How about 'turn the cussing off'?

[Inkidu]

It's fine if they want to include swearing, I don't hate them for it. It just turns me off to wanting to buy it for myself or my children/family/friends etc. I won't be paying for Batman either. 'Turn the sound off'? How about 'turn the cussing off'?

The original XCOM wasn't wholesome. In point of fact, the whole brightly-colored pallet and whatnot was really a deconstruction of the whole Saturday-morning cartoon. People die, they scream, there's blood. They just don't talk.

Also, it seems that XCOM was created before the majority of the industry fell under the voluntary rule of the ESRB (at least here in the states). I'd say rent it or find someone else who plays it. I agree that ultimately the decision is with parent, but personally I think you owe the game a fairer shake than some judgement based on a few pre-release quips.

[IrishSamurai]

The original XCOM wasn't wholesome. In point of fact, the whole brightly-colored pallet and whatnot was really a deconstruction of the whole Saturday-morning cartoon. People die, they scream, there's blood. They just don't talk.

Also, it seems that XCOM was created before the majority of the industry fell under the voluntary rule of the ESRB (at least here in the states). I'd say rent it or find someone else who plays it. I agree that ultimately the decision is with parent, but personally I think you owe the game a fairer shake than some judgement based on a few pre-release quips.

Also keep in mind there will be an option to toggle off soldier's voices. No more swearing. Problem solved.

[babis]

Also keep in mind there will be an option to toggle off soldier's voices. No more swearing. Problem solved.

Equivalent thinking: How to toggle off blood splatter? Turn off particle systems and decals. Problem solved(?)