Capcom

When I first saw pictures of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney making the rounds as an example of "OMG, look at this freakish Japanese weirdness", I was captivated and depressed at the same time. Captivated because the thought of taking on the role of a defense lawyer in a videogame struck me as extremely interesting and unique. Depressed, because I thought Hell would freeze over before this game would ever be released in North America.

Am I totally desensitized to violence? I wouldn't say that I was, but after reading Tera's reaction to Shadow of Rome, I think I might be. Although the game is as bloody as she says, it never affected me because I couldn't get past its artificiality.

Game Description: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney puts you in the shoes of a rookie defense lawyer trying to make his name. Take on intriguing, unusual cases and use your courtroom skills to unravel some of the most outrageous and funniest trials you've ever seen.

There's a moment halfway through Devil May Cry 3 when protagonist Dante battles a prostitute made out of bats (yes, a prostitute made out of bats). After defeating her, he's cradling her body in his arms when—poof—the bat-prostitute suddenly transforms into a purple electric guitar (yes, a purple electric guitar). What does the ever resourceful Dante do? Of course, he launches into an impromptu guitar solo.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Game Description: Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Special Edition revamps the classic Devil May Cry 3, giving you more action and adventure for a lower price. In this prequel to the original Devil May Cry, you'll play as Dante—and acrobatic, energetic half-demon with a powerful fighting style all his own.

Even when I broke from my usual cutesy fare to play Capcom's gladiator-themed action game Shadow of Rome, it wasn't the game's goriness that attracted me. As a "recovering" classics major, I was intrigued by its setting: ancient Rome in the tumultuous period between the Republic and the Empire. Nevertheless, the game's brutality made me more uncomfortable than fictional violence has made me in years.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

It's interesting that Scott mentioned my quote about preferring games that revolve "around what you do, not how you do it" in regard to Devil May Cry 3 (DMC3) because I think this is one of the rare times when my usual stance doesn't apply.

Resident Evil 4 is simply the finest videogame ever made. Nothing else even comes close. It is, bar none, the culmination of all my fondest hopes and dreams about all the things that videogames would someday accomplish, the peerless peak that I never dreamed they would reach.