Batman's gone a bit bloody in the upcoming Arkham sequel, Batman: Arkham Knight. Last month, game director Sefton Hill stated that the release had been awarded an M rating by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which understandably came as a bit of a shock to many would-be buyers.
At the time, Hill pinned the reasoning on "a couple of mature scenes", and according to the ESRB's notes on the release, this does indeed seem to be the case. Unfortunately, if you want to read on about the details, then we have to warn you now that there are some spoilers ahead.
According to the report, the mature rating mostly stems from a scene in which a character is tortured, and the ability to "shoot unarmed characters and a hostage". It does sound quite dark, although we doubt that the caped crusader will be the one doing the shooting, right?. There's also mention of large blood stains, pools of blood, brutal crime scenes, strip club advertisements, and, of course, some swearing.
How do you think this sounds? Are you prepared to get grime on your gauntlets later this year? Swoop into the comments section below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 11
My most anticipated release of 2015....
I really don't understand the rating system of Games - especially when compared to the Movies. The previous Batman games were given a 15 rating in the UK so I guess this will get an 18 certificate. Compared to what can be seen in a 15 rated movie, this is pretty tame by comparison. Its like the game ratings are 30+ years behind the movies. Content like this would possibly have been given an 18 certificate in the movies 30 years ago but would get a 15 at most now...
There should be no rating, if you don't know what your child is up to then you're a sh*te parent. An overview of contents is all that's needed.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi pretty sure it's just an easier way for a parent to shop for a child seeing how a lot of times they have no idea about the games that are out. Well less so these days than when I was growing up because more and more parents have grown up with games.. but still. It's just a simplified way for someone to shop for a game. Just look at the rating and it's a yes or no.
Im guessing the part with the hostage and unarmed people is where you play as Harley Quinn.
@mitcHELLspawn but if it has an 18 rating and someone is in the army and has their own kids at 16 or 17, they can't buy butman and they'd need mommy to buy it for them?
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi Those are exceptions, not rules though. And honestly, they probably shouldn't be having kids when their 16, even if their married. Most though, are kids living with their parents, in which case their parents have full authority. And Rating systems are good tools for parents who are good parents. It helps them gauge content. And how else could they figure content for niche games without parent reviews, or games that haven't come out yet their kids want to pre-order?
I looked at the ESRB rating summary, and it doesn't look too bad. A fairly tame M rated game. I with the torture part (with the table) was more detailed though. How is he being tortured, because one way or another could more or less graphic.
@Jaz007 its not an exception, its completely legal to start a family at 16.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi That doesn't mean it's not an exception to the rule. (Which I don't mean literally). How often does someone get decide to get married and start a family when he's 16?
@Jaz007 in the UK quite a lot, one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe and in developed countries in the world, the UK has one of the worst housing markets in the world and one of the most expensive, its absurdly bad, if you start a young family you may get a chance to go on a register for social housing, so yeah, a lot of people plan a young family in the UK
And why doesn't Batman dance any more?
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