Partial Nudity: Mass Effect Is "M" Upcoming Bioware game Mass Effect won't only feature real-time dialogue selection, but also "Partial Nudity," "Sexual Themes" and "Blood." Sound mature! It is. The game has been given a "M" rating by the ESRB. Let's assume that means the eagerly awaited title is one step closer to hitting the Xbox 360. But "Partial Nudity"? If I were a betting man (which I'm not), I'd probably say "Partial Nudity" means some dude's ass. That, or some alien's. Keyword: BUTTOCKS.
I find these ratings very useful when looking for films. Some mates and I once rented Rutger Hauer's Armageddon on the strength of the rating, which went along the lines of:
I'm concerned by the M rating of Mass Effect simply because any other game with the M rating has been lukewarm at best. Consider the Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball series. It recieved an M rating for "nudity". If women in bathing suits scarcely more revealing than what you'd find on a beach in Ibiza then sure. But I assure you; had there been a hint of a breast or bush I would have noticed. The worst you'll find in that game is a particularily revealing bathing suit that is simply a pair of shorts and thoughtfully placed suspenders. Several thongs etc. but no sign of proper nudity. The ESRB has a long history of being overly conservative with its rating system and the fact that major retailers will refuse to carry anything with an AO rating, leads me to believe that anything offerd up with an M rating will be paltry at best. You may see undergarments, or a silhouette of a nude female form but the sad, sad fact is that it will always be way easier to see someone with their guts freshly splashed on the wall then have a hint of a breast.
K00p wrote:I'm concerned by the M rating of Mass Effect simply because any other game with the M rating has been lukewarm at best. Consider the Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball series. It recieved an M rating for "nudity". If women in bathing suits scarcely more revealing than what you'd find on a beach in Ibiza then sure. But I assure you; had there been a hint of a breast or bush I would have noticed. The worst you'll find in that game is a particularily revealing bathing suit that is simply a pair of shorts and thoughtfully placed suspenders. Several thongs etc. but no sign of proper nudity. The ESRB has a long history of being overly conservative with its rating system and the fact that major retailers will refuse to carry anything with an AO rating, leads me to believe that anything offerd up with an M rating will be paltry at best. You may see undergarments, or a silhouette of a nude female form but the sad, sad fact is that it will always be way easier to see someone with their guts freshly splashed on the wall then have a hint of a breast.
From what I can gather from the trailer, there seems to be a bit of a love interest in it (love interest being a few seconds footage of people kissing). I'm not really too blown away by mass effect (Hellgate: London on the other hand...), but the love interest might add a bit of immersion to it. This might be the cause for the M rating.
It's worth noting though, that not everything with an M rating has been rubbish - Oblivion was given an M post-release after it was found to have tits in it (or the ability to have tits - I forget which).
tandino wrote:It's worth noting though, that not everything with an M rating has been rubbish
This. Halo, Fallout and Fallout 2 were all M-rated, for instance.
tandino wrote:Oblivion was given an M post-release after it was found to have tits in it (or the ability to have tits - I forget which).
It was the latter, kind of. I seem to recall it was in the way they did the clothing - although you couldn't remove a character's underwear, the unclothed upper body textures were still present in the resource files.
Partial Nudity: Mass Effect Is "M"
Upcoming Bioware game Mass Effect won't only feature real-time dialogue selection, but also "Partial Nudity," "Sexual Themes" and "Blood." Sound mature! It is. The game has been given a "M" rating by the ESRB. Let's assume that means the eagerly awaited title is one step closer to hitting the Xbox 360. But "Partial Nudity"? If I were a betting man (which I'm not), I'd probably say "Partial Nudity" means some dude's ass. That, or some alien's. Keyword: BUTTOCKS.
You may see undergarments, or a silhouette of a nude female form but the sad, sad fact is that it will always be way easier to see someone with their guts freshly splashed on the wall then have a hint of a breast.
This. Halo, Fallout and Fallout 2 were all M-rated, for instance.