Gratuitous Violence: I Heart You

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A significant number of video games are violent. There is nothing wrong with it and no one should really be surprised anymore. But even by today's low standards, there are some pretty shocking/awesome things out there to see.

Classic examples of video game bad behavior are found in Grand Theft Auto and Duke Nukem. You can steal a car and kill police officers. Maybe you want to shoot a stripper and take her hard earned cash. There are also first person shooters where you have to kill people with head shots, hunting knives, and grenades as part of normal game play. But we have all come to expect gore and violence in these games. It is not only expected, but its probably the reason some people bought these games in the first place.

I'm talking about games where you might not expect to see something so wild. A game may be a standard RPG or action game and adds a random element of extreme violence. This whole idea came to mind because my game of the moment is Red Dead Redemption. Sure there is shooting and killing, and it is really fun. But if you get tired of your beloved horse, feel free to kill and skin it, complete with blood spatters on your screen. Or maybe you should check out the Dastardly achievement. Just kidnap a female, hogtie her, and dump her body on a set of train tracks. All that is left is to stand back and enjoy the massive blood spray as the train runs her over.

Maybe something a little more sneaky is your style. Try out the Psychotic Prankster achievement on Fallout 3 (the title says it all). This is where you sneak up on an innocent bystander and plant a live grenade in their pocket. You get to relax and enjoy as they explode with post-apocalyptic glory right in front of your eyes.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood shouldn't shock anyone with its violence. The main character is an assassin, so blood and guts are normal. You can also expect a little boost in your gamerscore if you take the time to use a broom. That's right, you can beat someone to death with an ultra-stealthy broom.

In Dante's Inferno, you can look for the ultimate bleep-bloop when you kill twenty babies. Sure they are demonic babies, and its all in self-defense. But I think we all know the developers were giggling at least little when they transformed the average consumer into a baby-killer.

It makes me wonder what comes next. While playing Dragon Age II, am I going to have to randomly shoot puppies ? Perhaps Red Faction will want me to bomb enemy camps and abortion clinics. Games may have ratings for violence, but I don't think any sticker on a game can prepare people for some of the gratuitous and amazing things out there to do !