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Summary
- Convincing parents to buy mature-rated games involved clever arguments, despite intense content warnings.
- Video games like Metal Gear Solid 2 and BioShock were obtained through deceptive tactics.
- Securing graphic games like Resident Evil 2 and Fallout 3 required strategic reasoning and intense negotiation, even if you may have to stretch the truth a bit.
Video games have been a massive part of our lives since we were kids, playing Super Mario Bros. on the SNES or Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in wondrous, joyful, and magical worlds. However, as we got a little older, we would want to play titles a bit outside of our age bracket, which could be hard to obtain.
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So, instead of throwing down our controllers and giving up, we did what any child would do in this situation: lie to our parents, exclaiming that the rating is far too overblown and the game isn’t actually that bad, hoping they would cave in and buy it for us. Hey, at least this gave us some of our all-time favorite games, right?!
That’s A Low Blow, Snake.
Explaining why Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty wasn’t actually that bad wasn’t easy, as the rating included ‘Partial Nudity’ and ‘Drug Reference,’ which would usually be a death sentence in itself. Still, so long as the GameStop employee had our backs, we would be able to secure a copy with a bit of convincing.
Today, the things depicted in Metal Gear Solid 2 aren’t even all that graphic, but, back then, nothing was quite like it, so trying to secure your copy when you were only six years old could be immensely tricky. Nonetheless, we still get why our parents put up a fight, but the game was a banger on all fronts, so we’re not terribly sorry we had to lie to obtain it!
9 BioShock
Would You Kindly… Buy Me BioShock?
BioShock
Ahh, BioShock, the must-have Xbox 360 exclusive that 12-year-old us needed to have the moment it was showcased. However, in addition to the ‘Sexual Themes’ and ‘Drug Reference,’ this game also had the dreaded ‘Blood and Gore’ text on the back of the box.
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Trying to convince our parents that it was only some sections that had gore, and that it was mostly a horror game, so the ‘Sexual Themes’ weren’t what they thought it was, muddied the water just enough for us to secure our copy. Was that the correct call? Debatable. But this game, and its unique setting, slapped, so we didn’t care!
8 Resident Evil 2
So… This Is What Everyone Is Dying For!
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Engine
- RE Engine
- Prequel(s)
- Resident Evil
- Sequel(s)
- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil Village
- Franchise
- Resident Evil
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PS1
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 6 Hours
Resident Evil 2 was released when I was only three years old, so I wasn’t particularly interested in or aware of it at the time. However, it was only a few years later that I met one of my best friends who owned it, and they were always talking about it, and how they had to fight tooth and nail to borrow their older brother’s copy.
Unfortunately, five-year-old me couldn’t seal the deal, as ‘Blood and Gore’ and ‘Violence’ were, apparently, a no-go for kindergarteners. Nonetheless, hearing the tales of my friend about the game always stuck out to me, making it a must-play title for me when I got a bit older. This game still holds up incredibly well!
7 Call Of Duty: World At War
One More, We Cheat Death!
Call of Duty: World at War
- Released
- November 11, 2008
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Local Co-Op
- Franchise
- Call of Duty
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
Possibly the most violent and brutal Call of Duty title of all time is World at War, which showcases the raw horrors of the Second World War. Not only that, but this game had ‘Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, and Strong Language’ on the back of the box, which, of course, would mean we would have to fight to get it.
And, yeah, after securing our copy, 13-year-old us was absolutely taken aback by how gruesome this game was, but we still somehow loved every minute of it. The incredible campaign, exhilarating multiplayer, and disturbing zombies mode were all top-tier, giving us a wonderfully bloody, gory, and satisfying experience across the board. Thanks, Mom!
6 God Of War
It Can’t Be THAT Bad, Right?
God of War (2005)
Systems
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Santa Monica Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Franchise
- God of War
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 9 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Premium (HD Version)
- Release
- 2005-03-22
- Metascore
- 94
Speaking of Intense Violence, the original God of War is up next, which had the biggest ‘no-no’ of them all: nudity, which was almost always a hard ‘no’ from parents across the world. Buuut, with a bit of clever arguing, it could be yours if you played your cards right.
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See, the game took place in ancient Greece, so there will obviously be some naked people here and there, and the ‘Sexual Themes’ can’t be THAT much worse than some of the other games we already own, right? Fortunately, that worked, but, boy, we didn’t really know what we were in for with this one, eh?
5 Halo 3
“It’s Only Alien Blood!”
Halo 3
- Released
- September 25, 2007
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bungie
- Publisher(s)
- Microsoft Game Studios
- Engine
- havok, blam engine
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Halo
- Platform(s)
- Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
- Metascore
- 94
Out of every entry on this list, Halo 3 is the most tame, as the only real ‘issues’ at play are the ‘Language’ and the ‘Blood and Gore.’ Fortunately, the ‘Blood and Gore’ can be waved away by pointing out you’re killing aliens, meaning their blood is purple. Right?
Fortunately, that argument almost always worked, but when you actually played the game, we gotta say, the blood decals were gnarly to look at, especially when humans died. While not nearly as bad as some of the other titles here, there’s no denying that the blood in Halo 3 is very gruesome. Nonetheless, Halo 3 is still the best entry in the series, so it was worth obtaining at any cost!
4 Grand Theft Auto 4
Okay, There’s No Excusing This One.
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Engine
- rockstar advanced game engine
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Grand Theft Auto
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox 360, PS3
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Following that is the big one, Grand Theft Auto 4, a game fans can relate to at any age, as they likely had to make the same arguments to obtain Grand Theft Auto 5 or are brainstorming ways to get their hands on the upcoming GTA 6. Still, if you obtained this game while you’re still attending middle school, your debating skills must be unreal.
This was not an easy title to obtain, especially at that age, and even more so because the news wouldn’t stop talking about how terrible it was. GTA 4’s ESRB Rating contains everything that fights against your odds of getting it, ranging from Nudity to Strong Language to Strong Sexual Content, and everything else you could think of. How we managed to get it still shocks us, but it was oh-so worth it!
3 Mortal Kombat
“I Won’t Do The Fatalities, I Promise!”
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
- Released
- September 1, 1996
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Realistic Blood and Gore, Realistic Violence
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Software, Williams Entertainment, Point of View
- Publisher(s)
- Williams Entertainment, Midway Home Entertainment, GT Interactive
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Mortal Kombat
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation (Original), Sega Saturn
- How Long To Beat
- 1 Hour
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 21 Hours
Applying to the entirety of the original trilogy, Mortal Kombat was one of the first games that was problematic to ask for, especially since we weren’t even born when the first two were released, and were only exposed to them quite a bit after, via our friends. Wait, were they a bad influence? Nonsense, these games RULED.
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Still, no matter which way you cut it, if you didn’t have a much older brother to secure it and play it with you, getting your hands on a game with ‘Realistic Blood and Gore’ and ‘Realistic Violence’ was more or less impossible. Although we never owned it until much later, we can confirm that we wish we had, as the original Mortal Kombat trilogy still holds up exceptionally well!
2 Fallout 3
“It’s Only Bad If You Are… I Think.”
Fallout 3
- Released
- October 28, 2008
In a similar boat as Grand Theft Auto 4, making your point for Fallout 3 was dang-near impossible, as its ESRB Rating had a laundry list of things on it, ranging from Blood and Gore to Intense Violence to Sexual Themes, amongst others, making it a tough sell. Still, somehow, we managed to get our hands on it.
Thirteen-year-olds us were blown away by this game, and we’re so happy we were able to convince our parents to grab it for us, as it undoubtedly transformed our gaming palette for the better. While it was indeed very, very graphic, we loved it to pieces, and can’t imagine how different things would be if we had never played it!
1 Silent Hill 2
This One May Have Been A Mistake
Silent Hill 2
- Released
- September 25, 2001
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Team Silent
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Prequel(s)
- Silent Hill
- Franchise
- Silent Hill
- Number of Players
- 1
- PC Release Date
- December 2, 2002
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, Xbox (Original), PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 15.5 hours
Lastly, we have Silent Hill 2, a game that many probably wish they had never convinced their parents to get for them, as it will scar you for the rest of your life. Especially if you’re only in Elementary School or just starting Middle School. The themes of these games stretch far beyond the vague ‘Blood and Gore’ and ‘Violence’ on the back of the box.
Yes, Silent Hill 2 is still very much a banger and a must-play, but should you play it at such a young age? That is very, very debatable. You win this one, parents. Seriously, if you won the argument with your parents, you would lose the moment this game makes you cry yourself to sleep. Joking aside, we’d do it all over again. We guess!
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