MTV Multiplayer: Playing "God of War" PSP in public -- what happens when civilians see the bloody stuff we play?
This entry was posted on 4/26/2007 9:42 AM and is filed under MTV News Multiplayer,Violent Games,PSP Issues.
When am I ever going to get back to doing some real reporting for MTV News? It's mostly been a week of speculative and reflective writing about games. I feel guilty. Does anyone else care? I've got some good stuff coming next week, though. So just wait.
Speaking of my anxieties yesterday's MTV Multiplayer entry details the three key questions I ask of every new PSP game, including one that's personal: "Do I want to play this game in public?"
The Multiplayer entry was prompted by the official title announcement of "God of War: Chains of Olympus." My answer to that question:
"If the PSP's 'God of War' is anything like its M-rated counterparts, it will surely be the most bloody, brutal game I'll have ever played wedged between the elbows of businesswomen, little kids, panhandlers and the rest of the colorful commuters on the Number 2 train.
"In the privacy of my own home, I've had 'God of War' antihero Kratos rip the limbs and heads off characters from Greek mythology. I've had him tear soldiers' sword-bearing arms off and then stab themselves with them. And I've felt uneasy enough about those actions when I triggered them on the living-room TV in front of loved ones -- what will the strangers on the subway think? How will I help redefine the public image of the gamer? Should I play in public with a smile? Or flash a look of disgust? Can I handle the responsibility? Or maybe they'll make the game tame and I won't have to worry."
Is anyone with me on this one? Or is this another case of me being too worried about what other people think, like the time years ago when I was afraid to ask a certain girl to dance with me at one of my middle school's seventh grade dances?
