You know I've never had this happen before, I was sitting and contemplating and legitimately disturbed by the occurrences in this game; to the extent of questioning portions of my outlook. I'm a rock as far as changing my opinions goes and ultimately they will probably be resolved back to normal with a caveat "in the event of a zombie apocalypse;" but still a game having any sort of extremely powerful message which is not positive in almost any way is very difficult to reconcile. The agency of the player is what really makes this kind of dangerous material for anyone who's apt to be influenced, not because of the violence in the game (and there's plenty of that mind) but because of the psychological damage and violence caused and received. The game starts out pretty heavy for the first half or so but after that it just keeps going down until you're in the depths of lost humanity, and that's not necessarily a place you want to be.

That said since the M rating means nothing now there really needs to be some sort of indicator to parents not to give this to a kiddie, a sort of bridge between AO and M. A game like Spec Ops the Line had some degree of this but ultimately the message wasn't of total corruption as much as it was "you were fucked up to begin with," thus the player has limited agency in events and it can be viewed as you might view a movie; but this game has maybe the most thought provoking material ever placed in a game. This is much much worse than Manhunt and if games continue going in this direction ultimately there will be another game like this in 5-10 years; and given enough malleability this could seriously fuck someone up who played it. But I guess there's a sense of filial devotion, so that's something.

Oh right it's probably one of the best games ever made.

Protip: When you reach the last encounter don't do anything.

@pie: It took a while

That game, was just so brutal. I got really emotionally tied into the characters and experience.

Conveniently enough there is a ratings system! Who would have thunk?

Yeah that's fairly obvious

Came here to post this, not even going to waste my time reading spoilers.

You both seem to forget the sea of dumbass twelve-year-olds cursing up a storm in M-rated online games.

I blasted all of those doctors because It was a well lit room and I could line up good shots to see the gore.

I shot near the doctor to scare him. He seamlessly fell to the ground & dropped the knife unharmed.

Me and my wife don't understand what was so horrifying about this game. We both pretty much saw it as a dystopian tale featuring zombies with the usual hardships humanity seems to endure in these situations according to movies and games. Since you mentioned kids, I would've loved this had I been younger and less desensitized and jaded by today's media. It still managed to stir some emotions here and there though but the somewhat repetitive mechanics of the gameplay was quick to remind me (my wife just watched me play everything) that this is a videogame with nice atmosphere and good performance capture.

The Mature rating seem apt to us. It tells you to be of a mature mindset to enjoy this story, and that is really all that is required. Or so I'd think.

No, I didn't. Those games aren't for children either its just there is a severe lack of parenting and time to understand that there is a ratings system from clueless parents. Just because there ARE children playing them doesn't mean they SHOULD be playing them.

@fredchuckdave: M rated games shouldn't be played by children. Do you think the bad parents buying M rated games for their children are going to care if you add a different rating?

Would you have been happy if the California violent video game law passed and we had gigantic warning stickers plastered on the box art?

Good grief. By the time this thread hits its peak, I wouldn't be surprised if it resembled some sort of CIA document. Anyway, from what I've played of the story and the Campaign, I can see where y'all are coming from. I mean, just look back at what happens within the first 30 minutes of the game.

THAT'S BEFORE ALL THE BRICKS/FUCKED UP SHIT COME INTO PLAY.

@flappy: Well bricks is one thing, something that happens later is very difficult to watch, then something happens later that's way way worse. Fade to black.

@hunkulese: People don't buy AO games.

To give you something of an idea my present moral compass entails essentially no restrictions given that a cause is worthy enough; basically the expected value of an action can exceed the potential loss caused by the action no matter what. A sort of Utilitarianism; this game made me question that with the supplement that there is no worthy moral authority whatsoever. That seems a common enough tune but I don't think it's ever been conveyed well and typically the people making the argument don't understand what they're saying; it would seem someone at Naughty Dog understands and intentionally suggested this. What do you feel like during the last part of the game, as a player, who are you rooting for and why? That's what's fucked up.

Retailers won't carry AO, it's basically reserved for porn lol. Parents need to be more responsible, the rating system is fine.

The more i read about this game the more i want to play it, think i may pick it up tomorrow

@fredchuckdave:

This calls for a "M for Mature... No, seriously, don't buy this game for your kid, you idiot." rating.

So you're saying that last encounter could have gone differently? I didn't have to kill him? Did it really change anything? Or does it just mean he'll let you do what you'd do anyway? If it slightly changes the ending, that's wild! It seemed to really be forcing the player to kill him.

Damn it, killing possibly the last living brain surgeon was the one thing in the game I felt bad about.

I pointed the gun at the guy and talked at my screen for 20 seconds. Then I said I'd give him one cut, and tried to push by. Motherfucker attacked, and Joel disarmed him and slit his throat in a cutscene.

That was very Big Belwas of me.

Hell no. Kids need to play more fucked up shit.

As a 20 year old person who has played violent video games for most of my life, the last of us has legitimately shaken up the core of my being. Dont fucking play it if youre under 18.

Was he really a brain surgeon though? They intended to just hack her head open and kill her to pull the fungal stuff out to use for a vaccine. Would it really take a brain surgeon to do that?

This is the one time maybe I should've respected the spoiler text and ignored this thread, but it was too tempting.

I have only myself to blame for ignoring that line of thinking

M-rated games in general probably shouldn't be played by children.

@fredchuckdave: On a scale of 1 to The Road, just how affecting is this game? I loved The Road but I don't think I could go through that kind of emotional beating again.

@oldirtybearon: i never read the book, but I did watch the movie. Since theyre are fairly similar in story, I would say it's more emotionally draining (so an 11). I would explain why, but anything I say would ruin the experience more than it needs to be. All I can say is it caused me great turmoil and physical signs of stress and anxiety while playing it.

Personally I would be more okay with a child playing this game & being shocked at it's graphic content than any competitive multiplayer first person shooter.

The comment from my father about me playing Call of Duty 4 years ago of it "turning me into an asshole" I see now was a lot more damaging than any graphic movie or singleplayer game experience I was exposed to at the same age. Hearing my own nephew now talk about Call of Duty or Halo gives me the same impression my father had.

At least in The Last of Us it's a story only rarely told in literature. That of the hero trying to regain his innocence. I would be perfectly fine giving this game to my nephew to borrow just to see if he got out of it anything similar to what I did.

@oldirtybearon: The Road has a happy ending kind of, this is not really that. The game is too good to pass up unless you're under the age of 16 or so (assuming you aren't, but in keeping with the thread that seems like a realistic cut-off, I'd hate to have a 14 year old girl play this game).

Dumb kids shouldn't play M rated games. That being said, I was a dumb kid who played Resident Evil 4 when I was like 13 or 14... and yeah, that game probably messed me up somehow (it certainly desensitized me to violence), though perhaps not as much as the time I watched End of Evangelion, which I can confirm is not suitable for viewing by humans of any age.

Of course, I had to read these out-of-context spoilers and now I'm intrigued. If I were to get a PS3 this game would probably be a high-priority purchase. Video games. Yep.

@fredchuckdave: I think the bullet pointed ESRB system at the back of the box works fine as an at a glance look. Beyond that, the summary written for each game on the ESRB website usually does a good job of further elaborating on the content seen while playing the game, so there's no need to add any further confusion to the rating system by introducing another rating grade.

@giantstalker: I'm so god damn tempted to click them all, I need to leave this thread.

@fredchuckdave: I disagree, I say blow those assholes to pieces, the one begger for her life is just as much as a child murdering POS as the rest of them. "Cure" or not, those people are evil.

I should note that while Ellie looks pre-pubescent she is 14. This world is basically back to tribal societies and that's well past the "adulthood" age, also I think she passed her rite of passage and then some.

I agree, most adult games shouldn't be played by children.

Dude, I've been playing the last part in the OR over and over, I have no idea what you're talking about. He stands there for 10-15 minutes.

Edit: Scratch that, it finally happened! You have to do something though, Get him to the point where he says don't come any closer, and then start shooting randomly to make some noise.

You're fucked in the head.

@psylah: I was feathering the square button at the time, though it wasn't producing any result for a bit so it sort of looked like the game took control; either way by far the best sort of action, though I'd prefer if the game timed out to that after 1 minute or so.

Unfortunately the ratings system doesn't matter anymore. It should but it doesn't. If I was a parent I would not let my child play any M rated game and they might hate me for it at the moment, but so be it.

Children shouldn't have been in this game. Just looking at concept art of Ellie now, makes me sad.