Older games sure do have a certain mature style to them, but not all of them got the rating they deserved. While there are some that have blood and gore, it just doesn't match up to the M-rated games of today that offer gruesome imagery that just wasn't possible in the earlier days of gaming.
Take Halo: Combat Evolved. Master Chief squares off against the Covenant in some thrilling battles that don't match up to the thrill that players experience today. It's hard to believe that game was M-rated, but back in the early 2000s, every drop of blood mattered. Here are some of those other titles that definitely don't live up to that M-rating.
10 Halo 3
This can really go out to all of the Halo games that are rated M. It is an unfair rating that has prevented some players from experiencing the franchise firsthand. Each game has the same type of gameplay with relaxed amounts of cursing that mainly focuses on the occasional swear. The blood is also something that is debatable considering the number of bloody games like Call of Duty that have received a T rating over the years. It is surprising that these games got plastered with an M rating that they didn't deserve.
9 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has had fans arguing over its rating for years due to a change in the ESRB rating after its release. The game was originally rated T, but got switched to M after they discovered a mod that could be implemented on PC that made the females appear topless when they had no clothes on. Other than that one instance that could easily be patched, the game doesn't have the extreme violence that you would find in other rated M titles and has no sexual content whatsoever. There are a few instances where characters curse, but it is few and far between.
8 Mass Effect
Mass Effect is a game that has been up for debate on whether it deserves the M rating it received. There is minimal swearing in the game that would be cause for such a harsh rating and the violence is nothing more than standard sci-fi shooter elements you would find in any movie. You shoot aliens with minimal to no blood and one of the only scenes that show gore shows almost no blood as the character is impaled on a large spike. There is sexual content, but it is nothing more that what we have seen in PG-13 movies.
7 Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is among other shooters that have been labeled that inappropriate M rating for lack of solid reasoning. Counter-Strike doesn't have the excessive blood that other shooters have and is rather relaxed when it comes to its cursing.
Granted it has scenes where you interact violently with unarmed people, but does that really justify the M rating that it has been branded with? Counter-Strike is by far one of the most relaxed shooter games that have come into the market.
6 Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry 4 is another game that doesn't really have any blood as you hack, slash, and shoot your way through demon spawns. It has sexual content, but it is nothing more than some slight shots of a woman's body. There may be some fairy-like creatures that simulate romantic love, but it is nothing more than a dance that appears on screen for less than a minute.
5 Ninety-Nine Nights
Ninety-Nine Nights is little more than a Dynasty Warriors game. It offers the same type of hack and slash gameplay that other genres have gotten a T rating for. If it weren't for some heavier story arcs than this game would have been rated T at the time, but nowadays we have those heavy storylines in more media than ever before with much more lenient ratings. This game, in particular, was rated 12+ by the PEGI system which has sparked the debate as to whether it should have that American M rating.
4 Crackdown
Crackdown is like a less violent Grand Theft Auto with no focus on sex and a large focus on violence as you take down stereotypical gangs. Nothing in the game really warrants the M rating it received accept maybe the cursing of pedestrians that you almost run over in your vehicles. Your ability to run, jump, and throw people off ledges is key to the gameplay, but it doesn't stack up to other games that have come out over the years. It is very relaxed compared to other games in its genre and doesn't offer that mature experience you would get from say Grand Theft Auto V or Saints Row IV.
3 Batman: Arkham Knight
The Batman series has always been rated T, that is until Batman: Arkham Knight. There is much to grieve about when it comes to this rating because the gameplay is exactly like that found in the other games. Suggestive themes are present just like before but are much tamer than previous installments in the series.
The blood is right along the lines of the other games as well. The only difference is the two Joker torture scenes that seem to go over the top. Even those are pretty tame compared to what they could have been.
2 Dark Souls
Let's face it, for a game with "blood and gore," Dark Souls doesn't really have gore. The enemies you encounter don't bleed an excessive amount and the violence is the same as in Dark Souls 2 (which got a T rating). It seems a bit unfair to label the original souls game in such a harsh way when there are plenty of T rated games with more blood and gore. Partial nudity is present, but it is mild in comparison to other forms of media.
1 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies
The fifth installment of the Pheonix-Wright: Ace Attorney series is up for debate on its M rating since it doesn't offer much in terms of swearing and there is no sexual content. It received the same marks as the original installment of the game. There might be a bit of blood at the murder scenes, but there is no gore happening and rather just bloody weapons. This is certainly a game that should've been rated T.