Have you played this game lately?

Edit: Topic title was censored. Can you also take out the word "virtual" as it doesn't make sense with that rewrite.

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/...ox_race_for_president?page=full&comments=true

The man has obviously never played the game as most of what he alleges his patently false.
Basically, he makes Mass Effect sound like its a "Playboy Mansion"-esque game but with realistic HD ***. It's actually a space shooter RPG.

From Joystiq:
# Mass Effect is marketed to fifteen year old boys. The game is rated M (17+).
# He says players engage in "the most realistic *** acts ever conceived." Not quite.
# That players can customize an avatar's body and breast size -- that's just not true in the slightest.

From the article:

"It's called "Mass Effect" and it allows its players - universally male no doubt - to engage in the most realistic *** acts ever conceived. One can custom design the shape, form, bodies, race, hair style, breast size of the images they wish to "engage" and then watch in crystal clear, LCD, 54 inch screen, HD clarity as the video game "persons" hump in every form, format, multiple, gender-oriented possibility they can think of... ...the X-Box 360, perhaps the most visually stimulating gaming system ever made. The software for such allows the blending of DVD video, component graphics, and the manipulation of actual pictures so that an alternate reality engulfs the fifteen year old boy playing it without much objection... ...And because of the digital chip age in which we live - "Mass Effect" can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however, the game player wishes.

With it's "over the net" capabilities virtual orgasmic **** is just the push of a button away... the makers of such trash seem to be pushing our next generation of young men through the gates of hell as fast as is humanly possible, it needn't be that way."

 

Actually, I DID finish playing my rented copy recently, and I intend to buy it, too. I could only shake my head and laugh at the linked article. Such a poorly researched, reactionary article is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions (or maybe a comedy, depending on how you look at it).

 

Since we have younger people that make it into this forum, I had to edit the title there and I just don't feel comfortable seeing a certain word used in this forum so it's censored so parents and those that might get offended don't have to see this.

 

Continuation from OP post:

...says grandpa, who stashes a stack of hussler magazines under his bed, like every single male ages 30 and up.

Seriously, the "*** scene" is 5 seconds long, with a glimpse of nude female butt. You can find worse on primetime TV.

 

^^so true

except i know a lot of males 14 and up who have taken said stash

 

I find it funny how people can hear a story on the news and be gullible enough to write a hateful blog about it. This guy is a straight up retard, he doesn't have anywhere near the understanding of the topic he is writing about that he should. Stuff like this is why the media pisses me off. He shouldn't be writing about a game that he has never actually played.
/rant

 

I love articles like this, because it makes want to kill things in the SHOOTER that is mass effect.

*jack*** from article enters topic* "Oh so now you want to kill people? Thats wrong you shouldn't want to kill people."

No. Wrong. You idiots cause me to want to kill virtual people, so in reality its your fault some red pixels fly across the screen. It's insane and wrong to kill somebody in real life. But I may have a better argument for killing someone than your argument against this game.

"So you still support killing someone on a computer screen?"

I believe it was before video games that "cops and robbers" was invented, where 10 year olds(or younger) would run around "shooting" their friends who took on the role as "criminals". So yes i guess i do support shooting someone on a computer screen rather than shoot my best friend in real life just so i win a game.

"..."

No, don't even make me.

</endrant>

 

QFT!
PS. You forgot the /endrant

 

argh... i tried ending an < /rant> tag but it didn't show, is that a legit tag on NBR?

 

And now Penny Arcade has made a comic about it: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/01/15

 

Also, he wrote a follow-up rant and it seems he read this thread because he mentions Lithius's post right down to the brand of porno!

http://kevinmccullough.townhall.com/blog/g/ad4fece3-3a1e-42bd-8546-295599024191

 

To blame Hustler or Video Games for the corruption of today's youth is similar to blaming an auto company when one gets into an accident. The world is a dangerous place, and it is unfit for children to traverse it alone. This is where to novel idea of parents come in, to take the heavy burden of keeping their eleven year olds from obtaining materials which society finds "offensive".

Maybe society should set up an arbitrary court of old, prude people to screen all materials before they are released, as obviously, never being exposed to violence or sexuality will keep this world free of murder and r-ape*.

Your self-admittedly "asinine" points:

1. This game is the equivalent of a Rated-R movie. I would put up some Youtube footage of Rated-R movies, but would then be banned from this forum.

2. First, you cannot customize race. You are human, but then again, I'm just nitpicking. However, the choice of hair style, color, and eyes, I do agree, is an abomination to society.

3. Lesbianism, although inappropriate for your generation, is fine in ours. You do not judge based on skin, gender, color, or disability - at least that's what I was taught; maybe this doesn't apply to blue, humanoid "aliens"?

4. You are correct that movie theaters screen based on age. You are incorrect that retail stores do not. All major chains, Best Buy, Circuit City, Gamestop, all check for identification. Does this mean that you cannot procure the game if you are under 17/18? Absolutely not. This is where parents come into play. Blame society for all you see fit, for I guess they were the parents of your society.

5. It is fine if you don't play the game. If you find no interest in the genre, leave it alone, or at the very least, fact-check your articles before submitting them. Don't expect to be taken seriously when your tirades are marked with blatant lies.

The five seconds of nudity in this game may be repulsive to you. Lesbianism may be repulsive to you. Sexual encounters with aliens may be repulsive to you. Then it is your duty to keep yourself away from those situations. As long as you don't go about, tapping your feet in bathroom stalls, we - gamers - won't tap your feet for you. However, if you infringe on our rights to enjoy this type of media, don't be surprised to be called a few names or two.

I am glad that you speak up, it creates a healthy dialog between two conflicting viewpoints, and maybe it'll change a mind or two**.

*Seriously, this profanity censor was set from "stun" to "kill".
**Who am I kidding. I could say that people need to eat to stay alive, and someone will still argue the fact.

 

Wow... good thing this idiot never got his hand on Leisure Suit larry back in the days..... "F**k the Bit*c" was actually a working command in the first game ofthe serie...

 

Back in the day? The made a new one a few years ago in full 3-D, with a sperm minigame and all. Heck there's also that "Playboy Mansion" game. Damn corporations for targeting 11 year olds. THEY'RE NOT DONE WITH THE HUSTLERS YET!!!

 

Yet another attempt at blaming video games for issues in the world. After reading his entire article (namely the one above) it's obvious that he had no intention at a constructive, possibly interesting, objection to video games and sexual content. Instead he quotes emails and forum posts that are the most vulgar and really a bad representation of the average hardcore gamer, avoiding those that were well written and stating the wrongs of his article. These games are not intended for younger children and those that are not mature. As stated before parents are the ones that take a role in choosing the video games they can and can not play, it is not of the developers fault if some 12 year old gets his hands on this title and can't handle the brief sexual scene. I myself am fifteen and have no problems playing games of this nature. The "sexually explicit" material is brief and doesn't really reveal anything that would scar myself or my friends, I've read worse in some books, and seen worse in some movies. Mass Effect is an amazing game, and it pains me to see someone calling foul on something that is the product of hard work.

 

Seriously though, this guy is going to simply increase sales of Mass Effect with what he writes. Then, when it gets into the big boy news networks and the media starts another GTA: Hot Coffee witch-hunt, they'll suddenly realize that according to anyone who has actually played the game, the majority of the defamatory, reactionist claims were completely fabricated.

Just keep it up dudes! Mass Effect was a great game, it deserves more sales. I do hope the fighting system is tweaked a little more for the sequel. But still!

 

Absolutely depressing the second article is. If this turns into another Hot-Coffee scandal i might move to Europe somewhere. Lets hope this man doesn't meet Jack Thompson...