It’s been only a year and a couple months since Dragon Age: Origins landed on the PS3, and many are already preparing for the sequel in March. While BioWare has disallowed playing through as different races for completely different experiences, it plans to make up for that with more exciting combat, a fully-voiced main character, more cinematics, and improved dialogue options similar to that of Mass Effect II. What hasn’t received much attention is just how many mature themes will be in the game, but we can now thank ESRB for making that more clear.
The North American ESRB has posted its rating information for Dragon Age II. Among the reasons for giving the game a Mature 17+ rating sit severed heads, fellatio, cursing, and large explosions. Below is the entirety of the ESRB’s Dragon Age II rating information:
This is an action-adventure role-playing game in which players assume the role of a warrior who completes quests in a mythical land. Players use swords, bows and arrows, and magical spells (e.g., fireballs, energy beams) to defeat human-like enemies and fantasy creatures (e.g., giant spiders, demons, ogres, golems). Attacks are often accompanied by slashing sounds, large explosions, and cries of pain. Blood splatter effects occur when enemies are hit, and damage sometimes results in dismemberment or decapitation—blood stains and body parts occasionally appear in the environment. In one cutscene, a man’s severed head is held up then tossed to the ground. During the course of the game, characters sometimes engage in sexual dialogue (e.g., “Why is it always about sex with you?” and “Sailing is like sex. Do it wrong, and it’ll make you sick.”). Players can also initiate brief cutscene sequences in which couples (male-female or same-sex) are shown kissing and embracing one another in a bedroom as the screen fades to black. In one cutscene, a woman kneels in front of a male character and appears to perform fellatio—there is no depiction of the sex act; the camera pans out to the rest of the room. The words “a*s,” “bastard,” and “sh*t” appear in dialogue.
BioWare will be releasing Dragon Age II on March 8th in North America, and March 11th in Europe.
