When I saw this advertisement for Dead Space 2 last spring, I was appalled. Though the ad doesn’t show a whole lot of gore or violence, it accomplishes a number of horrible things in its 30-second run. Most obviously, it glorifies violence. After it claims to be the most violent game of its generation, it tells us that it’s “everything we want in a game.” Kids watching this are told that what they desire in their entertainment is the most revolting and cruel scenarios. On top of that, we are shown images of our mothers gasping and crying in front of this video game, only to be told that it should only increase our interest in the game. Our mothers’ intentions are no longer even considered. The people who birthed us and raised us are made into some sort of joke as an amplifier for our toxic desires.
Thus, it was a struggle to get myself to play this game. I don’t support violence, am a cuddly non-videogaming homosexual and I never go against my mother’s intentions. This was a challenge for me. I knew my friend Jackson would have a copy of the game and he was kind enough to invite me over to try it out.
The game is a high-intensity walkthrough-type shooting game that offers a multiplayer option. Much of it involves walking, picking up things, a sort of adventure toward an ultimate goal. Already, I was surprised by its calmness. From the advertisement, I was expecting blood and guts everywhere. This came later, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly present. Jackson skipped ahead to a fight scene where we were supposed to battle a few aliens on a spaceship. This was really scary. The figures are horrific and the gore is unnecessarily damaging.
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| Your mom hates this. So do I. |
Reviews of the game were highly positive. This baffles me. Apparently, the graphics were beyond exceptional and the storywork was one of a kind. The only criticism I could find was about the timing. Supposedly the zombies could pop out at better times that were less expected. I mean, I was still scared, so this isn’t an argument I would support. There should be no reason for such graphic images to be displayed to people to see. It isn’t reality and it isn’t acceptable. I was entertained, but only because it was like watching a car crash. No viewer could look away.
If the game weren’t rated M, I’d be really worried for our younger generation. At least there is an eighteen-year-old requirement for purchasing the game. The censorship is decent, but at any rate, a child could certainly become exposed to this if it were in the next room. A parent could buy this for their kid. This isn’t okay for an adult to view. I really hope people are really careful about wheir the game ends up. Nothing should be this scarring. Though it promises an adventure, Dead Space 2 offers one that isn’t worth experiencing.
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| Perhaps it's called Dead Space because it eventually leads to dead space in your brain. |
I think Kayla's got some good advice here, and I'd add that you might do a little more to understand what it is that the people who do like this sort of thing like -about- it? How do they tell a good gory shooter game from a lame one? That's worth knowing even if your mind doesn't change about the games in the end.
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