Detroit prosecutor updates (makes relevant) violent games list

by Alexander Sliwinski on Dec 16th 2008 9:10AM

Detroit prosecutor Kym Worthy has updated her list (thanks to the National Institute on Media and the Family) of the top ten most violent video games. Worthy's new list (found after the break) features many of this season's major titles. Unlike the old list, which had several games that were practically ancient.

As GamePolitcs points out, Worthy updating her list is a little bit more than local news, since it was used by the Thai government to eventually ban several old games in the wake of a cab driver's murder just a few months ago.

[Via GamePolitics]

Blitz the League II
Dead Space
Fallout 3
Far Cry 2
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Legendary
Resistance 2
Saints Row 2
Silent Hill: Homecoming

Source

Tags: detroit, kym-worthy, thailand

Reader Comments (60)

Funny how war games are not mentioned...apparently any representation of government-controlled killing is acceptable.

COD5 is kinda gory for a WWII shooter...bloody stumps, limbs blowing off, etc.

I get what you're saying generally, but...

Gears of War 2 isn't a war game?

GOW2 isn't a "war" game, in the true sense of the word.

Killing monsters/zombies/mutants isn't war, even if they are opposing sides.

I'm talking about nation(s) vs. nations(s), military actions against terrorism, etc. Reality-based war games.

I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of leaving out war games such as COD4/COD5/BiA/BF:BC/etc. because that is an "acceptable" form of violence.

Rhinosaur you make a really good point

They probably follow the example of the MPAA. Historical movies get special treatment. For example, the amount of gore in Saving Private Ryan should have yielded it an NC-17 rating based on the MPAA guidelines, but because of the historical significance it was given an R.

Good point. no Call of Duty? hmmmmmm...

Are there war games that let you saw people in half, or that feature exploding heads?

That's a lot of math on that list...

Uh...I was told there would be no math.

a football game is number one? Gotta be kidding me...

not really a ranking, its just alphabetical order

Ok, even still, a football game amongst head exploding games? really?

Blitz is likely there because it is something that kids can easily act out - football...y'know, because they are kids and they can play football a hell of a lot easier than they can get their hands on a chainsaw/chainsaw-gun or a tank.

The game rewards players not so much for playing really good football, but for brutally injuring your opponents, which I can see being a very worrisome message to send to little peewee football players.

Actually, thinking more, I can see that game being misunderstood or emulated by kids much more easily than the other stuff on that list, most of which involves gun violence that most kids know, because they are told over and over, is wrong.

Football, as much as I like it, is already a form of condoned violence, and it is hard to draw the line for a 6-year-old between a good clean tackle and trying to break little Bobby Johnson's legs.

I'll have to agree with a comment from the last time this popped up. These games already have a very handy and convenient little tag that says M for Mature, meaning children should probably not be playing these very obviously adult games. With titles like "Dead Space" and "Left Dead" one would think this would be common sense.

Haha, Legendary the Box the Game the Box made it on there? Well, I guess that means at least 1 person out there played it!

Yeah but parents don't know anything, why do you think kids are shooting each other left, right, and center, well in the US anyway.

What makes you think they actually played any of these games before putting them on the list? It was probably just what was on the shelf at Walmart.

Take out a couple of those games and it becomes a list of games I want to own.

The real funny part is the description there for Left 4 Dead. I'm pretty sure there's a difference between a "rabies" virus and a zombie virus.

I think it is accurate, since the L4D devs even said that the virus is actually a version of rabies.

Since the enemies you face are not reanimated corpses, but who cares, the game is a blast!

Kym Worthy is awesome for helping put the son of a bitch corrupt Detroit mayor behind bars, so I'll overlook any ignorance on her part in regards to this.

I couldn't agree more. No more Kwame.

Lists like these me laugh. They may as well make a list of 10 R-rated movies your kids shouldn't see. "well duh, I'm not letting my kid see Saw 4" a parent might say, and yet we need lists of rated mature games.

meh, maybe parents are just lazy?

Many of them only will put the effort forth to actually do some parenting if it comes with a convenient list in some denomination of 10.

Y'know, I like top 10 lists too. I should base my decisions off of them more often. And that's why my son is getting one of those nice wholesome M-rated games for Christmas.

So...what? She looked at the new games in the GameStop catalog and wrote a list? Is she an attorney or a trained monkey? ...OR BOTH!?!?!?

Apparently this bitch doesn't know about the spoiler warning. So much for playing Silent Hill.

Just remember to save first so that you can get both Achievements!

Seriously though, WTH, lady?!

It feels kinda arbitrary to limit the list to 10. Just because they are the MOST violent doesn't make #11 any more kid friendly.

She totally spoiled the end of Silent Hill: Homecoming.

Wheres GTA 4?

In GTA IV you have to work for your violence, just like in real life. You have to want to keep tappity-tap-tapping that run button and calling up blokes on your mobile, and chatting their heads of for endless minutes before you see any action. It teaches children the fundamentals.

I bet R* is devastated. It used to be that a new GTA game was released and instantly God's warriors and the "what about our children?!" crew would damn it straight to hell. Now they can't even get arrested in this town...so to speak.

The times, they are a changin.

After playing Fallout 3 shooters without destructible limbs and bloody splotches feel tame and unrealistic.

Same way first person games where I can't see my body seem dumb after playing Mirror's Edge.

Well I agree with everyone about the fact that all of those games are M rated. I think this woman should of just had one entry, M-rated games. Maybe she should be working on helping the ESRB with laws to enforce sales to minors being limited by the ratings and maybe even getting them some government funding

Ugh, because time and time again, those laws are struck down as UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and the time and effort spent in pushing those laws through despite their REPEATED failures in the courts is nothing but a WASTE of taxpayer money.

Sorry, that one strikes a nerve. >:(

It's just like movies. Theaters may not sell R-rated tickets to minors as a policy, and the MPAA may "encourage" those policies with their own sanctions (i.e. "if you don't have this policy, we won't give you the next big blockbuster movie to show on your screens"), but it never has been ILLEGAL to do so.

What a waste of time! What is she trying to achieve? The games are already properly rated, and should not be played by under 17 players without parental consent.

Has anyone here played "Blitz the League II"? I have a hard time believing that its actually more violent than Dead Space... or almost any of the other 9 for that matter.

Less chat, more making fun of the fact that Blitz: The League 2 is more violent than Dead Space.

Less chat, more making fun of the fact that you don't realize it's an alphabetical list and not an actual ranking.

If I don't perceive it then it doesn't exist.

::covers eyes::

Shopping list.

Yay another Jack Thompson

To stop those monsters, one-two-three, Here’s a fresh new way that’s trouble-free, It’s got Paul Anka’s guarantee:

Just don’t look. Just don’t look.

Actually, Kym Worthy's a good prosecutor. She got the corrupt mayor of Detroit out of office, and she doesn't use this list to intimidate anyone. She merely makes the list to inform parents and other organizations what games to watch for when trying to avoid violent content. She's in no way like Jack. She's not batshite crazy, for starters.

She's not lying on the list. These games ARE violent, and a lot of parents ignore the M-rating because they think it's no big deal, or it's just swearing or something they do at home anyway. The list just lets them know that these games might not be good for young children, despite what the parents might think of the games' ratings.

Worthy doesn't attack game publishers, or go into histrionics in court, or insult judges like Mr. Thompson did. She merely does a little research, makes a list, and lets people know about it.

There's a HUGE gap between this behavior, and the behavior of Jack Thompson. What she's doing is somewhat intelligent and responsible. What he did was an ambulance-chasing scheme to further his religious convictions and earn some money on the side while indulging his apparent insanity.

I'm 81% through Far Cry 2 and I have yet to "blow someones head off". Now Fallout, that's a different story.

And I've seen a couple of movies WAY more violent than any of these games this year. Funny Games and The Hills Have Eyes 2 are a couple of them.

Right on - even though Far Cry 2 may have you killing a lot, all you see them puff out some red and fall over. Even with all that pretty fire, nobody ever gets burned.

Maybe she should spend more time working on a way to make Detroit not a piss hole or ways to unshacke GM from retard regulations rather than waste time at the mall.

Awww man ... your government releases a christmas shoppingd list? That's so awesome. Getting a little jealous here.

Kinda ironic, I'll dub this the "Worty-List 2008" from now on.

I'm kind of proud to own 7 of the 10 games on that list now. Does someone dare challenge my title of 'most depraved' by having more?

Aww, I only own four of them...

But they are the four top ones if you remove blitz

"Thanks for the free advertising!"

Signed,
Top 10 Violent Games List

Haha, have you seen the paper that is cited as source? They have rated how games are beign marked due to their content.

ESRB gets straight A's in both marking in the ducation about the marking. Game shops get a B+, game console manufactures gets another A.'

The category Parental Involvement simply stands at "Incomplete". lol.

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Detroit prosecutor updates (makes relevant) violent games list

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