With South Park: The Stick of Truth now expected to release on March 4th, 2014 (follow this link to see a lengthy gameplay video), the ESRB has given the game a predictable ‘M’ for Mature, citing blood and gore, drug reference, mature humor, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, and violence.
Giving you an idea of what to expect from The Stick of Truth, here’s a very detailed ratings description, revealing perhaps more information about the game than you wanted to know:
This is a role-playing adventure game based on the animated South Park TV show. Players assume the role of a new kid in town who embarks on various quests with other boys in the neighborhood. Players can engage in turn-based combat, selecting attacks from a menu screen. Players use various weapons (swords, baseball bats, hammers), magic spells and melee attacks during fights; blood-splatter effects sometimes occur. Cutscenes occasionally depict “cartoony” characters dismembered or decapitated.
The game includes several instances of mature humor and sexual material: one extended sequence depicts characters getting anally probed by alien creatures; another sequence (in an abortion clinic) depicts doctors using a vacuum to perform procedures on male characters; one level takes place inside the rectum/colon of a character (sex toys, random objects and fecal matter appear in the level)—all sequences are depicted in a cartoony and over-the-top manner.
Characters are occasionally depicted nude (e.g., breasts, buttocks, male genitalia); one extended sequence depicts an out-of-focus couple having sex in the background; as players engage in turn-based battle in the foreground, sexual moaning sounds/dialogue is heard. During the course of the game, drug paraphernalia can be seen strewn around a methamphetamine lab. The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” “a*shole,” and “f*ggot” can be heard in the dialogue.
For something a little tamer, here’s the ratings description for the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, which will be Teen:
This is a role-playing game in which players control fighters and sorcerers through a quest to defeat a great evil. As players progress through the storyline, they battle a variety of fantasy creatures (e.g., giant insects, demons, robots). Combat is turn-based, as players select attacks from a menu screen and watch characters using swords and magic to to deplete enemies’ health meters. Cutscenes also depict instances of violence: a soldier shooting a creature amid brief blood spurts; a demon destroying villages and buildings; a battlefield strewn with corpses.
A handful of female characters are depicted in low-cut outfits that expose large amounts of cleavage or buttocks; one scene depicts a character briefly caressing her chest while speaking.
After hearing the ratings description, do you think Lemmiwinks will have a big role in South Park: The Stick of Truth? Let us know in the comments below.
