A "Dead or Alive" game earning an "Mature" rating from the ESRB is about as newsworthy as a Wii game coming in a white box, but official description for Tecmo's "Dead or Alive: Paradise" describes the game in language that aspiring trash romance novel authors may wish to take note of. Anyone picking up "DoA: Paradise" should expect nothing less than the nearly-naked female cast members the series has built its reputation on, and according to the ESRB, they go through some truly "voyeuristic" activities this time around.
"Throughout the game players can view characters engaging in variety of activities -- pole dancing, stretching, gyrating to music, and climbing trees," the author of the ESRB synopsis wrote on ESRB.org. "Characters are frequently displayed in compromising position (e.g., buttocks up in the air, legs splayed open, straddling tree trucks, etc.) during these activities. These scenes can often feel voyeuristic as players control the camera to rotate, pan, and zoom in on various body parts as they photograph the characters in different poses."
The number of verbs included in in the review is respectable and definitely justifies the Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Simulated Gambling tags listed at the top of the entry as reasons for the M-rating.
The write-up was changed from an earlier version that also called the game "cheesy" and "creepy," but those words were edited out for being too subjective.
"We recognize that the initial version improperly contained subjective language and that issue has been addressed," ESRB spokesperson Eliot Mizrachi told GamePro.
Anyhow, the game was screened and rated, so any of you who need more tree-trunk-straddling in your gaming diets can sleep easy tonight knowing that "DoA: Paradise" is on the fastrack to UMD's and the PSN.
Do you plan on picking up "DoA: Paradise"? What do you think of the ESRB's evaluation? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.