Shadow Hearts: From the New World – Consumer Guide

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Parents, although there are a slew of warnings on the back of the box, in truth this game is pretty mild. But, things to watch out for include sexual innuendo (of both the hetero and homo varieties), an overly-endowed female character who goes almost completely naked during an often-seen clip that plays during battle, and a few scenes of mild violence. The overriding comedic tone and nonsensical attitude of the game blunts a lot of this content, but be aware that it's here.

RPG fans will find a game that is technically excellent but fails to deliver an engaging or even interesting story. The characters are a wildly diverse hodgepodge that don't mesh well with the overall adventure, and if battles and combat systems aren't enough to keep your attention, you are better served looking elsewhere for an RPG fix.

Shadow Hearts fans will find a game that sticks very closely to the structure established in the previous two titles, yet goes further than ever before with over-the-top absurdity. In this particular case, I can't say that this is a very good thing, but if you don't mind a plot and characters that are the videogame equivalent of twinkie fluff, you might find enough here to satisfy.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers will be just fine. Dialogue in the game is accompanied by subtitles, and are no significant auditory cues.