When the ESRB was established to rate and label video games in 1994, many thought it was the start of something horrible, a censorship sticker slapped on the face of a burgeoning art form. But, as the catalyst for the whole mess - Mortal Kombat – found out, there was something to the sectioning off of games by age level. And it seemingly gave the giving companies free reign to do whatever they wanted in a game as long as they were okay with that MA rating. Of course the final say comes down to parents on whether or not the label matters, and generally it tends not to. The sales of MA games are still some of the highest in the industry and the violence level continuously increases. To this day, the only mainstream game labeled with the AO sticker was the hackable version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas containing the Hot Coffee sex scene. To which the game companies nod their heads, point noted – violence is okay, sex is not.

The Playstation 2 has had its fair share of blood spurting, violent games. Many of which are left alone, without a second glance toward the nature of the violence. Of course, some of these bloody good times have pushed the limits of society’s decency boundaries and inflamed outrage in various corners of the legal world. These are the top five of the blood spattering, Mature rated masterpieces available for the Playstation 2

Grand Theft Auto III - Grand Theft Auto III sprung into households with the kind of abandon that video gaming itself did 15 years earlier. Everything about the game was innovative and the fact that it was riddled with gang violence and prostitution only sweetened the deal. As the most controversial game since Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto became an immediate success and one of the keys to the PS2’s monumental success. It’s two sequels only improved the formula and now the genre itself is occasionally labeled as GTA clones.

God of War – As you slip back in time to the years of Greek Gods and Heroes, you play as a Spartan in debt to Ares, God of War, and you’re mad….really mad. The level of violence is almost overlooked because of how incredibly cool every move, screen and battle are, but it’s there and it’s brutal. What would you expect from a pissed off Spartan though?

Silent Hill 2 – Survival horror got its start on the playstation, and with Silent Hill found an entirely new outlet. The new kind of scary, the psychologically, just plain wrong kind infuse this game with enough creepy twists and jump inducing moments to keep you coming back for more again and again. Each game seems to reach new levels of creepy, and the Japanese sure know how to do creepy.

Shin Megami Tensei – Atlus’s RPG series does away with the high fantasy, cutesy mascot infused world of the modern RPG and goes for something much much darker. In Nocturne, you become infused with the power to absorb and take the powers of demons. The archaic runes, dark symbols and off screen violence all serve to make this a deeply dark RPG for the adult crowd.

Resistance Fall of Man – The PS3’s first and best MA rated game, Resistance Fall of Man is World War II on steroids. Instead of blasting Nazis you’re blasting aliens and it’s gruesome. The power of the console stands out in sharp relief behind the violence you’re able to reap on these horrific creatures. If this is a taste of things to come, I can’t wait to see the next round of shooters.