10 Genius Ways Video Games Got Past The Censors

With a mediocre film, video game, then being revived into a well-made TV series, Frank Castle has been portrayed in many different industries. As for his brutal, sadistic nature, that seems to transfer in varying degrees dependent on the creator. For example, in The Punisher’s video game, you’d be able to commit horrendous acts of murder – like murder isn’t already horrendous enough – by feeding people to sharks, intimately matching them with a grenade in the confines of a coffin and chopping their head off with a ceiling fan. Goodness, they definitely got creative, and it doesn’t sound too dissimilar from the X-Men Origins Wolverine video game.

Good, if the character is violent, the video game rendition should be violent. However, if that’s your mindset then the ESRB are going to be all over your product. Initially given an 'Adults Only' rating, meaning no retailers could sell the product on their shelves, Volition knew they had to rethink their plan. They chose to keep the gore in, ripping a page out of Mortal Kombat’s book and twisting it to fit their style. They added a black and white filter to all scenes deemed too graphic. Somehow, this satisfied the rating board and The Punisher was now ready for the world to enjoy.