I did chuckle at some of the explanatory statements in the essay; The ESRB describes several of the games gory kill scenes in great detail and then concludes one paragraph stating “Blood sometimes accompanies the acts of violence.” Maybe it’s my ironic sense of humor, but I couldn’t help but generate a sarcastic “Ya think?” in my head while reading.
The third paragraph of the ratings synopsis does contain the kind of spoiler that may actually take away from the game’s shock value, as it’s the kind of event that relates heavily to character immersion for the player. Other confirmed content includes various scenes of torture, male and female nudity and strong use of expletives throughout.
Cleary, the ESRB gave Heavy Rain a Mature rating due to its raw content, although it does appear that the game’s graphics are terrific. The ESRB reports “overall, the game’s highly evolved motion-capture graphics (advanced renderings by 2010 standards) sharpen the sense of realism, increasing the impact of some aspects of pertinent content”.
Actually, Heavy Rain’s spoiler-filled rating synopsis is so juicy that it will probably be responsible for an additional 5,000 copies sold once word gets around.
Source: ESRB
