Quantic Dream’s highly anticipated PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain has been rated M due to – among other things – sexual content and nudity. This effectively means that the game will be limited to gamers 17 and older.
While the ESRB governs the rating system in the USA and Canada, the BBFC classifies the age appropriateness of games in Britain. The BBFC has given the game a rating of 15.
The ESRB has explained the reasons for the M rating, stating that it contains “Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs”.
The below information may contain spoilers. IE descriptions of events which take place in the game.
The intense violence includes showing a man being impaled with a power drill, as well as a woman “squirming and screaming as she catches on fire”. Players will also at some point control Ethan (the game’s protagonist) as he cuts off his own finger to save his son’s life. Players will have access to various instruments in doing so, including a saw, scissors and a knife, and the scene will focus on Ethan’s “psychological terror/tenor”.
The game will also feature mild nudity, including a shower scene showing a male or female’s “but” and breasts, depending on whether the player chooses the male or female character. The game will also feature nudity when players visit a strip club and are forced at gun point to strip and dance for the “seedy club owner”.
“The game also contains a prompt-based love scene (kissing and rubbing) in which players match on-screen cues to angle characters’ mouths, remove shirts and blouses, unhook bras, and lower to the floor; a woman briefly appears topless amidst the dark shadows and heavy breathing—actual sex is never depicted as the camera fades to black,” says the ESRB’s description, going on to describe its depiction of drug usage and swearing:
“The camera does not fade on characters addicted to the fictional drug Triptocaine, referred to as “dope” in the game: Players may see a character trembling next to open vials; lines of cut white powder on a table; and a man staggering from the drug’s ill-effects, as the screen turns blurry. Consumers may also wish to know that the game contains strong profanity (e.g., “f**k,” “motherf**ker,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole”). Overall, the game’s highly evolved motion-capture graphics (advanced renderings by 2010 standards) sharpen the sense of realism, increasing the impact of some aspects of pertinent content (the nudity, blood, violence, etc.).”
Heavy Rain is due out in Europe on February 24, although local retailer BTGames lists it for March 12 and Kalahari carries an unspecific “February” release time frame.
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