The ESRB was extremely busy in the last week, with some 42 submissions getting rated (including some dupes on different platforms.) Looking over the list, we can see that a controversial title finally makes good, pro basketball season is drawing near, the PC and DS platforms are dominating the amount of games getting released and the ultimate (good or bad) corporate tie-in game has surfaced.

Probably the biggest item from this weeks ESRB list is the second coming of the toned down Rockstar Games offering Manhunt 2, which received a ‘M’ for Mature rating after getting the dreaded ‘AO’ for Adults Only earlier this year. Rockstar likes to push the boundaries as evidenced by their Grand Theft Auto series, but sometimes you wonder if getting a bad “rep” can sway the ratings board when it comes to future titles. Regardless, Manhunt 2 still garnered the ‘M’ rating for Sex, Drugs, Blood violence and strong language. Something for all underage kids to look forward too.

Well, the NBA is right around the corners as no less than six of the entries were devoted to NBA 08, NBA Live 08 and NBA 08: The Life Volume 3 on six different platforms. It will be interesting to see if SCEA actually delivers a full 1080P game with NBA 08 instead of the half-ass attempt with NBA 07. Regardless, the SCEA and EA NBA offerings are all rated ‘E’ for Exploited.

If anyone thought Next-Gen consoles were the dominate platforms of the here and now, they would be dead wrong. While the Xbox 360 and PS3 have sold well in recent weeks and have many games due out, the PC and Nintendo DS remain the runaway leaders in games being rated. While many are low budget, sequels or even unnecessary, they are getting cranked out at a rate of 2 to 1 versus true next-gen games over the last two weeks.
Last but not least is our weekly ESRB coming out party, and something that looks to be a pathetic corporate tie-in for the Xbox 360 (unless of course it is free.) A game rating of E10+ was issued for Yaris for the Xbox 360. Last August there was a report that a Yaris driving game would be coming to the Xbox 360 Xbox Live Arcade service. Nothing ever happened, but the ESRB may have just breathed some new life back into that.






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