Germ's Gaming: "The Last of Us II has an excellent story and fun gameplay. Overall, I felt it was done better than the first game.
Unfortunately, most of Ellie's playthrough was boring and I felt like I never had a choice in who I was killing and was just forced into a murder spree of revenge. It was kind of ridiculous and made me mad. Abby was my hero by the end. I wanted her to win."
Video Games have become much more realistic at depicting violence. Are we reaching a breaking point between realism and violence?
It's also fun/cool/whatever makes people interested in a product that will mostly decide what's worth making more realistic or not.
And sure, a future virtual and super realistic surgery sim using haptic gloves may become a reality.
@Huey_My_D_Long
Watching surgery videos on youtube is difficult (for me). Seeing the incisions occur and all the yellow fat, blood, guts being exposed makes me feel sick. I bring this up because I feel there is definitely a point where games can be too realistic. When a game really looks like real life in all aspects (not just hyper realistic environments) our actual emotional discomfort will start to kick in.
yeah, I play games to experience realism after experiencing realism in real life -- super fun!
/s
Right!?!? We have a rating system already. M for mature can contain graphic violence. If you can't handle it don't buy games rated M.
I think rape crosses the line for realism in a video game. If there is a rape scene in a game it shouldn’t be graphic. I’m all for dismemberment and gore but rape doesn’t sit well with me.
It wouldn't sit well with me either, but if everyone carved up depictions of violence according to their own sensibilities, there would be no violence in games at all.
Certainly, the suggestion to not be too graphic with rape is probably something everyone can agree on. Even Game of Thrones kept it relatively kosher. In reality, I suppose a depiction only needs to go as far as effectively communicating how evil/violent characters are. The article take about MK1, but I think that's always been what draws or repulses an audience to Mortal Kombat. The use of extreme violence in a game like The Last of Us actually works very well for narrative purposes. It really helped to immerse me into Part II where I despised Abby (until the end, I suppose) and really understood how batshit insane the Seraphites/Scars are. In the absence of that extreme depiction as a narrative tool, you get the sense that the world is sanitized and "inauthentic".
For me, it is exactly that extreme violence that gets me into the mindset that we're dealing with some truly reprehensible characters and you get to understand the extent of their evil.
Imagine Jigsaw as a character without the horrible deaths: you'd just think he's setting people up for failure. With that violence, there's much more precision in capturing the type of person he is.
Just my thinking.
That's fair. For me it depends on how it's depicted and what's the context behind the event.
"I'm all for dismemberment and gore but rape..."
Fuck sake, that is totally messed-up and the reason why we are here with this nonsense attitude towards anything sexual in games. Attempted rape scene in Tomb Raider 2012 game, which some outlets got all pissy about but none gave a crap about the many gruesome death scenes.
If a game is clearly marked as having extreme content, then all cards should be on the table (aside from any underage nonsense). It seems Japanese sex games include unwilling participants as a fetish. Not for everyone, I get that but rape is just too taboo in the West but killing someone is totally acceptable, encouraged even.
Fucked-up that is.
The biggest question that should be asked is. Do we actually need rape in games? Short answer NO. But if a dev wants to make a game that includes that then let them. Consumers can use their right to choose and NOT PLAY IT.
Look it's really important how it's depicted. Now as much as I understand your point about murder. It's weird cause you aren't wrong, but most cases of murder in games is usually predicated on the fact that these enemies are attacking and trying to kill you so you are defending yourself so murder is most always worse than rape but you can have a justifiable reason for killing In defense, but there is never a justifiable reason to rape.
I agree with if someone wants to make it, but understand due to severity of the issue, people may not have like it and it's their right to voice their issue.
Honestly one of the worst scenes I remember (I've seen most of the supposedly violent movies, not naming them u can google them if ud like) was from a French film whose story was told backwards, so at the movies end (chronological beginners) it depicts a 12 minute rape scene. Realistic as fuck that I felt sick for seating through it.
I know some would say why on earth would a movie go that Realistic? What's the art in that?
Well when if a Realistic depiction can make me feel like shit, I don't even think I could imagine how terrible it actually is to go through and live with that experience.
I don't know if a game could do the same effect, to show rape in its true terror, not a bunch of short cut aways thats lessen the impact.but I guess if one tried and succeeded it'd be something.
Just Ya know, people should be at least warned either way.
I am struggling to make an argument as to why I am ok with the most realistic gore you can have, but against rape in a game... I want gore because enjoy letting loose in red dead 2 or last of us 2; would never think about it in real life. There are people I assume who would say the same thing about rape in a game...logically I am a hypocrite...I understand this, but maybe rape crosses a moral line that gore doesn't in games and movies?
@mkis, nah you are right to feel repulsed. I have seen tones of murder on film to no effect but the few rape scenes I've seen in film have always stuck with me in the worst way. No need to explain it you just know you don't want to see it.
You cannot get any worse than killing someone. No ifs or buts. There's no coming back from that. Rape on the other hand, a victim can live on, get over it even and rebuild to have a happy life. The dead person can't ever do that. There is no argument then really and therefore you are twisted rather than hypocritical if you accept killing over letting someone live regardless of what you put them through.
On the flip side we are talking about video games which traditionally had you killing for a righteous cause. To save the human race in Space Invaders, to beating the Germans in Call of Duty. Rape on the other hand can never have a righteous cause hence the taboo.
That is where the acceptance of killing and not rape stems from. The only issue is, who would have thought when Space Invaders launched we'd all be playing the kind of games we have now which have a obscene amount of detail in comparison.
Yea I don't think one can make that strong an argument for it but for me personally rape is a prolonged thing. I don't wanna see a guy grossly pleasuring himself while the victim is either screaming, crying, or just shocked from fear or something. Even if a rape scene is implied and not shown I still know how it goes down and it'll still leave me feeling uncomfortable.
As for violence and gore, nothing ever shocked me that much cuz any hyper violence I've seen was in a nonsensical and silly kind of way like mk fatalities or mad world. Or in the case of games like gta, red dead or call of duty, even if I'm blowing someone's head of with a shotgun it goes by rather quickly and I move on to the next objective. I'd be more against gore and realistic violence if there were things like cutting a person's throat and watching them choke and gag on their blood while rolling all over the floor like a roach that got hit with raid. Or something like having to pull up on an innocent family, kill the parents while the kids scream in horror in a corner amd then kill them after. Or actual moments in games like the no Russian mission in CoD or shining lights mission in mgsv
Tldr: it depends on how it's depicted I guess?
I don't agree, even though it's a pretty awful thing to happen, it's not uncommon or unheard of in movies, tv series, books, ect... Although, I don't know if I'd rate gore or dismemberment as any less traumatic or horrible. But we all have different levels of tolerance for what we can handle in media (I like to think I'm pretty hardy even though these things sometimes upset me).
As long as the ratings/warnings are appropriate and the consumer is warned of what content could be shown, I think it should be allowed. In Australia, we actually have a warning on our ratings that can include "high impact sexual violence", although I don't think the classifications board uses it correctly as it was a warning on Atelier Totori. We had the foresight, but not the board/people to correctly classify media.
If you want Rape in Video games, I'd suggest going to see someone. Something is off with. In fact any violence towards women, although men have been raped. Sets a bad standard for youngsters and yes youngsters play thing they should not.
Like knife crime these days, shot through the roof.
I don't know where you guys are from.
But carrying a knife should be automatic 5 years prison, and if you get caught again it doubles. It would soon stop.
I’ve already played it and beat it. I don’t recall a graphic rape scene but maybe I missed it. What scene was that?
Unrecord using UE5 is the most realistic I seen yet. Almost mistaken it for real life footage 😁 https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Pretty much felt the same way, forgot how frustrated (and bored) I was through a lot of this game especially Ellie's part but I loved the game-play, story and acting. Good review.