By Carla Hodge
As much as we all love it, gaming suffers from a bit of an image problem. And not in the 'it's just a thing for men who don't grow up' kind of way. More of a physical way, if you will. Idealized bodies are all over the virtual landscape, and occasionally it goes, well, a bit too far and into downright unnecessarily sexy. There's a time and a place, if you will. So in case you're having a bad self-esteem day and don't need to see too-sexy bodies and moments in your digital media, here's a quick run down of some characters and moments (though definitely not all) who took it a bit too far. Fair warning: it gets a little NSFW up ahead.
1. The first boss in Cho Aniki – 'Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko'
The Cho Aniki series is probably the most surreal side-scrolling shoot-em-up in the history of ever. The premise is, well, scantily clad gentleman displaying somewhat homoerotic tendencies fighting, well, other scantily clad gentleman displaying somewhat homoerotic tendencies. There's not necessarily anything overly sexy about the initial concept, but the graphical style in this particular series is...unique. Cho Aniki – Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko went for a digital photography style that highlighted the scantily cladness of its characters, and by the time you reach the first boss, well...a screenshot can say more than I ever can. You can see it in person on the US PSN network, where it is available for download.
The Cho Aniki series is probably the most surreal side-scrolling shoot-em-up in the history of ever. The premise is, well, scantily clad gentleman displaying somewhat homoerotic tendencies fighting, well, other scantily clad gentleman displaying somewhat homoerotic tendencies. There's not necessarily anything overly sexy about the initial concept, but the graphical style in this particular series is...unique. Cho Aniki – Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko went for a digital photography style that highlighted the scantily cladness of its characters, and by the time you reach the first boss, well...a screenshot can say more than I ever can. You can see it in person on the US PSN network, where it is available for download.
2. 'Rayne' from BloodRayne
A couple of generations ago, back in ye olde days of PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox, Terminal Reality released a fair-to-middling vampire hack n slash 'em up that captured the hearts and minds of many teenage boys. The development team set out to make sure Rayne was sexually attractive as well as strong and appropriately kickass. Yay empowered characters! It did all start to get a bit weird, though, when Rayne appeared in US Playboy magazine in 2004. She was the first video game character to turn up in the publication, and yes, she was topless. We'll let you besmirch your own search histories looking for the pictures.
A couple of generations ago, back in ye olde days of PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox, Terminal Reality released a fair-to-middling vampire hack n slash 'em up that captured the hearts and minds of many teenage boys. The development team set out to make sure Rayne was sexually attractive as well as strong and appropriately kickass. Yay empowered characters! It did all start to get a bit weird, though, when Rayne appeared in US Playboy magazine in 2004. She was the first video game character to turn up in the publication, and yes, she was topless. We'll let you besmirch your own search histories looking for the pictures.
3. Ivy from Soul Calibur
As we're all friends here, let's discuss a universally acknowledged truth amongst generously endowed women: support is important. Untethered cleavage during robust activity carries an element of danger; it's all fun and games til someone gets a nipple in the eye. Especially if it's your own eye. When partaking in 3D fighting games, it's advisable to wear a little more than this.
Ivy is a Soul Calibur series stalwart, and so is her undercleavage. As popular as she may as a good, difficult to master character, her outfit is most definitely not practical in any sense of the word.
4. The 'Boob Mechanics' in Dead or Alive V
Dead or Alive has always pushed the envelope when it comes to female representation. It's a series that has dedicated an unusually large amount of time to perfecting breast physics. Yup. Bearing in mind that the main series is in the fighting genre, boob moves aren't necessarily the most important thing to spend time on when stuff like move lists and balance are quite important, but hey. The pinnacle of the series, which has been building since 1996? Motion-controlled breast breast jiggling. It's a proud moment for us all.
5. The Sex Scenes in Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy
But how can a sex scene be overly sexualized, we hear you cry. It's all about context. Main protagonist Lucas is dealing with a murder he didn't commit (but probably did), being pursued by the police, hallucinations he doesn't want, and to top it all off, he's just broken up with his girlfriend. So far, so relevant to the plot. Ex-girlfriend Tiffany drops by, they get talking, guitar playing happens, and then one thing leads to another and everyone's having awkward relations. Within the context of the plot, it's all good. Unfortunately, developer Quantic Dream took it just a little bit too far and introduced, to put it delicately, a thrusting mechanic. Nobody wants that. Nobody. There's another sexytime scene later on, thankfully without the direct control, but that one still involves a now-techically-dead Lucas and is as unexpected as a thrusting mechanic in an adventure game.
As we're all friends here, let's discuss a universally acknowledged truth amongst generously endowed women: support is important. Untethered cleavage during robust activity carries an element of danger; it's all fun and games til someone gets a nipple in the eye. Especially if it's your own eye. When partaking in 3D fighting games, it's advisable to wear a little more than this.
Ivy is a Soul Calibur series stalwart, and so is her undercleavage. As popular as she may as a good, difficult to master character, her outfit is most definitely not practical in any sense of the word.
4. The 'Boob Mechanics' in Dead or Alive V
Dead or Alive has always pushed the envelope when it comes to female representation. It's a series that has dedicated an unusually large amount of time to perfecting breast physics. Yup. Bearing in mind that the main series is in the fighting genre, boob moves aren't necessarily the most important thing to spend time on when stuff like move lists and balance are quite important, but hey. The pinnacle of the series, which has been building since 1996? Motion-controlled breast breast jiggling. It's a proud moment for us all.
5. The Sex Scenes in Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy
But how can a sex scene be overly sexualized, we hear you cry. It's all about context. Main protagonist Lucas is dealing with a murder he didn't commit (but probably did), being pursued by the police, hallucinations he doesn't want, and to top it all off, he's just broken up with his girlfriend. So far, so relevant to the plot. Ex-girlfriend Tiffany drops by, they get talking, guitar playing happens, and then one thing leads to another and everyone's having awkward relations. Within the context of the plot, it's all good. Unfortunately, developer Quantic Dream took it just a little bit too far and introduced, to put it delicately, a thrusting mechanic. Nobody wants that. Nobody. There's another sexytime scene later on, thankfully without the direct control, but that one still involves a now-techically-dead Lucas and is as unexpected as a thrusting mechanic in an adventure game.
6. 'Dante' in Devil May Cry 3 (and onwards)
It's fair to say that the evolution of Dante's character (and eventual appearance in DmC) has been the subject of some controversy. Puberty changed that boy. In terms of appealing to his growing female fanbase, things started to get a little interesting around the third game in the series. Inexplicable nipple belt and glimpse of slightly sweaty abs in official artwork? Oh yes!
The transformation into full-blown 'probably wouldn't want my grandma in the room whilst I'm playing this game' happened in Devil May Cry 4, when the most overtly sexual opening of a door ever happened.
It's fair to say that the evolution of Dante's character (and eventual appearance in DmC) has been the subject of some controversy. Puberty changed that boy. In terms of appealing to his growing female fanbase, things started to get a little interesting around the third game in the series. Inexplicable nipple belt and glimpse of slightly sweaty abs in official artwork? Oh yes!
The transformation into full-blown 'probably wouldn't want my grandma in the room whilst I'm playing this game' happened in Devil May Cry 4, when the most overtly sexual opening of a door ever happened.
7. 'Oculus Rift Tenga'
Just... Just... Just Google it. Not at work. Or with a close relative in the room. Probably in Incognito Mode. And then liberally apply mind bleach. So much mind bleach.
Just... Just... Just Google it. Not at work. Or with a close relative in the room. Probably in Incognito Mode. And then liberally apply mind bleach. So much mind bleach.
RSS Feed
