Poll: So do you actually like "violent video games"?

[MeTheMe]

It was hard for to pick on option on the poll, because I play so many different types of violent games, but I go with my favorite, Goofy. ;p

I have mixed feeling about violence in games as well, I see no problem with it, any of it, but I myself am a bit turned off by really graphic and ridiculous stuff like Mortal Kombat. I know that it's supposed to comically over the top, but... ehh.

 

[zerobudgetgamer]

While I'm mostly an RPGer at heart, which typically falls more under "Cartoonish" violence, I will say that I have enjoyed the Blood Omen/Soul Reaver, Devil May Cry, and God of War series, just to name a few. God of War is kind of the farthest I ever care to go as far as blood and gore, however, and seeing as how I've yet to play the third installment, due to not owning a PS3, I don't know if they went above and beyond the "standards" the first two set.

I put my vote in for stylized, because while I can enjoy realistic violence to a certain extent, the range of games I've played and enjoyed actually fall far more on the Cartoonish end, so I felt the middle option sort of said it best.

 

[JoeThree]

I didn't vote because the answer I wanted wasn't there. Maybe it's because I'm not a teenager anymore, but gore itself just doesn't matter much to me. What matters is how it works with the gameplay and story. If it fits, sure, gore it up, but if not don't just add that crap to be "edgey" because it just serves to do the opposite of what game developers who use it are trying to achieve - it makes you look immature.

 

[Tommeh Brownleh]

It's not the violence that gets me to play. It's the fun that the violence adds. I don't care what kind as long as killing something makes the game more fun.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

While I don't at all mind violence or blood, I really dislike gore. It doesn't matter if it's in games or movies. In books it's sometimes okay, because I can control what I don't want my imagination to see.

As for violent games...

Assassin's Creed is one of my favorite series ever. The violence and blood are realistic, but I feel it's handled tastefully.

I played and enjoyed the first God of War and Sega's Madworld. Despite the gratuitous amounts of violence and blood in the both of these games, the characters all stylized and I never saw any realistic/explicit gore, so the violence didn't bother me at all.

On the other hand, truly realistic/explicit depictions of innards or dismemberment just completely turn off my enjoyment. Like the scene in Watchmen when the prisoner gets cut through the forearms with a circular saw? I had to turn my head away from the screen...

My immediate thought when I see something like that is "Ugh... Was that really necessary?" I just don't find gore to be scary, or entertaining, or "awesome." I find it to be disgusting.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

I play mostly action/adventure type games. My favorite games are the assassins creed games, uncharted series, inFamous 1 and 2, Batman:arkham asylum (cant wait for arkham city), god of war, etc. I don't care about the level of violence as long as it fits with the game. Gore and ripping things apart goes with god war very well in a way that would make assassins creed or uncharted look stupid.

 

[sumanoskae]

A few of my favorite games are pretty bloody.

Fallout 3, God of War, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Red Dead Redemption. But I think each one uses violence in an effective way, to convey the rage of a character or keep you immersed in an unforgiving world

 

[kyogen]

I like violence to admit that it's violence, but I don't find gore for its own sake especially interesting.

 

[martin's a madman]

The games I'm playing right now are Fallout: New Vegas, Starcraft 2, Team Frotress 2, and Assorted legend of zelda games. So... I guess if I'm just using these examples, they would average out to simplified or stylised.

 

[luckshotpro]

I love gory games. No More Heroes, Gears of War, F.E.A.R. Bioshock, Left 4 Dead 2, ect.

 

[Dane Tesston]

As it stands, I just like to shoot; violence is just a consequence of that. And by that, I mean real world weapons. Bullets and rockets, not lasers (though the Mass Effect games are pretty fun). That said, I could easily go without any violence in my games.

 

[Active Schizophrenic]

Well... I find this one difficult because I don't buy games based on "If it is gory or not" I buy games based on what It is about. but personally If I had a choice between to games that were exactly the same in terms of how good they were and one was violent and the other was not. I would take the non-violent option. but I usually do play violent games because the majority of games are combat-based and I do like the fighting but more so If it isn't gory one of the reasons I like Batman: Arkham Asylum Is because you don't kill the enemies. you only knock them out. so I picked no violence at all. This doesn't mean i hate gory games and games where you kill people (I love god of war) but i would rather not kill them. (I absolutely hate GTA though because when I hit everyday innocent people with my car and killed them. It actually made me feel bad.)I but i find this is all moot when playing multiplayer games. in which I honestly dont care if they die or not because they will just re-spawn anyways.

 

[sheic99]

One of my favorite movies is Tokyo Gore Police, I find insane levels of gore funny.

 

[DementedSheep]

I do have some violent and gory game that are among my faviroutes So I guess that means I'm the top option in the poll.
But it?s not a selling point for the game and I don't care when its absent from others. It depends on the game, the tone it?s going for, and how it?s implemented as to whether gore is good or not I suppose. Gore for gore sake can detract from a game IMO. I usually don?t like it when gore starts reaching stupid levels. When I shoot someone in the chest with a pistol I do not expect their limbs and head to go flying off like in fallout 3!

 

[Susan Arendt]

Sure, there are certain particularly violent games that I enjoy. And there are games that aren't overly graphic, but are violent that I play expressly to get my shoot on. (TimeSplitters 2, I'm looking at you. Ah, shooting people's heads off with a shotgun. So satisfying.) I also enjoy games that depict violence without asking me to take part - Silent Hill, Condemned, so forth. (Yes, you're committing acts of violence in those games, but nothing like what the NPCs are doing.)

There's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a virtual act of violence, either passively or actively. Such tendencies are hardwired into our nature, and pretending they don't exist is just plain silly. So long as you separate fantasy from reality - something videogame opponents seem to believe we're collectively incapable of doing - you're fine.

 

[Stryc9]

The violence in games doesn't matter to me really. It's merely a byproduct of some of the games I play. I used to want the violent and bloody games when I was 12 but now that I'm older it doesn't really matter as much, I play all kinds of games and if there's blood and gore so be it, it's not likely to ruin the experience for me.

One of my favorite bits of blood and gore was from the first Serious Sam game where there were a bunch of different blood color settings.

 

[MeatsOfEvil]

For me blood and gore can add to an experience, but it's not a selling point or a detractor. I don't find plants vs zombies lacking in gore, yet I enjoy Dead Space 2's...let's call it immersion

 

[Active Schizophrenic]

I play mostly action/adventure type games. My favorite games are the assassins creed games, uncharted series, inFamous 1 and 2, Batman:arkham asylum (cant wait for arkham city), god of war, etc. I don't care about the level of violence as long as it fits with the game. Gore and ripping things apart goes with god war very well in a way that would make assassins creed or uncharted look stupid.

I agree With this sometimes the gore fits the game but if in the next legend of zelda link found a shotgun and blew ganons head off with it It would just be un-called for