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With Steamy Scenes in 'Mass Effect 2', Bioware's Bringing Sexy Back

by Amar Toor on March 1, 2010 at 06:10 PM


Video games have long been the scapegoat for many of the social ills plaguing our youth. Violence, drugs, swine flu -- you name the problem, and there's a game to blame. Perhaps foremost among the moral pestilences that gaming perpetuates is, of course, sex. While most of the sex portrayed in video games has hitherto adhered to the same old formula based on vacuous, physical allure and busty babes, a newly released sequel may have just brought sexy back in a totally different way. Its radical innovation? Making sex intimate. (Crazy, we know.)

Before you get all hot and bothered, you should know that, at no point during the game 'Mass Effect 2' do any characters actually get naked. But according to MSNBC's Winda Benedetti, such minor detail hardly matters. The sequel to 2008's controversial 'Mass Effect,' in Benedetti's opinion, offers a substantial step up from the typically puerile video game sex that has characterized most digital dalliances thus far. In 'ME2,' the sex isn't just physical; it's emotional. They may exist in 2-D, but 'ME2' characters (like Thane the Galactic Lizard Assassin) actually possess very 3-D personalities. The characters each hold unique views on life and romance, and have detailed back stories that inform their personas and behaviors. Benedetti, for instance, delved into a particular character and actually got to know him/her/it, becoming attached enough to the character that, when the time came to actually "do it," the act carried an added weight of significance.

Invariably, the game has already stirred up the same kind of controversy that its predecessor did, with many decrying what they perceive as another poison to corrupt the angelic youth of America. Hardly a bastion of purity here at Switched, but based on Benedetti's insightful review, we don't understand how even the staunchest of video game hardliners could find fault with the "sex" in 'ME2.' The game, after all, is explicitly marketed to users over the age of 17, features no nudity, and doesn't even require users to do the deed in order to advance. And besides, isn't it better to market this kind of game, in which sex is presented as something intimate and meaningful, rather than some other variant in which onscreen sex is an ego-stroking four-way from hell. [From: MSNBC]

Tags: bioware, mass effect 2, MassEffect2, role-playing, sex, sexingames, top, VideoGames

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