Archive for September, 2007

A new video game designed exclusively for the Xbox 360 is stirring up controversy for including an optional lesbian sex scene. “Mass Effect”, from game developer BioWare, will allow players to engage in romantic interludes with other game characters, including same-sex relationships between female characters.
Spoilers on the game were published recently by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which regulates the film and video industry in the UK. The spoilers include details about the game’s content, including a sex scene “triggered by the player making a series of choices about becoming more than friends with a colleague.”

In “Mass Effect”, players can choose to initiate romantic relationships between male characters and female human NPCs (non-player characters) or female-appearing alien NPCs—although BioWare technically specifies the aliens as being non-gendered. Female characters are allowed to choose to engage in relationships with both male humans and female-appearing aliens. The resulting sex scene includes a flash of virtual breast and, as Eurogamer.net states, “some jazz saxophone wailing in the background”.

Although the alien characters in “Mass Effect” are, as previously noted, tagged as being “non-gendered” by BioWare, their strikingly female appearance is behind the sex scene controversy.

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Nintendo’s Wii Sports leads the nominations for the 2007 British Academy Video Games Awards.
The hands-on title, which encourages people to physically participate in the virtual sports, has seven Bafta nods.

Its nominations include game of the year, innovation and multiplayer.

Crackdown, Gears of War, Okami and God of War 2 all secured five nominations.

The awards will be presented on 23 October in London.

The best game nominations also include action titles Gears of War and Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, underwater shooter Bioshock, PC title Crysis and Guitar Hero II.

In the innovation category the nominations encompass aquatic title flOw, nature adventure game Okami, role-playing game Super Paper Mario, the card battle title The Eye of Judgement, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, and Wii Sports.

The Academy recognises excellence in artistic achievement, technical achievement, gameplay, innovation, original score, use of audio, and story and character.

Other categories include the genres of action and adventure, casual, multiplayer, sports, strategy
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