It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

And for Reach?

Probably just inertia. Once a series gets classified, I'm guessing things don't get changed unless there's seen to be a fundamental shift in the series itself.

I sort of doubt the ratings body is bothering to ensure people are blind about that sort of thing-- not knowing who makes a game or what previous entries in the series are rated-- which, strictly speaking, they probably should be.

Really though? If I'm 13, I get Halo: ODST because it's only 'T' and I like it, am I not going to want to play the other Halos? But if following the ESRB guidelines I'd have to wait another 4 years!

I'm not saying there's not a good reason for there to be that kind of continuity.

I am saying that the shoestring way the ESRB operates, there is no guarantee there will be any. The reviewers who see a sequel publsihed ten years after the original will not be the same ones who reviewed the original, and operating the way they do, they don't have the resources to make reviewers look at older games as well as newer ones-- they barely have the resources to complete modern games and see all the content as it is, to say nothing of the challenges of reviewing sandbox games.

After the ESRB saw a human combat form having bits blown off of it, it was "remove the flood or get an M". So we took the M and put all the blood splatter back in because screw you guys.

As for ODST and Reach, it didn't matter by that point, so I don't think any effort was made for T.

Just an old tidbit I remember, but information could've emerged later to invalidate it. Or I might be off my rocker.

Or so says Polygon.

Was anyone here ever affected by Halo's M rating? I never was and I certainly started playing it a bit before I "should have." Destiny's T rating amuses me though, since I now have a piece of fan fiction higher rated than the game it's based on. :)

I always thought M was a little high for Halo. Other than the kinda gross flood, they didn't really do much on gore, and there wasn't much profanity to speak of (Xbox live is another thing). I've kinda viewed Halo on the same level as Star Wars. Both bluelings have been playing Halo from an early age and they're both...well, they might not be the best example.

It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

It was actually the political climate, post 9/11, I believe. You can still find images of the Halo: CE box art with a T-rating out there in the wild. Or on Google.

I always thought M was a little high for Halo. Other than the kinda gross flood, they didn't really do much on gore, and there wasn't much profanity to speak of (Xbox live is another thing). I've kinda viewed Halo on the same level as Star Wars. Both bluelings have been playing Halo from an early age and they're both...well, they might not be the best example.

It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

Never really understood that.

Flood don't even bleed red, most of them aren't even human, and later in the series, aren't even humanoid anymore. (Red blood seems to have been an issue for previous games in markets sensitive to violence.)

Yeah, but some of them are human. Deformed. Limbs and even heads are able to be blown off by players pre- and postmortem. The green-grey 'blood' evokes rotting and disease in animals.

The fluctuations over time in what constitutes M or T seem to be quite large.

Not that age scales are that great to begin with but the ESRB scale is messed up: 10, 13.... 17, 18 - wtf?
PEGI (Europe) is 7, 12, 16, 18 and BBFC (UK) is PG, 12, 15, 18.

Halo was always rated 16 by PEGI and 15 by BBFC. Both boards actually use their 18+ category. Whereas AO in ESRB is basically a death-sentence since no stores will carry AO games.

As another point of comparison, Gears of War got 18 classification in PEGI and BBFC, but M(17+) in ESRB. Only because that's the highest ESRB can give it without effectively banning it.

It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

And for Reach?

Probably just inertia. Once a series gets classified, I'm guessing things don't get changed unless there's seen to be a fundamental shift in the series itself.

I sort of doubt the ratings body is bothering to ensure people are blind about that sort of thing-- not knowing who makes a game or what previous entries in the series are rated-- which, strictly speaking, they probably should be.

Really though? If I'm 13, I get Halo: ODST because it's only 'T' and I like it, am I not going to want to play the other Halos? But if following the ESRB guidelines I'd have to wait another 4 years!

It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

And for Reach?

Probably just inertia. Once a series gets classified, I'm guessing things don't get changed unless there's seen to be a fundamental shift in the series itself.

I sort of doubt the ratings body is bothering to ensure people are blind about that sort of thing-- not knowing who makes a game or what previous entries in the series are rated-- which, strictly speaking, they probably should be.

I always thought M was a little high for Halo. Other than the kinda gross flood, they didn't really do much on gore, and there wasn't much profanity to speak of (Xbox live is another thing). I've kinda viewed Halo on the same level as Star Wars. Both bluelings have been playing Halo from an early age and they're both...well, they might not be the best example.

It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

Never really understood that.

Flood don't even bleed red, most of them aren't even human, and later in the series, aren't even humanoid anymore. (Red blood seems to have been an issue for previous games in markets sensitive to violence.)

The fluctuations over time in what constitutes M or T seem to be quite large.

It was the Flood that earned Halo that M.

And for Reach?

Wasn't there some comment about torture along with some blood trails?

Reach had Kat's death. ODST had... Sadie's Story?

Yeah, and see, I loved that. I know they're going for that original Star Wars vibe, which is awesome. After seeing what games can do over the past several years, though, I was kind of hoping for more mature fare.

Then again, the original Star Wars vibe … YES.

Or so says Polygon.

Was anyone here ever affected by Halo's M rating?

Chortle. Yeah, they told me that it was rated Mature, so I shouldn't let me my kids play it.

I'm actually slightly disappointed with the news. I kind of wanted a story that wasn't afraid to go to dark places, but speaking of dark places, I had just as much anxiety roaming the abandoned buildings in the alpha as I ever felt facing the flood, including the first time.

But ratings are weird.

BTW, I do consider Reach and even ODST more adult games than the original Halo. Can't say why exactly.

Then again, plastic lightsaber battles at my house do tend to get out of hand.