G-pinions

I'm not sure if I should direct my anger towards America or just the terrifying trends of the world at large, but I do know that, at least for once, my hatred for hypocritical conservative values is completely justified. As anyone who reads this site is well aware, Nick and I have been playing Oblivion every chance we get since it came out a month ago. It's simply a huge game and the need to see every second of it is a draw that most games cannot even begin to exert. It's obviously not perfect, though, and there are many occasions where Nick and I make fun of the game directly or something related to it. The most frequent point of ridicule is the rating this game received. In this neo-conservative environment where criminals are using video games as a defense for violent crimes it is all too common to see reports on TV stating how these games are desensitizing our children to violence. A justifiable complaint. I firmly endorse keeping violent games out of the hands of minors.

Which is why Nick and I are continually shocked at how violent Oblivion is. Even with all the adult themes and excessive gore, it received a T rating. I have no idea how it is rated T. For comparison, even though Halo has guns and Oblivion doesn't, Elder Scrolls is much more violent than Halo. There are excessive amounts of blood and ruthless murders. For some reason, Halo got an M rating, though. If the appearance of guns is that upsetting, maybe the people who have power should start looking at ways to tweak the second amendment as well. But I digress. The point is, Oblivion is a very violent game, more violent than some M rated games, yet is only rated T. Every time Nick and I see dead bodies hanging from the wall we quote the "Rated T for Teen" campaigns on TV.

But now, after all the blood and adult situations in Oblivion, only now is it being pulled from shelves so it can be re-rated. What's this? People finally realized how violent the game truly is? Ha! I wouldn't be outraged at that. The violence is still acceptable for some reason, but the nude patch is not. The developers, upon creating the character models, started with the birthday suit and added layers of clothes. It is possible to remove the clothes and see some naked breasts if you know how to download mods. There comes a time when people have to realize that not all nudity is meant to titillate. The breasts in Oblivion are not meant to set loins a-thumping. Not even a 13 year old, hormone ranging youth would be turned on by these. They are simply parts of the body, crafted in the simplest way possible, so the character models would look natural.

What's ridiculous is that this has been in every Elder Scrolls game, but only Oblivion is getting flack for it now. Elder Scrolls II actually had full frontal nudity of the male and female variety. But now, because there is a nude patch for Oblivion, it is being restricted to only adult players. What kind of country do we live in when violence is ok but nudity is not?