The Entertainment Software Ratings Board as a marketing tool, imagine that. After reading their description for Epic Games' upcoming gorefest Bulletstorm, I'm sold.
The story, set in the future, follows two guys trying to escape a deadly planet and punish the people who put them. Really though, the first-person shooter is mostly just about putting an array of over-the-top firearms in your virtual hands and then using said firearms to carpet the world in blood and bits of gore. And the ESRB description captures that beautifully.
"This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of a space pirate who must escape a planet populated by mutant cannibals. Players use futuristic machine guns, shotguns, magnum revolvers, assault rifles, and chain guns to perform over-the-top kills that dismember and decapitate foes. Injured enemies emit large sprays of blood that stain the ground and surrounding walls. Specialty kills (i.e., Skillshots) represent the most intense instances of violence: enemies can be dismembered with explosives; impaled on spikes; and drilled into walls, resulting in body parts breaking into pieces. During the course of the game, players can consume alcohol and kill enemies in order to receive an Intoxicated Skillshot; the screen turns blurry during these sequences. The dialogue contains numerous jokes and comments that reference sexual acts, venereal diseases, and having sex with one's mother (e.g., "Guess I know where the ol' gal got that limp."). The names of some Skillshots are infused with sexual innuendo (e.g., Gag Reflex, Rear Entry, Drilldo, Mile High Club); one Skillshot (i.e., Fire in the Hole) allows players to shoot at enemies' exposed buttocks. Language such as "f**k," "sh*t," "p***y," and "c**k" can be heard in dialogue."
Is that a thing of beauty or what? I especially like the fact that the description writer felt the need to pull a quote from the game to illustrate exactly how "sex with one's mother" jokes manifest. Nobody can say the ESRB doesn't have a sense of humor. Remember, this is the same game for which packages of rancid meat were sent out to news outlets as a PR gimmick.
Bulletstorm will be released on February 22 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PCs.
[via GamesRadar]