We're all crazy about G.O.W 2, but recently I heard a feature called Parental Control, which bleeps out all the bad words and turns the blood into sparks, but what really is the point? are they trying to encourage younger kids to buy this game? And if not, then what parents who don't like blood and language would buy G.O.W 2, a chainsaw in your face and lead (sp?) in your butt game?

They should have put marshmallowsd and fart noises whenver somebody "cursed".

It's probably a pointless add-on to keep Jack Thompson and his flock of "games kill" sheep happy.

It has no effect on the game if it's off, so big deal.

I think it would be funnier if the content filter had rainbows instead of sparks, and jelly beans as bullets.

Hell maybe instead of GTA encouraging to kill, we'll hear kids trying to chainsaw people so that they can "get the happy sunshine to come out".

Yargaflarga:
They should have put marshmallowsd and fart noises whenver somebody "cursed".

It's gonna be like Metalocalypse, only a chainsaw rev bleeps out the word.

I think that all parrental controle is stuped. if your parrents realy care about what games you play they should just take them away from you. I feel the same way everyware. The most anoying thing in the world is how i can not buy a video game at best buy without parrental permision. It is a waste of time. My parents dont care. I know what i can and cant buy in games.

To continue my soapbox with the fact that my wii asks me every time i want to do anything for my pin. I do not care!!! i will tell everybody. My code is 1111. I should be able to turn the pesky thing off

it might as well be there right? i mean if you don't want to use it then don't and for people with kids they can play it around them without having to worry about that kind of thing. I'm glad that they're doing this and i hope more companies do this. Of course it's completely optional so I don't see why anyone would have a problem with it.

They developed the alternate version for the German market where violent games are banned and since it wouldn't be a huge effort to add it into the game and some people might like it they choose to add it as a feature.

To be honest I'm suprised more developers haven't done this. Some parents might want to play the game themselfs but feel that playing it with their children isen't a good idea. This lets the kids experience the gameplay without any of the non-child friendly stuff.

Why would this be negative anyway? Does the idea of a less immature version of the game offend you?

Also, your mom is a classy lady.

Yargaflarga:
They should have put marshmallows and fart noises whenever somebody "cursed".

Better yet, fart noises for melee attacks. I find it oddly ironic that they want to censor an M rated game.

Also, it needs to take a page from the game Nanobreaker and have Technicolor dream blood.

And whenever someone gets cut in half it should cut to a scene of playful kittens. And rainbows for blood... (sad)

sammyfreak:
They developed the alternate version for the German market where violent games are banned and since it wouldn't be a huge effort to add it into the game and some people might like it they choose to add it as a feature.

To be honest I'm suprised more developers haven't done this. Some parents might want to play the game themselfs but feel that playing it with their children isen't a good idea. This lets the kids experience the gameplay without any of the non-child friendly stuff.

Why would this be negative anyway? Does the idea of a less immature version of the game offend you?

Also, your mom is a classy lady.

What I'm saying is just bleeping out the words and replacing blood with sparks is like cutting rap songs, you still know what they mean, and they still get their point arcoss, and i'll answer your question, whats the point? CHAINSAW + FACE = BLOOD. All I'm saying is people that if they're going to make a parental control (which is a marvelous idea for some games I have in mind right now) please don't do it for a game like G.O.W 2, it gets little kids (like my brother) hopeful that their parents will buy that kind of game for them. and I agree with you Bubba, they're trying to keep the freak parents happy. and don't talk about my mom like that sam... it's creepy, and i'm not sure of what your trying to say...

ElArabDeMagnifico:

Yargaflarga:
They should have put marshmallowsd and fart noises whenver somebody "cursed".

It's gonna be like Metalocalypse, only a chainsaw rev bleeps out the word.

I doubt it'll be completely like Metalocalypse, what with all the satirically intense gore.

okay the entire concept of this is complete idiocy

the game is going to be M-rated for blood, violence, the whole nine yards

replacing the blood with sparks changes nothing, people still will see the action of taking a chainsaw to the head of someone else
there's no point in editing a game as violent as Gears of War, except to get all the riddilen-popping 14 year olds out there another attempt to get there parents to buy it for them which they would probably do anyway since the parents never take the time to look at things like ratings or parental control

/end rant

aRealGuitarHero707:
okay the entire concept of this is complete idiocy

the game is going to be M-rated for blood, violence, the whole nine yards

replacing the blood with sparks changes nothing, people still will see the action of taking a chainsaw to the head of someone else
there's no point in editing a game as violent as Gears of War, except to get all the riddilen-popping 14 year olds out there another attempt to get there parents to buy it for them which they would probably do anyway since the parents never take the time to look at things like ratings or parental control

/end rant

Lol somebody finally gets it.

When/if I have children, I will sit down with them and decide what they're doing is appropriate or not. Once they hit 15 they can play/internet whatever they like, no questions asked... unless they're selling nuclear weapons or something.

This highlights what's inherently wrong with the ESRB. They review content based entirely on a few 'hotspots' like blood and dismemberment and don't consider other more important variables like context and tone. By the ESRB's definitions Team Fortress 2 deserves a higher rating than say 'The Warriors' (Graphic violence, dismemberment, blood, swearing, that's TF2) but I know which one I'd let my kids play.

GamerDude123:

aRealGuitarHero707:
okay the entire concept of this is complete idiocy

the game is going to be M-rated for blood, violence, the whole nine yards

replacing the blood with sparks changes nothing, people still will see the action of taking a chainsaw to the head of someone else
there's no point in editing a game as violent as Gears of War, except to get all the riddilen-popping 14 year olds out there another attempt to get there parents to buy it for them which they would probably do anyway since the parents never take the time to look at things like ratings or parental control

/end rant

Lol somebody finally gets it.

Have you ever played a game like this with a violence filter enabled? It produces a different reaction at the gut level for me. Having this feature for parents who want to play Gears but don't want to expose their kids to the language or gore can now do so.

Besides, Epic games have always had a content filter. Its another option you can adjust to taste. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that they kept it after they gutted all the config options out of UT3 PC. Are you really so warped as to think that fewer options are better?

They might as well make.....

Lego: Gears of War 2

Colton Caramihalis:
I think that all parrental controle is stuped. if your parrents realy care about what games you play they should just take them away from you. I feel the same way everyware. The most anoying thing in the world is how i can not buy a video game at best buy without parrental permision. It is a waste of time. My parents dont care. I know what i can and cant buy in games.

Oh, the delicious irony.

Colton Caramihalis:
To continue my soapbox with the fact that my wii asks me every time i want to do anything for my pin. I do not care!!! i will tell everybody. My code is 1111. I should be able to turn the pesky thing off

You can.

As nearly everyone else, I'm going to buy this game to enjoy it in all its gory glory, likely online and over and over again.

The reason I don't think optional censorship is such a bad idea is there are times when you have people around who either don't want to see the gore or shouldn't be exposed to it.(Or at least shouldn't be exposed to it without proper context.)

Eh, I would prefer this over a couple psycho poloticians trying to take the content out all together...Its pretty much a way of saying "We know kids will play our M rated game, and we know parents are hypocrits, so let everyone have their way."

It gives parents a middle ground of letting their spoiled 12 year old play GoW2, while giving them a chance to control just how graphic it can get. I dont mind it in the end, Ill ignore it and Im sure theres a few parents out there who could wield that responsibly.

...It reminds me of the "family friendly" setting on my "Crank" DVD in which all the bad words were censored but all the violence and blood remained which led me to wonder why include it at all? (especially when they left in the scene where the camera zooms in on the cd with the words "Fuck You" written in big bold letters...)

This is crap. If you don't want your kid playing the game then be a parent. For i want to play the game left uninterupted and unchanged, the way it should be for me the gamer. It is pretty simple if you don't want your kid to play then don't let them and tell them why not to play it and leave the game for the gamer.

Kevin7557:
This is crap. If you don't want your kid playing the game then be a parent. For i want to play the game left uninterupted and unchanged, the way it should be for me the gamer. It is pretty simple if you don't want your kid to play then don't let them and tell them why not to play it and leave the game for the gamer.

How does an optional content filter that is, by default, OFF change your play experience?

Once again, I must ask: how is having more options a bad thing?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.68111

This thread has already been done.

:/

Censorship happens. You should appreciate that it's an OPTION, and not forced.
It's not hurting anyone to add the OPTION to turn the violence and profanity off.

That aside, It's a completely useless feature.

A) People who truly want to play a game like this (Shooting, killing.. etc.) enjoy the gore and such, and if they don't.. they shouldn't play a FPS built around it. There are plenty of other shooters to play that aren't so violent.

B) For parents wanting to shield their children from blood and language.. It's simple.
Don't let your kid play the damn game. End of story.
However I don't think seeing a little fake blood and hearing a man on the moving picture box say "shit" is going to scar them for life.

EDIT:
Colton,
PLEASE. Please start paying attention in school. can taste your double digit IQ.
You're 16, if you haven't learned to spell by now.. At least learn to use a spell checker.

i detest this "parental control" for various reasons.
firstly, as everyone keeps saying, its an option. and options can be turned off. what happens when the parent (or should i say "if") turns on the control then leaves the room? the kid just turns it off. so whats the point?
next reason is what some people have touched upon. why put parental controls on a game like this. its like the stars they put on porn films. whats the point? you know what's underneath.
and lastly, this is just wasting the devs time which they could have put onto, i dont know, releasing the game earlier? putting in a few other weapons? making the campaign longer? adding new multiplayer stuff....
anyway, my 2 pence.

I agree the action is what is violent not the blood. If I stomp on the enemies head or slam his head into a wall are they saying it is better because you don't see any blood? So if I show someone cutting someone's throat in a video game and no blood comes out that makes it okay to show it to 14 year old children? Hey why don't we cover up pornography with blurs and cut out the swear words and moans and show them that too.This is just a pathetic and underhanded way for Epic and Microsoft to get more game sales.

Personally, I think the development team threw this in for the humor value.

Honestly, I think this could make things worse.

I mean, do we really want to teach children that putting a chainsaw into a dude's face makes sparks and rainbows shoot out?

Or that bleeps are acceptable english?

You know how impressionable kids are.

Here's an idea; in fact, here's two:

1. Stop whinging about something that's completely optional! Do you really think they cut out something else really important just so they could put this in? No! Buy the game, keep the gore, fun times for everyone!

2. Put the option of blood and gore in another context. Who says that parents will see this as a deciding factor in buying the game for their children? Maybe, as Shadow Tyrant put it, it's for humour value. Maybe it's so they can show gameplay on TV during regular hours. You just seem to have decided what their train of thought was, and then just decided that it was wrong!

Also, the fact that since this will be on the Xbox 360 (PC being less of an issue with children), there is a built in parent control system. Since it allows a dedicated adult profile to decide what games dedicated 'minor' profiles will be able to play, maybe this will extend to Gears of War 2 as well? Microsoft has done a good job of incorporating unique features of the Xbox 360 with their 'flagship' exclusives, so I don't see why this would be different.

It seems pointless to put this feature in the game. It'll still be just as violent, except with sparks instead of blood. Plus, you just know that some idiot kid is going to kill someone and say "I wanted to see if sparks really came out like in Gears of War 2".

the first gears had that exact feature, but the only swear word censored was "fuck", which made it even more pointless. i was 13 when i got the first game 2 years ago, and i played it in all its bloody glory, and as i played through it i kept forgetting how extremely violent it was, and i turned out fine. having this feature in the sequel kinda makes sense since the first game had it, but it'll probably still be just as useless.

Violence does'nt really make a game its wether its good enough, although i do like the occasional gore fest, though i would have this on in case my younger brother wants to play with co-op on there since he does actually enjoy the GoW series.

sorry i had to.