God of War III guilty of demeaning women?

by Stevie Smith - Mar 11 2010, 09:50

While the God of War series is generally renowned for its violent action and sense of scale, the unflinching story of Kratos, hero of Sparta, has also managed to raise a few eyebrows when it comes to its interactive sex scenes. The latest such moment of videogame copulation comes (ahem) courtesy of God of War III.

Somewhat ironically, and as with previous God of War sex scenes, the brief and otherwise unnecessary sexual encounter (it adds nothing to gameplay value) reveals the mighty Kratos to be, shall we say, lacking when it comes to stamina and self-control.

Either that or carnal pleasures are not his focus and he’s simply keen to return to the gory disembowelment of enemies while attempting to bring down the Gods of Olympus. Whatever floats your boat.

Starting with a three-way lesbian entanglement involving topless nymphs with seemingly insatiable appetites and impossibly perfect breasts, the ‘action’ soon reverts to a one-on-one heterosexual clinch as Kratos enters the fray (no, that’s not a euphemism), and two of the luscious ladies exit screen right.

At this point, the game camera shifts from the steamy love den to the now-departed nymphs watching intently from the wings as their mistress plates herself for the Spartan’s amusement and moans in ecstasy upon the execution of every suggestive button prompt. Girl gamers are likely to feel extraordinarily empowered.

Reacting directly to the apparent thrills taking place before them, the scene’s two internal spectators soon set their lustful frustrations free and bring events to a close by groping each other with gay abandonment.

Videogames get unfairly lumped with all of society’s ills. Whether it’s a school shooting or some other hideous crime, a tenuous link back to the popular interactive pastime always seems to emerge.

However, otherwise pointless moments of titillation designed to excite young boys (read: the recent naked character hack in Heavy Rain or the infamous Hot Coffee mod in Grand Theft Auto) certainly don’t help the industry’s mainstream standing.

God of War III’s sex scene may be waved away as little more than smut insofar as it’s not visually gratuitous, but some may condemn it for serving no purpose within the context of the game, for demeaning and objectifying women, and for being low-brow in the extreme.

Watch and comment.

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