COD - Black Ops 2 (1 Viewer)

[HMD]

A mate was asking is it suitable for his 11 year old. I've not played it so i thought i'd ask Thumped. His main concern is that the violence is very real(tortue etc.) un like games where your splatting aliens and stuff. So is it suitable for an 11 year old?

 

[D0njo]

I suppose it depends on if they're planning to play the single player bit, there's scenes of fairly brutal torture and death.

"Then, on the other hand, is the rampant, unchecked mood and depiction of brutality and hate. There are three nauseatingly graphic scenes of people burning to death in the first couple of hours of the game, the first level, putting you in the shoes of an essentially invulnerable man who attacks a horde of black guys with a machete, is as sinister as it is ridiculous, and after that comes a steady stream of horrific mutilations and lingering, distressingly well-rendered looks at the results thereof."

"For such a beautiful looking game, it sure is ugly. It does not have a good heart. It has a twisted, cruel, exploitative one whose sole concept of warm sentiment towards humanity is that the more hyper-aggressive and snarling an American soldier is the more heroic they surely must be."

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/11/15/black-ops-2-pc-review/

Here is a nice picture

I haven't played online but it's probably exactly like the last few, in which case not excessively violent. I mean, the sole objective is to shoot people so there's obviously that, but you woudn't get the the torture stuff (probably)

Edit: so no, probably not suitable.

 

[washingcattle]

Jesus.... Eh....... No that's probably not "suitable" for an eleven year old. Torture ? For fuck sake when will that ever be suitable for an eleven year old ?

And can someone tell me when exactly the entertainment industry became so obsessed with torture ?

I mean, I remember Reservoir Dogs, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Man Bites Dog being banned because of the torture scenes, at the time I thought it was a bit excessive and now there fucking everywhere. Horror movies used to be scary now they're just disgusting what the fuck happened ?

Does anyone find it entertaining when someone is tortured in a film or computer game ? I am genuinely curious.

 

[pete]

A mate was asking is it suitable for his 11 year old. I've not played it so i thought i'd ask Thumped. His main concern is that the violence is very real(tortue etc.) un like games where your splatting aliens and stuff. So is it suitable for an 11 year old?

multiplayer - possibly

single player - no

 

[HMD]

Thanks lads. it looks like a no then.

 

[pete]

there is an option to disable 'objectionable content', but i doubt that'd stop any self-respecting 11 year old

 

[HMD]

would torture be considered objectionable content?

 

[Stan Bowles]

Why would you even consider buying a game with a big fuck off 18 certificate on the cover for your 11 year old child?

Not having a dig HMD but parents attitude towards buying adult games for their kids always baffles me. They're certified for a reason.

 

[HMD]

It's the modern day equivalent of seeing the Exterminator, Death Wish or First Blood when the family got it's first video player in the 80's.

 

[D0njo]

I'm not sure if it is though, I mean in COD 4 there was a scene where the objective was to massacre as many civilians as possible-

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Obviously there's a difference between fantasy and reality but there there's also the question of agency. I'm pretty sure if I had an 11 year old I wouldn't want them playing that, never seen anything as sickenly cruel in a game before. I thought it was awesome though. hmmm.. I wasn't allowed watch any violent or gory films when I was young. hhmmmm

 

[washingcattle]

It's the modern day equivalent of seeing the Exterminator, Death Wish or First Blood when the family got it's first video player in the 80's.

Not really though. Those movies didn't take days to get through and the shock value is gone after the first time you see it. Kids live in computer games for days a a time so it's not really the same.


I don't think that violence warps the mind or anything don't get me wrong but to be fair the violence we were growing up with was "bang bang you're dead" kind of stuff which sort of leads on to quazar and paint ball it was not people tied to chairs being hacked to bits for information.

Maybe I'm showing my age here but I just don't "get" torture.

 

[D0njo]

Not really though. Those movies didn't take days to get through and the shock value is gone after the first time you see it. Kids live in computer games for days a a time so it's not really the same.


I don't think that violence warps the mind or anything don't get me wrong but to be fair the violence we were growing up with was "bang bang you're dead" kind of stuff which sort of leads on to quazar and paint ball it was not people tied to chairs being hacked to bits for information.

Maybe I'm showing my age here but I just don't "get" torture.

You don't "get" torture?! Maaann... relic from the 15th century over here!

Brutal torture and sexual violence are usually things I found fairly objectionable, if they're used to provoke a reaction. Pretty sure there aren't many (any?) games that have managed to depict these things in an intelligent way.

 

[washingcattle]

You don't "get" torture?! Maaann... relic from the 15th century over here!

Brutal torture and sexual violence are usually things I found fairly objectionable, if they're used to provoke a reaction. Pretty sure there aren't many (any?) games that have managed to depict these things in an intelligent way.

My question is

Is there really any need to ?

I mean even if you gave me a computer game that did depict torture and sexual violence in an intelligent way, why would I chose to play that game ? Parts of Spec Ops The Line were fairly hairy but there was a sense in it that it was treating the player like an adult and trying to work on a moral level. Which is what really great war movies do too - "war is hell but can be a nessisary hell" that sort of thing. But I can't see how you can do that with torture or sexual violence because there will never be a cogent argument for those practices to exist.

And yes I realise I am trying to speak intelligently about computer games which to be fair I wouldn't have tried prior to Spec Ops.

 

[shower another shower]

get the kid Portal.

 

[D0njo]

My question is

Is there really any need to ?

I mean even if you gave me a computer game that did depict torture and sexual violence in an intelligent way, why would I chose to play that game ? Parts of Spec Ops The Line were fairly hairy but there was a sense in it that it was treating the player like an adult and trying to work on a moral level. Which is what really great war movies do too - "war is hell but can be a nessisary hell" that sort of thing. But I can't see how you can do that with torture or sexual violence because there will never be a cogent argument for those practices to exist.

And yes I realise I am trying to speak intelligently about computer games which to be fair I wouldn't have tried prior to Spec Ops.

Yeah.. I dunno really.. I suppose its inevitable that these things are going to be placed in the realm of computer games and depending on the game could be handled in very different ways. Player agency is a big part of the argument- are these things a part of scripted narrative or an option for participation? Sexual violence and torture, their depiction and the morality of psychological conditioning in A Clockwork Orange was done well, the closest a game has got was probably Spec Ops alright, but it's still pretty hamfisted. When there's an option for participation things get fairly weird but that's where it gets interesting too. I dunno, I guess we'll see where it goes in future. Probably somewhere stupid.

get the kid Portal.

This.

 

[Anthony]

Why would you even consider buying a game with a big fuck off 18 certificate on the cover for your 11 year old child?
Not having a dig HMD but parents attitude towards buying adult games for their kids always baffles me. They're certified for a reason.

You don't have much control when the kids go to other houses where the parents let the kids to play any game not matter what the cert is. I'm sure some kids have been known to have "sick days" on release days. This is what you're up against. "Sure, it keeps dem busy". 'sake

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

This.

Can you really give a kid a 3- or 4-year-old game for Christmas?

 

[D0njo]

Can you really give a kid a 3- or 4-year-old game for Christmas?

Good point. It'd be like getting Bionic Commando for the NES when I wanted Street Fighter II for the SNES. Might have been a bit old for tantrums at that stage but it would have put me in a right shitter for Christmas.

 

[Stan Bowles]

You don't have much control when the kids go to other houses where the parents let the kids to play any game not matter what the cert is. I'm sure some kids have been known to have "sick days" on release days. This is what you're up against. "Sure, it keeps dem busy". 'sake

I totally appreciate that. Much to my shame I went to a midnight opening for GTAIV (never again, even my levels of nerdage didn't prepare me for that), and about 20% of the queue was made up of mums with 12 year old kids waiting to buy a very adult themed game. The same parents would proably phone up Joe Duffy if they actually saw what the kid was playing.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

I totally appreciate that. Much to my shame I went to a midnight opening for GTAIV (never again, even my levels of nerdage didn't prepare me for that), and about 20% of the queue was made up of mums with 12 year old kids waiting to buy a very adult themed game. The same parents would proably phone up Joe Duffy if they actually saw what the kid was playing.

Lots of parents don't give a shit. Or get worn down. Or take the never-did-me-no-harm view.