CRAZY (DISTURBING) FOREIGN GAMES

BATTLE RAPER (Illusion, Japan, 2002)

I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in an environment with no irrational fears concerning my media intake. I was always allowed to gauge for myself, what was appropriate and what was not, and games were no exception. I still remember every joke that I didn't understand from Rock Star Ate My Hamster and Leisure Suit Larry. I've never had to defend the medium that I care so much for, at least not in the sense that it is an inherently bad and morally depraved one. However, certain idiots cannot be avoided, especially with the media voicing them, Jack Thompson to name just one. So, it is with some relief that I can say that Battle Raper was never released outside of Japan, because if the opposition ever got hold of this one, they would have a field day.

Battle Raper is a 3D Fighter which sees you battling through scores of females who are 'willing to put up a fight'. Your melee attacks allow you to strip, grope and sexually attack your opponents. The game is punctuated by pre-rendered rape cutscenes and the ability to simply have virtual sex with them- a la hot coffee, I presume - once the game is complete. I understand Hentai and its place within Japanese popular culture. I have no problem with it at all, and really I have no objection to this game, living under the notion of 'different strokes for different folks' - if I don't want to play it, I don't have to.

I consider myself to be very open-minded and accepting of different tastes, and usually I would just bypass something like Battle Raper. However, something about this game identified just how different games tastes are between the East and the West, or at least how different tastes are considered to be more acceptable in the East. As well as being the starting point for this hopefully ongoing feature, Battle Raper struck a chord with me for another reason. One particularly disturbing feature of the game made it worth sharing and puts Manhunt and co. firmly in the 'tame' category. Fighting against the game's final Boss, and only male character, Zenon, you will be subjected to a particularly off-putting special move. Zenon grabs the female character by the head and rams her straight into his crotch, forcing her to give him oral sex. The worst part is the tears, which are added for effect, coupled with a zoomed camera, firmly upon the distressed look on your character's face. Its important for me to point out, that the 'wang' is most definitely blurred out, but it still has the same effect.

I want to make it clear, that the intention for this is not some sort of expose' on the worst of what video games has to offer, but is simply to provide a window into a very different world from our own. I hope that we can bring you some more 'crazy' and less 'distubring' games in the future.

The Faux-Bot