Sometimes it almost feels like people are trying really hard to start controversy where there isn't any. Arizona's KTVK-TV is the latest in a long line of videogame fear mongering by warning parents of the horrors of the 'meat shield,' according to Game Politics.
Citing a Yahoo!Games report detailing features in Gears of War 2 KTVK-TV warns, "A popular video game for the Xbox 360 is getting a sequel this year - and it seems to be raising eyebrows with its level of gore and detail ... The game certainly attracted attention for its realistic visuals and battle scenes, but caused some pause when game designers showed off a new attack players can use in the game."
The report continued to warn, "Players can pick up the corpses of fallen enemies and use them as a "meat shield" to protect themself from enemy fire as they engage in battle from behind the corpse."
As good as Gears 2 looks, calling it's visuals realistic is like saying E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is based on a true story. Are we really resorting to hyping-up hate for a game months before it releases?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-20-2008 @ 11:49AM
mattclarkie said...
Because I have never seen this in a film.
And can't you do it in Splinter Cell and other games?
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5-20-2008 @ 12:04PM
Halwende said...
Indeed... Hitman: Blood Money anyone? Shouldn't that be worse because technically it's more "realistic"?! (sigh)
5-20-2008 @ 3:21PM
BananaBoat said...
Remember when Bond used that black guy as a meat shield in Casino Royale? Or when the spartan's in 300 used an entire mountain of dead persians as a meat shield? Where were these parents then?
I think complaining about the chainsawing of people in half would get more play than a...meat shield...not that I'm saying anything should get any play.
5-20-2008 @ 11:55AM
OBM said...
IT'S A GAME!!!! I actually feel sorry for these people, they have so much time on their hands, they decide to bitch about a game that hasn't even been released yet; 2 key phrases there, 'a game' and 'hasn't been released yet'. OH NOES, I JUST RAN OVER AN ALIEN IN MY WARTHOG, NOW I MUST GO GET A PICKUP AND RUN OVER LITTLE CHILDREN BECAUSE I CANT TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GAME AND REALITY!!
Darwinism shall prevail.
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5-20-2008 @ 11:59AM
Morgon said...
Not only that, but they're not even HUMAN ('Humanoid', yes, but not Human).
Isn't this how many games got released back in the 80's? As long as they weren't normal humans (i.e. zombies, alients, mutants), you could shoot them to your hearts content.
What's so different now?
5-20-2008 @ 11:56AM
iFester said...
Why can't they just stick to real news? Hello, earthquakes, cyclones and other disasters! OMG, the video game killed our boy!
Alternatively, why can't we stick to game news instead of this political BS?
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5-20-2008 @ 11:56AM
Zac LaCombe said...
I'm more afraid of meat swords than a meat shield.
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5-20-2008 @ 11:59AM
Swede33 said...
Wow... just wow.
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5-20-2008 @ 12:00PM
diamondxp said...
Just goes to show how bias, out of touch and desperate the media can be.
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5-20-2008 @ 12:01PM
Magic Whiskey said...
Hmm..Arizona...what other repressed party is represented from that state in the national eye right now?....hmm...
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5-20-2008 @ 12:03PM
DjDATZ said...
LOL. No comment on the idiocies of people who blame society's problems on video games.
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5-20-2008 @ 12:06PM
RudyHuxtable said...
So I was watching Law and Order a few weeks ago, and a criminal on the run used his female hostage as a meat shield. I demand that Law and Order be taken off the air.
Also, ER routinely portrays grave bodily injury and shows blood and gore. That should also be taken off the air.
Grey's Anatomy has strong sexual themes and should also be taken off the air.
...
Or parents can just turn off the TV.
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5-20-2008 @ 12:22PM
Anticrawl said...
Not to mention Nip Tuck. Maybe videogames need to simply desplay a 2 second "don't play this game unless you are of age" warning and people will get off the industries damn back.
5-20-2008 @ 12:20PM
ZEBRA NINER said...
Yes! Arizona FTW!!!! I live in Arizona, and let me tell you something, using a corpse for cover from gunfire is taboo here. It mean that you are "yeller", or a coward. We do all our gun battles at high noon in front of the local saloon.
John McCain 2008 folks, rock the vote!
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5-20-2008 @ 12:25PM
Zoot Suit Jedi said...
I...um...ya know...I really don't know how to respond. I will tell you though, my initial response is laugh, vomit, shit myself, and shoot wildly into the air all at the same time.
5-20-2008 @ 12:33PM
ZEBRA NINER said...
I wouldn't have it any other way. It's the right of any American to do all of those actions simultaneously (except for shooting in the air within city limits)!
5-20-2008 @ 12:25PM
horngreen said...
If it had been called "human shield" like they are in any movie that uses the same idea it would have been nothing. I think it's the use of "MEAT SHIELD" that makes it great fodder for idiot local news networks. This too shall pass.
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5-20-2008 @ 12:39PM
Deezul said...
Meat shield sounds like a new way of keeping fresh meat fresh. "Now, Angus beef with meat shield stays fresher longer!"
5-20-2008 @ 12:39PM
Tony said...
Welcome to movies like Total Recall... or any action film with violence in it?
They're gigantic alien monsters, not humans. I think it's safe to assume most people can differentiate there lol.
I saw an article about this on Yahoo yesterday and it was subtitled something like "Some say GoW2 is too violent and others agree", but it didn't cite anyone saying any of this. Certainly no one important.
It's just amazing to me that the way in which you chainsaw someone is important. Either is ridiculously violent. Sometimes I wonder who is sitting around and determining which gruesome murder ranks higher than another gruesome murder.
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5-20-2008 @ 12:40PM
Gemini Ace said...
What we need to do is find out who wrote the story, then get them fired. Every time something like this happens, we need to get them fired.
Don't ask me how to do this. I'm just the idea guy. :-)
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