~Mature~ Games

Just how 'mature' are these games? As a kid, have you ever played any of these video games, that were rated 'm' for mature? What were they, and did you really think that these game(s) that you've played deserve a M rating? What do you think of M for Mature games in general? Feel free to discuss!

The first M rated game I ever played was Halo 2 and I was about 13. In my eyes it wasn't even worthy of that rating. As their was very little swearing. The worst you got damn and jackass. And the blood and gore really wasn't that gory. The closest it got was the dismemberment of the flood.

I own like...one M rated game, haha. It was so exciting when I bought it, too. I finally got to use my ID for something and it was great. The game was Bioshock, and I personally think it deserves an M rating. If you've played it, you've seen what's in that game and that's probably too much for people in certain age groups.

Back on the subject of M ratings though, I think most of them suit their respective game. Like T!M said, there's not much swearing and gore in Halo 2 (as an example), but you are shooting and killing people/creatures. When you stop and think about killing in the scheme of things, that is a mature topic. I mean, I know most people don't think about it when playing a game, but I think that might have been the thought process to quite a few M rated games. The fact that you're killing and some people may have a hard time getting that across, especially a younger audience. We're taught that killing is bad.

That's just my perspective on it. I don't think that parents should be out buying their children M rated games personally, but parents are typically a good judge of their kids. They would know if their 13 year old is mature enough to play an M rated game or not. Even though there is a rating system, I think it's fine to use your judgement when buying children these kinds of games. I'd be the cruel parent that makes my kids wait til they're respective age on the rating systems though. I'm just mean and want them to suffer like I did. >:)

I think a lot of the games that garner an M rating actually aren't worth it over all. When I think M, I think gratuitous violence, cursing with drugs and or sex themes thrown in. I think of mostly games like GTA, Manhunt, Gears of War, God of War, Silent Hill, Resident Evil. Games like Mass Effect and Halo just don't seem mature to me.

It's all about perspective though. The ESRB of course is going to err on the side of caution, as well they should. It really comes down to the parents. The rating system should be treated more as a guide then an outright, well my child isn't 17, can't play Mature or my child isn't 13 so they can't play Teen. Like what was stated above me by Everlark, parents (hopefully) know their children and whether or not they can handle playing a M rated game.

I think the M rating makes sense for what an M game really represents. But I've played numerous M games starting with GTA in like 4th grade. It's really just a game and the fact that people thinks that effects kids is ridiculous.

I only began them at 16 in 2006 with GTA Liberty City Stories and moved on to GTA SA and was fine. Granted I wish PS Plus had more games for free then only M rated games. I play them but do like E and T rated games too.

I own a few M rated games, but i rarely play them as i lose interest quite fast, and most games i thought who were M rated appeared to be actually T rated haha.

Lol, I played too many of these games. Games like GTA (Played when I was 7), Farcry 3(14), The Walking Dead (14). xD

I probably played more mature games but I don't remember them. Some games don't really deserve mature ratings but I guess ESRB rates them in a way that we don't know. :3

It's kinda funny how many games get the M rating and then I see kids below the age of 10 playing constantly, almost seems pointless to give the rating. Ah well, I've played some GTA, some Halo, and a few of the newer games like Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider. "Silly Gold, no one thinks Tomb Raider is new, it's a year old!"

I honestly don't own that many 'mature' games. Off the top of my head, the only two I can of are Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies and Virtue's Last Reward.

Will Nintendo be publishing anymore M-rated games, like they did to Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Geist for Nintendo Gamecube, or did they decline to do so anymore?

I don't have a problem with parents choosing when they feel their children are mature enough to play any particular rating of video game because they are only warnings of what you can expect to see and it's up to the parents to decide what's okay and not okay. I also agree with ESRB and how they handle things. If I'm a parent I'm able to purchase an M game for my kids, however my kids cannot go and purchase them on their own and that's a good thing. I don't know if anyone here knows, but just like you need adult supervision to see an R rated movie if you aren't at least 17, you can't buy M video games until that age either. All ratings are simply guidelines as anyone can purchase EC, E, E10+, and T games, but M and AO games are regulated, same with R and NC-17 movies.

Absolutely love 'em but seeing as today they just randomly mark some games as Mature, and games that are seriously mature, are rated like PG or something dumb.

I've honestly never paid any mind to the rating; I normally scope out potentials through video game news, buy them near release date and play them. The mature games I've played are FPS, but I've never gone to the extremes that the GTA series would go to with the violence and stuff. Yeah, the only mature games I own are the shooters.