Call me a wuss (at least one of you will), but I'd like to see games have a blood/gore toggle in the options menu that turns this on and off. Perfect example is Assassin's Creed. They have this setting and it's much appreciated. Sometimes, I'll be playing and my 4 year old will come into the room out of no where, I'd hate for him to see all that crap. I don't mind a "little" blood, but games are getting to the point where if you kill something they over emphasize the gore. Fallout 3 makes sure that you don't not see it all by giving you the instant-replay zoom-in every kill. Ok, ok, I get the picture ya know?

Maybe I'm just getting old and you young whippersnappers love this stuff.

I don't have kids but I have to agree. They should put this option in.

Gears of War has it. There is another one that I played recently that has the option as well. Give me a minute.

Although I don't have kids yet, I can totally understand the need for this option. In the mean time, though, I would really appreciate an option in games to turn up the gore to "fallout 3 level." Some are way too light on it. Maybe there should be a slider to meet each personal taste?

Well if you have kids and are worried about it, don't buy the game? But I do agree with PJ_Rage, I would also like to see a gore enhancer :)

Fallout 3 makes sure that you don't not see it all by giving you the instant-replay zoom-in every kill. Ok, ok, I get the picture ya know?


God I love Fallout 3. The Vats cam is very satisfying! I finished the game this AM with a perfect 1000 gamerscore. (hey I'm proud!)

I can fully understand your feelings on gore. Games aimed at kids naturally tone everything down, but games aimed at Dad turn it up to 11. Problem is, kids and Dad share the same space!

The simple answer is to just play when the kids are in bed?

Well if you have kids and are worried about it, don't buy the game? But I do agree with PJ_Rage, I would also like to see a gore enhancer :)

if everyone who was concerned about censorship because they had kids didn't buy the games, that would hurt the companies making the games, and odds are they would then have to resort to either putting the option to turn the gore off, or make a game less gory, which would hurt all those who are fans of the gore

companies make games that sell, and the majority of gamers are older and probably have families and therefore the same concerns

keep it simple, add the option in and call it a day

I can't imagine it being complicated to implement

and for the record, I love gore, and seeing people's heads expload, but as a father to be, I totally understand where he's coming from

WaW has an option to turn down the language and gore...but only for the single player missions (not online...learned that the hard way :o).

As a father of 4, I would also like to see this option implemented. I wasn't able to play though much of gta due to all the language. You couldn't even walk down the street in that game without accidentally bumping into someone and hearing an "F" bomb :(.

I don't know.

I mean, I guess I've never seen the point in turning down the gore in a game that has you intentionally firing a gun at someone to KILL him. Does getting red of the icky red stuff make that better\ok?

Blood, or no blood, it's still very violent. I think it's even worse, since you tend to minimize real violence and make it more cartoony and acceptable.

Personally, although I don't have kids, I'd stay away from the ultra violent games period when they're younger and don't understand. Once they're of an age that they can make the distinctions and understand the difference, just make sure they know the difference between a game and reality. That a game is entertainment and fantasy, like a book, and there's a difference from reality which has consequences.

And as some have said, there's a reason for an early bedtime for young children. :)

I'm still living down my kid sneaking downstairs (when he was 4) and watching me play Gears of War from the other room. Wife was not happy when he mentioned it at breakfast the next day.

Now that he's a little older (7) a "normal" amount of blood doesn't bother me (like Half-Life 2), but I still won't play Gears of War with him around. I'd have no trouble with a lot of games if they'd tone down the language a bit. I mean, GTAIV has the F bomb every 10 seconds or so....it's ridiculous, and I'm no prude. It just doesn't need it...like they think "mature" means buckets of blood and tons of swearing. Completely unnecessary, and of course I have to keep it turned down so they can't hear it upstairs.

Well as long as there are no boobies being shown, blood is okay, right? (Had a friend's 9 year old son ask him that the other day and I just had to shake my head when I heard about it).

The best implementation of a gore remover I've seen is in Serious Sam 2, enemies bleed flowers, confetti and bananas in hippy mode :)

I can fully understand your feelings on gore. Games aimed at kids naturally tone everything down, but games aimed at Dad turn it up to 11. Problem is, kids and Dad share the same space!

The simple answer is to just play when the kids are in bed?

Not always simple with kids, but I have to agree. You need to play when they are away or move to another area of the house, not an option for me since I want it on my big screen with the HT sound system. A lot of games are not for kids just like movies these days. It's hard to find the balance of what is ok and when to play the not ok for kids games.

I don't have kids, but I definitely would enjoy a gore/profanity meter. Unlike many others here, I don't enjoy excessive dirty language and gore. I really don't see the appeal. Its actually one of the things I hate the most about Fallout 3.

The best implementation of a gore remover I've seen is in Serious Sam 2, enemies bleed flowers, confetti and bananas in hippy mode :)

That game is so full of win, it hurts.

On topic, I would prefer some kind of language filter, personally. As was stated above, it seems like many 'mature' games think they are mature because they swear a lot. While I'm not offended by it (anyone who has played a game with me online has probably heard me curse on many occasions), I certainly get annoyed by games trying way too hard to be 'badass' in this manner.

Gore, not so much. I understand why people want one, but I don't think turning off the blood makes it any more okay to shoot people in the face with children around, if that's your concern. If anything, it makes it seem even less horrific and probably desensitizes them more. You should just not play violent games around your kids if you don't want them exposed to it.

I have 3 kids, 9, 4 and 2 years old. I only play violent games, when the kids are in bed. Simple!

Christmas timeframe I visited my godfather, his wife and his 2 sons (1 being my godson). So there they were playing their new 360elite with some gorish games for their age (granted they are very mature for their age). I noticed their Wii took a backstep and is now collecting dust. I spoke with him regarding the graphics in HD gaming and how I know some games have gore/blood features to turn off. But does this really help? Isn't someone still using the saw in gears 2 only without blood?

I for one don't want to see the gore drop down but the option should be their for parental controls. Then again... kids shouldn't be buying M rated games in the first place, so as usual blame the 'rents and not the games. :cool:

I WANT to see limbs being blown off with blood and guts finding their way out. I want to see heads popping off and blood splattering on the back walls. But only in mature games. I don't think 12 year olds should be seeing that much gore, unless they know it's just a video game. Some kids are a lot younger, mentally, then others

Gore, not so much. I understand why people want one, but I don't think turning off the blood makes it any more okay to shoot people in the face with children around, if that's your concern. If anything, it makes it seem even less horrific and probably desensitizes them more. You should just not play violent games around your kids if you don't want them exposed to it.

THIS.

Like I said, blood, gore and violence are all in the same. beating the crap out of someone in GTA, setting them on fire, then running them over in a truck isn't less violent to Johnny if you get rid of the gooey, icky stuff.

I think this is a case of people wanting their cake and eating it too. It's impossible.

Some people will rationalize it away so that they can, but if you have young kids, and you're worried they can't process the differences between entertainment and reality, turn it off.

As for a language option, I'm perfectly fine with that. Since some games might have that. But again, most games with bad language have you running around killing people, so whats the point and which is worse?

Sometimes you might have to suck it up and play that naughty videogame on your crappy bedroom TV. unfortunatly, then the wrath of the GF/Wife becomes an issue!

Yeah, violent killing without the blood and gore probably does desensitize kids even further -- probably not a good thing.

I actually enjoy games that offer cursing and gore, etc. I enjoy the realism, it adds to the feel for me. Especially fallout 3. I don't think fallout 3 was over the top in the language dept, I think it was spot on. It just seems realistic when you go in to see flak (or is it shrapnel) and he says "if you want any of this $hit just let me know." It really fits his character and has a sense of realism to it. Much more like the real world. I mean, when real people are describing the events they've seen there, I think it would be UNrealistic not to curse about it. I know I would, and most people I know would.

I can understand wanting some way of metering down mature games for those of you, but the bottom line is that it is rated that way for a reason and you need to take proper precautions when playing around children you don't want to see the material. The same way you need to watch the porn when they (and the wife :o:p) aren't around.

I actually enjoy games that offer cursing and gore, etc. I enjoy the realism, it adds to the feel for me.

I hope you're not referring to the gore being realistic, as it's extremely over-the-top. It's almost impossible to blow off a limb from a gunshot, even from point-blank range. Even games like COD4 and Resistance are over-the-top, as blood normally doesn't spurt 2 feet in the air from a wound either. Games without any blood or gore are probably the most realistic, sadly, as the only time blood would make an appearance in a "realistic" game would be seeping from wounds.

I don't mind the option but I perfer one that increases the gore. Like the Gratuitous Dismemberment cheat in the Bloodrayne games.

I hope you're not referring to the gore being realistic, as it's extremely over-the-top. It's almost impossible to blow off a limb from a gunshot, even from point-blank range. Even games like COD4 and Resistance are over-the-top, as blood normally doesn't spurt 2 feet in the air from a wound either. Games without any blood or gore are probably the most realistic, sadly, as the only time blood would make an appearance in a "realistic" game would be seeping from wounds.

You obviously have never decapitated a zombie with a point-blank shotgun blast to the head IRL.

You obviously have never decapitated a zombie with a point-blank shotgun blast to the head IRL.

A Shotgun is ok, but a Lobo is your trusty weapon of choice.

I think the gore gives a game its character and some sort of realism be it over exaggerated at times.

Just to reiterate...I'm not saying games should not have gore. All I'm saying is, it would be nice to have *option* of turning it down or off completely.

Where are all those "artistic intent" people when you need them? I think gore/language is as much part of a story of a videogame as in a movie. To censor them is diluting the storyline. Remember the flak Die Hard 4 got because of its PG13 rating to attractive a wider audience? It's the same if you press a button to censor a M-rated game, so that it sells more copies. Bottom line, treat M games as you would a R-rated movie or porn, use them when children are not around.

I do agree with the issue of removing blood possibly being counterproductive. It only serves to diminish how violent the act really is. Imagine a little boy seeing daddy shooting a soldier in the face up close, soldier falls, and daddy high-fiving a buddy.

Just to reiterate...I'm not saying games should not have gore. All I'm saying is, it would be nice to have *option* of turning it down or off completely.

Gears of War 2 offers this for both Gore and language.

Where are all those "artistic intent" people when you need them? I think gore/language is as much part of a story of a videogame as in a movie. To censor them is diluting the storyline. Remember the flak Die Hard 4 got because of its PG13 rating to attractive a wider audience? It's the same if you press a button to censor a M-rated game, so that it sells more copies. Bottom line, treat M games as you would a R-rated movie or porn, use them when children are not around.

I do agree with the issue of removing blood possibly being counterproductive. It only serves to diminish how violent the act really is. Imagine a little boy seeing daddy shooting a soldier in the face up close, soldier falls, and daddy high-fiving a buddy.

It seems more like developers put in insane amounts of gore in games in lieu of a story rather than to bolster the story itself (UT3 comes to mind).

It seems more like developers put in insane amounts of gore in games in lieu of a story rather than to bolster the story itself (UT3 comes to mind).

UT3 had a story?

UT3 had a story?

Yeah, um, you inexplicably respawn, battle with some Cole Train ripoff on your squad and fight "Thunder Cash". Or something.

It seems more like developers put in insane amounts of gore in games in lieu of a story rather than to bolster the story itself (UT3 comes to mind).

I know the feeling...just finished the Doom 3 expansion on Xbox. Nauseating amount of blood and gore splattered over the whole environment, repetitive, claustrophobic architecture, and a crap story where the only challenge was seeing in pitch black rooms and avoiding monsters spawning right behind you. It will take a day or so to shake off the sickening feeling of that garbage game. :(