Poll: Does blood and gore affect how much you enjoy a game?

[Withall]

I prefer the less gory games out there- the worst "gory" game I've ever played is Fallout 3- and it is plenty gory for me. Of course, I also like the UT series. In those games, the gibs are part of the spectacle, so I play the game with them enabled.

I wouldn't, however, play Metal Gear Solid: Uprising due to the fact that you can eviscerate alot of people in such a brutal fashion you do. If I ever get around to buying it, I can only hope it has a "non-violent" option, at least against the human enemies (Gekkos and humanoid cyborgs are free game, though!).

 

[rythter]

I was just thinking, do you enjoy a game more if it has super hard-core violence?
I wish I could be mature enough to say no, but an evil little part of me giggles whenever I make a raider's head explode in Fallout 3, or when I chain-saw a locust in half in Gears Of War.
I was just wondering how the other members of The Escapist felt about this topic.

(By the way, I'm not a psycho-path. While I may enjoy violent games, I never act aggressive or attack people in real life. Why would I need to when I can do it with no consequences in a video game?)

i like gory violence only if its well deserved, such as when killing a boss or a major enemy

 

[wolf92]

Eh I don't care one way or the other

 

[Thedayrecker]

I don't care either way. Although, the first time I chainsaw'ed somebody, in Gears of War, nearly made me cum was rather awesome

 

[Adventurer2626]

Gore and blood are indeed guilty pleasures. I'd prefer less of it in say Fallout 3 (would certainly make it more playable around the folks and young'ns) but at least initially it was somewhat gratifying. Now it's just: *sigh* "now I watch another slow-mo clip of a raider's head flying off and staring at his exposed trachea/esophagus." Not really what I play games for.

 

[Theron Julius]

I don't care about gore. It's doesn't bother me and I don't really pay attention to it.

 

[Saint of M]

Like everything else, it trully depends.

Like sexuality in our entertainment, blood and gore should never be so common that we get a big meh from it (as we did in 300 and Ninja Assassin).

If done right it an be fun, as was seen with some of the early mortal Kombat games and with much of the humor in Team Fortress revolves around this.

Blood is also a good staple. If done right, a realistic approach will draw you into the game, and a stylistic approach will draw you into the story.

How however its one of those fine lines: too much and it becomes bland, too little and it lacks realism.

 

[badgersprite]

I think of it as an enhancing component. It's not essential, but it helps a game feel more real. You've got to admit, it's pretty weird if you're playing a game where you stab people for a living and they fall down without so much as a drop of blood. That would break the immersion for me somewhat. I'd be wondering what the hell is going on. I'm stabbing these guys and they're falling down like it's a school play.

Compare this to say Batman: Arkham Asylum where you don't stab bad guys or kill them with your attacks. Absence of gore is 100% on the money there because it fits with the actions your character is taking.

 

[The Hot Sauce Thief]

I will love a game if blood and gore is used correctly IE Manhunt, silent hill

but may end up disliking or even hating a game if it uses it wrong IE splatterhouse, madworld

 

[Phlakes]

snip

Nice four-month bump.

OT: It depends on what kind of game it is. It definitely makes both GoW series more enjoyable, but over-the-top gore would make something like Battlefield seem shallow and exploitative.

 

[monkey_man]

It has to match the specific game. A game like god of war, VERY MUCH BLOOD AND VIOLENCE.
a game like, say half-life, a little less.
and a game like littlebigplanet doesn't really need it, does it?

Spoiler

does it?
DOES IT?!
*cough*

 

[Something Amyss]

I play games regardless of blood content.

 

[DaggerOfCompassion]

Too much gore bugs me sometimes, with a few exceptions (namely the Left 4 Dead games), but if its not insane amounts and it has context I couldn't care less.
That being said if I see a game that advertises its gore as a main feature, I'm less likely to buy it as I assume it will be immature.

 

[The Lunatic]

It's not needed, but, I find it to be more satisfying in certain types of games.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

I like gore where they should be, and don't where it shouldn't.

For example, i'd prefer if getting it by plasma in the Halo games would cause smoke instead of blood spray, as thats what it'd do in real life.

 

[The Hot Sauce Thief]

I will love a game if blood and gore is used correctly IE Manhunt, silent hill

but may end up disliking or even hating a game if it uses it wrong IE splatterhouse, madworld

How do those two use it wrong.

when i say wrong, it comes down my opinion obviously
in splatterhouse, there is alot of gore which wasnt needed or handled well, which ruined it for me
in madworld, the kill animations are overdone for me and fill up the screen with alot of blood
The fact the game in black and white only to make bloodstand out more

 

[Unia]

I get no kick out of gore but don't stop playing because of it either. Excessive gore tends to hamper my suspension of disbelief, strangely enough. I find myself wondering who keeps pouring cranberry sauce everywhere or how that 5 kg critter managed to contain 10 litres of blood.

Then there's Left 4 Dead 2. They clearly put serious effort into portraying damage, hell there's a glimpse of actual internal organs now and again. What bothers me is this scenario:
A zombie has lost an arm, I can see it's splintered spine through a massive shotgun wound in the chest and there's a bloody mess where it's face used to be. Yet it runs at me, unfazed, FULL SPEED. I don't care if the infected are some sort of freaky mutants now, that thing should be dead!!
Especially after it's buddy went down from a 5mm burst to the buttock.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Well, it depends on the tone of the game. In Fallout 3, I thought the ridiculousness of the gore(especially post-Bloody Mess) really helped the satirical tone of the game.

In Resistance 2, for example, I thought the gore not only looked like crap, but didn't really fit the game to begin with. I don't know. It just seemed out of place.