Video games have finally achieved the reputation we’ve wanted for years. It is considered by important authorities as one of the best ways of storytelling. Its economy is larger than almost any other industry. We owe this to the right decisions, great talents and fun moments over the years. But that’s not always the case. Some game developers can make very controversial decisions. In this article, we will talk about 8 Times Video Games Went Too Far, Ranked.
8. General Design of Carmageddon
The current presumption of video games is not the same as it was in the 90s. We are talking about a decade where many legendary games were released. Although Carmageddon was never legendary with its success, it managed to leave deep traces in gaming history. It owes this to the idea of gameplay, which is banned almost all over the world.
The original version, which was released in 1997, had a structure where you earn points by killing people in the city with different vehicles. As you progressed in the game, you were improving your vehicle so you could kill more people in a limited time. Of course, Carmageddon was banned everywhere.
The developers found the solution to replace the blood color with green. After this update, they said that those who died were not human, but zombies. Well, no one believed it, of course.
7. X Rated Atari Games
Now that we think about it, we’re not surprised by the adult content in video games. There are two reasons for this. The first is that video games, like any other form, are a storytelling tool. The sex scenes from The Witcher III make a lot of sense to describe Geralt. Second, we are now in 2022. We’ve already seen a lot of adult content over and over.
This was not the case in 1982. Among the hundreds of games developed for Atari, there are also some overlooked adult games. Custers Revenge is usually mentioned in these lists, but the number of games is actually much higher.
We share an montage video for you. This video contains short images from all the games in the list. Even now, it is not possible for sex games to spread so widely. X rated Atari Games: Bachelor Party, Bachelorette Party, Beat em and Eat em, Burning Desire, Custers Revenge, Jungle Fever, Knight on the Town and Lady in Wading.
6. Concept Decisions on Manhunt
One of the purest dev teams isn’t Rockstar Games, of course. The real naivety would be to think like that. There are moments that push the boundaries in all the projects of the team, which has given us great games over the years. It’s okay to do that as a method of storytelling. But things get a little hot when you turn this from being a method into the concept of a game.
Do not get me wrong. Manhunt was a great game, especially the first one. The violence decisions taken while creating the concept are quite unusual, especially for 2003. As you can remember, the effect was quite negative. The most lawsuits were filed against Rockstar Games during this period, the game was banned in several countries. Even though the issue was taken to the court in the USA, it was later resolved in favor of the company.
When I look back objectively, I feel like Manhunt has gone too far. What do you think, it’s like we’re going to think a little bit differently here.
5. Red Dead Redemption 2’s KKK Reference
God I love Red Dead Redemption 2. Every time I turn it on and spend a few hours, it reminds me again why I love video games. I think we can agree that it is the best Rockstar Games’ game. At least until GTA VI or Red Dead Redemption 3 comes out.
We’ve already talked about Manhunt that developers love to make decisions that push the limits. One of those decisions is in RDR2 about the Ku Klux Klan. Iconic-looking KKK members appear three times in the game. In all of these, you can intervene and shoot them, or you can watch them without doing anything.
The real discussion about designing this mini-scene already starts here. We know that many events that count as crimes against humanity have been depicted in video games before. As long as we’re against it, there’s no problem.
Correction: I guess I didn’t express my main idea clearly here. It would be naive, to say the least, to ignore real pieces of history. This scene from RDR 2 deviates from its purpose as it “sketches” the event. This is of course a very personal assessment. Thanks for the comments and warnings.
4. By the Book Mission on GTA V
I don’t need to talk about the success of Grand Theft Auto V. The most successful game of Rockstar Games ever. What I mean by success is that it is still the best-selling game and the most watched game on Twitch, even after years. This is not an undeserved success.
GTA V loves to make fun of American culture and institutions and criticize them. That’s why we have a hate relationship with the FIB in the game. We have to get our hands dirty to clean up their mess. Here is one of those missions, the most controversial part of the game: By the Book.
I don’t need to give more information just in case you haven’t played the game yet. All you need to know is we’re getting information from someone tied to a chair by leading Trevor, who is a total maniac. We do this not by talking, but by the torture we play all the way to the end.
3. Scapegoat of Games: Postal Series
There is a lot that can be said about Postal. Just like Carmageddon, the game’s release in 1997 may have caused much more backlash than usual. But that doesn’t explain why the main idea of the game is that someone with mental problems kills everyone in their path.
The real problem with the game starts here. Because when you approach the game in an impartial way, you see something not so good. Non-innovative mechanics, non-fluent gameplay, ordinary story. When this is the case, the violence method chosen by the game makes itself felt more clear.
25 years have passed since this unfortunate decision that went too far. During this time, unsuccessful sequels were made, banned in several countries. Postal was cited as an example of the argument that games lead to violence whenever there is news about video games in the traditional media. Well, that’s pretty much enough already.
2. No Russian Mission
The Modern Warfare series is truly amazing. Especially if you didn’t have the chance to play in the 2000s, you should definitely play the Remastered versions. You understand more clearly why Call of Duty is one of the biggest brands in the game world.
There is a very brave story decision in the second game of that series, namely Modern Warfare 2. We’re infiltrating an undercover American agent and Russian terrorists. Our aim, of course, is to receive confidential information within the organization. We’re doing well for a while, but then the No Russian mission starts.
The terrorist leader wants us to slaughter innocent people at the Moscow airport with fully automatic rifles in our hands. The game does not allow to deny this, you kill everyone together with real terrorists. When you watch the video below, you will understand how intense this task is. This is exactly why it ranks second on this list.
Russia reacted very strongly to this mission. The game was banned in many countries until they removed the mission. In fact, there was so much coverage in the international media that the developers had to put a warning message in the game afterwards.
1. I Have a Violent Idea: Punisher
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Punisher game. Even now, there are very few games that connect directly to the comic book universe as much as he does. That’s why Punisher is a superior game. But was there any need for more violence than comics and movies?
I’m thinking similar things to what I thought about Manhunt. The main idea of the game is so combined with violence that I am not sure whether I am playing a game or watching a torture video that should be banned. It doesn’t make much sense to go this far because Punisher is a “dark” character.
If you’ve read the article this far, you’ve understood that I have no problem with the use of violence in games. My general problem with games and developer decisions on this list is the same. Just because you can do it technically doesn’t mean you do it for attention.
What do you think? Do video games need to think a bit more when designing especially violent scenes? Or is it just about the games on this list not designing well? Don’t forget to check out our different features like this one.
