Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
No Surprises With Dragon Age II ESRB Rating
Dragon Age II is coming out next month, and the ESRB has gotten its hands on the game and assigned it an M rating. That's to be expected, but the factors that contributed to the rating shed some light on the game's content.
First of all, you've got the standard fantasy fighting stuff taken straight from the ESRB description:
Players use swords, bows and arrows, and magical spells (e.g., fireballs, energy beams) to defeat human-like enemies and fantasy creatures (e.g., giant spiders, demons, ogres, golems). Attacks are often accompanied by slashing sounds, large explosions, and cries of pain.
When the ESRB describes the romantic elements, things get a little more risque:
During the course of the game, characters sometimes engage in sexual dialogue (e.g., "Why is it always about sex with you?" and "Sailing is like sex. Do it wrong, and it'll make you sick."). Players can also initiate brief cutscene sequences in which couples (male-female or same-sex) are shown kissing and embracing one another in a bedroom as the screen fades to black.
Also, the game has – brace yourself – swears.
Does any of this influence your decision to buy the game one way or another?
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
