God of War is an American hack and slash video game that was developed by SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 on March 22, 2005. Due to rating issues regarding violence the amount of violence in the game, the German release had to be censored. In 2018, God of War was among many games that were banned in Saudi Arabia after pre-teen suicides were associated with the "Blue Whale" challenge.
Censorship[]
German and European censorship[]
How God of War Has Been Censored In Europe
- The game was originally refused a rating, and could not be released in Germany as a result. A censored version was later rated and released in Germany. The EU version of the game is also censored like the German version.
- The puzzle that involves a human sacrifice was modified for the German release. In the German version, the human was changed to a monster being sacrificed.
- Any scene that shows a human character in a metal cage was modified for the German release. In the German version they were changed to monsters.
- The dialogue between Kratos and the human soldier trapped in the metal cage was modified for the German release. In the German version the human is now a monster, and the dialogue was muted.
- The note that says "I know I am weak but I can not be a part of this. I have failed Athens." it was changed to "What the Gods asks me I can not do, even for Pandora's box. They are monsters now, and they were once men."[1]
Japanese censorship[]
- You can no longer defeat fleeing civilians.
- Limbs can no longer be cut off.
- Any scene that shows topless female characters was modified for the Japanese release. In the Japanese version, the characters are fully clothed.
- The scene that shows a human character in a metal cage was modified for the Japanese release. In the Japanese version a monster was in the cage.
Saudi Arabian censorship[]
- God of War was among 47 games that were banned in Saudi Arabia due to unspecified violent content after a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl had allegedly committed suicide after participating in an online "Blue Whale" challenge.[2][3]
United Arab Emirates censorship[]
- The game was banned due to it's language and scenes that go against the teachings of Islam.[4]
Where to find it uncensored[]
The original American version is uncensored.
References[]
- ↑ God of War by Schaffi and Bravia, Schnittberichte.com. 2007-08-17.
- ↑ Saudi Arabia Bans Video Games due to Child Deaths, Saudi Arabia OFW. 2018-07-18.
- ↑ Blue Whale: What is the truth behind an online 'suicide challenge'? by Ant Adeane, BBC News. 2019-01-13.
- ↑ United Arab Emirates bans God of War
External links[]
- God of War (2005) at the God of War Wiki
- God of War (2005 video game) at Wikipedia