Would you consider Civilization "violent"?

[aimeeandbeatles]

Recently I went with my mom to put Civ IV: Complete on layaway at Walmart (didn't have the $40-something at the moment). I noticed a weird buzzer went off and asked, the cashier said because you had to be at least 17 to buy the game, it's a good thing that my mom was there. (The irony of it is that the game is supposed to be a present for my 17th birthday, which is on September 3.)

So, I've been thinking... would you consider Civilization "violent"? Sure, there's battles in it, but if you kill someone they basically just fall down and melt into the ground. Nothing like some games I've seen the 8-year-old neighbor playing (my mom sent me down to get something they borrowed)

 

[Ramesses]

I mean, yeah it's violent, but it's not so violent as to require a 17+ rating. Sure, you have guys shooting each other in the face, but there's no blood or gore, death is hardly graphic (they just get knocked down), and it is really no more violent than your average turn-based RPG.

Whoever owns that store is being completely ridiculous.

EDIT: Post No. 666.

 

[Atranox]

The ESRB is usually pretty strict with their ratings...and they gave Civ4 an "E" (Everyone) rating, which means anyone 10+ years of age. I never heard of a store, especially WalMart, setting their own standards for games over the ESRB rating. That's really odd. I think it's ridiculous that they would want you to be 17 for this game.

 

[attackfighter]

lol a buzzer went off over that... everyone would think you're shoplifting or something

But yeah I think the whole age rating thing is ********, I'm 18 and I could pass for much older, but I still get asked for ID when I try buying games like Oblivion and stuff. It's not like cigarettes or alcohol, so I don't get why it's such a big deal.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'm in Canada, so I'm not sure if that's got anything to do with the ESRB.

 

[jeffreyac]

My first thought was a miscoded ESRB rating in the store's system. Never heard of Civ having any aspects that would require an age limit to purchase.

I mean, yeah, there's slavery, sacrificial altars, weapons of mass destruction, genocide...

...but other than that, nothing REALLY bad!

(just kidding of course - the point from the ESRB being, there isn't graphic violence in the graphics of the game!)

EDIT: Oh, forgot piracy - how could I forget that one???

 

[Nyarlathothep]

Well, the idea of war is certainly a violent one. It is a cruel game, exterminating entire civilizations, using weapons, ... wait. It is all a simulation. Based on a board game. It is like chess plus.

To be honest, if you cannot buy CIV at the age of 16, you shouldn't be able to buy a newspaper, read a history book, play chess or watch the television news either.

Let's incarcerate all the little boys with their abominous toy guns!


I think it is ridiculous to classify CIV as violent.

 

[Badtz Maru]

Fall from Heaven has blood spraying in the combat animations, but I don't think that "feature" is in the Age of Ice scenario that comes with BtS...was this just CivIV or some pack that includes all the expansions?

 

[Lone Wolf]

but I don't think that "feature" is in the Age of Ice scenario that comes with BtS.

It's not.

 

[sakhmet]

No buzzers in denmark...

 

[civverguy]

No it isn't violent at all. I find a lot of games are ESRB rated higher than they should be.

 

[Gorey]

It's violent when someone backstabs me and im not prepared for it. Usually followed by lots of swearing.

 

[pesgores]

here there are no age restraints for buying videogames.

+17 for Civ? Oh, the Humanity.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Civ IV is playable at all ages although since it's complex I would not recommend it to young children. Unless they're prodigies or have stuffy will and will brute force their way to improvement (for example, the kind of kid who beats dragon warrior before he's just barely able to read...)

Yes, I seriously beat dragon warrior with all its text based combat and clues to progress on brute force trial. If one grinds enough and just keeps trying items everywhere...

Anyway civ IV is not a violent game by any rational gaming standards.

 

[eris]

Actually, I have gotten into this discussion with my kids. I highly disapprove of violent video games. I refuse to buy them for my kids. I wouldn't even buy them an XBOX unless they could show me a game they wanted that wasn't a fist person shooter. One of them ended up get a couple of extra jobs and money and bought his own.

The question becomes how does a game in which world war is a factor become somehow less violent than a first person shooter? Obviously, blood and gore depiction become factors. The personalization of the violence is what gets to me, the idea of being a violent individual. I can plot world domination, but I wouldn't slap someone in real life. It is an interesting contradicition.

It is my contention that Civ does embrace large scale violence but manages to abstract it to an acceptable level. Practicing to take over the world is not quite like practicing to shoot down or rob everyone you meet. Interestingly enough, while completely disagreeing with me, the kids fully respect my opinions and humor me, at least while I am still in the room.

Also interesting is the fact that while my kids love first person shooters and all that, they play Civ as builders and go for culture victories or space races.

 

[Kesshi]

It's violent when someone backstabs me and im not prepared for it. Usually followed by lots of swearing.

Civ is only violent when I play with Random Events or Barbarians turned on. Other than that it's quite peaceful.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

I never heard of a store, especially WalMart, setting their own standards for games over the ESRB rating.

Who are you kidding? WalMart will usher in a new era of corporate fascism. Gear up, baby, the townie's corner store everyone used to go to will be another vacant shell before long.

 

[GrayingGamer]

Mass nuking and genocide. It's not graphic, but it's definitely violent.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Who are you kidding? WalMart will usher in a new era of corporate fascism. Gear up, baby, the townie's corner store everyone used to go to will be another vacant shell before long.

It's a safe bet that WalMart will not censor something it could otherwise sell to make money. I trust walmart a lot more than convoluted health care or other horribly run systems. At least walmart is predictable and doesn't imply services it does not produce. What you see is what you get, a not-so-clean store with questionable organization, decent prices and a bloodthirsty attitude towards suppliers and competitors.

Nothing wrong with buying civ there if it's convenient for you.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

What you see is what you get, a not-so-clean store with questionable organization, decent prices and a bloodthirsty attitude towards suppliers and competitors.

You're clearly not informed as to how those low prices are actually achieved. That's okay, most people aren't. I'm an advocate for "buy wherever you feel comfortable". But that doesn't mean that Walmart and similar businesses aren't a major cause of the downfall of the middle class. Bye bye small businesses... bye bye mom & pop stores... hello corporate fascist hell.