Don't Eat the Messenger: Family Group Lists Cannibal Games for Your Xmas List

Groups Protest Cannibalism In Video Games

from WFMY

Washington, DC - Games featuring graphic scenes of cannibalism, F.E.A.R. and Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse, were among the 12 "games to avoid" listed by the National Institute on Media and the Family.

"It's something we've never seen before," said institute president David Walsh, warning that today's games are "more extreme" and more easily available to underage kids than ever before.

In Stubbs the Zombie, the lead character eats the brains of humans as blood splatters across the screen.

"It's just the worst kind of message to kids," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-CT, who joined institute officials at a press conference announcing the group's 10th annual video game report card. "They can be dangerous to your children's health."

Hal Halpin, head of Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, an industry trade group, defended such games, saying they are rated M, not intended for children under 17.

"It's not appropriate for kids and it is clearly labeled that way," said Halpin. "There are R-rated movies and DVDs."

The institute showed video clips that included gang warfare against police in The Warriors and a rogue police officer gunning down victims in True Crime: New York City.

Blitz: The League has scenes of football players hiring prostitutes and engaging in drug deals, Walsh noted. Doom 3, Resident Evil 4, and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories also made the list.

Walsh, meanwhile, cited increases of 3,000 percent in profanity and 800 percent in sexual content in M-rated games since the 1990s. He also said the industry's Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which assigns game ratings, is "broken and beyond repair." Walsh's group plans to organize a summit next year to create a new ratings system.