The controversial and oft-deemed unnecessary British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has gotten their grubby paws on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, and what they have to say about the game is quite interesting, indeed.
According to the BBFC, MGS4 features the "generally undetailed" violence that gamers have come to expect from the series, befitting the ’15’ rating that the board has classified it under. What might be surprising is the following line, lifted from the BBFC website:
"The game also features one use of strong language and references to suicide and an implied child rape."
Child rape, huh? Somehow that phrase seems like a trolling device devised to get the general public’s attention and generate some ill-will towards the title, rather than being an honest description of the game content. If child rape was truly an evident topic in the game, wouldn’t the board rate it a bit more harshly than ’15’? In the end, it’s the rating that counts, because words can be twisted any which way to garner a desired reaction.
Ryan Payton of Kojima Productions has responded to those words, saying, "There is no mention of rape in the game. There is mention of child trauma, which is probably why they added ‘implied.’"
[via Kotaku]
