When used in the right context swearing can be a lot of fun, right? It’s only words after all and in every day communication we all expect to hear, and most of us like to dish out, the odd profanity. But when I hear the f**k word every other sentence in Prototype 2 I just find myself switching off, not really caring about the character and the storyline anymore and feeling a little bit embarrassed, like I’m playing a game aimed at immature kids.
I’ve played many shooters in the past where swearing has been used in the right context for expressing emotion. In this situation it does make sense due to the type of characters that are cursing. But in Prototype 2, it’s simply swearing for no other reason I can think of then to cause controversy, get people talking about how vile it is, and maybe even to take the Guinness Book Of Records title of "videogame that contains the most proficient use of the word f**k."
I mean is there really any need for the character to say “f**k your f**king f**khole you f**k!” When gameplay is as much fun as it is in Prototype 2, when there are moments of such chaos filled with explosive audio, there really isn’t any need for words at all; just what is the developer trying to achieve? It doesn’t offend me at all, but it’s back-fired as far as I’m concerned: Heller is, quite frankly, a foul-mouthed dick.
What are your thoughts? Do you like swearing in videogames? Do you think Prototype 2’s language is too much, or do you think it gives the game more character?
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