PETA condemns brutal Battlefield 3 rat stabbing

By Fred Dutton Published 7 November, 2011

Worries "young males" might get ideas.

Animal rights group PETA has accused Battlefield 3 developer DICE of encouraging sadistic violence towards animals.

A press release issued by the organisation's German office and translated by Battlefield3blog, condemns a sequence in the game's third single player mission where players can nonchalantly impale a rat with a knife.

"The realistic computer game Battlefield 3 treats animals in a sadistic manner. The game gives players the option to kill a rat with a combat knife in the back in order to then lift it by its tail, then toss it away," it read.

The statement went on to claim this sort of shocking violence can have can have "a brutalising effect on the young male target audience."

"There have been repeated cases of animal cruelty in Germany, where young people kill animals. Inspiration behind these acts often came from movies and computer games."

This isn't the first time that PETA has got its knickers in a twist over a video game. Last year it expressed outrage at the lack of a vegetarian option in fleshy indie platformer Super Meat Boy, countering with a spoof effort called Super Tofu Boy, much to developer Team Meat's amusement.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (153) Latest comment 3 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Pinky_Floyd #1 4 months ago

    So its OK to shoot people in the face? Phew!
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/11 @ 21:13

  • Bennyjj81 #2 4 months ago

    They're right you know, every rat I've seen I've wanted to stab, I'm obsessed, HELP ME PETA!! Battlefield 3 has warped my mind!!

  • bobfish09 #3 4 months ago

    LAWL

  • NunianVonFuch #4 4 months ago

    It's a rat. Safer to stab it than to pet it!

  • puddleduck #5 4 months ago

    In other news a team of hamsters have complained that there is no footage of them devouring their young. They feel that this puts out a bad message to contemporary human society about having children and will only lead to malnutrition in adults. Further to this, an unmanageable population crisis that could lead to a shortage of nuts and congested tubes.

  • Daddy-Doom-Bar #6 4 months ago

    Well, they're right. I've brutally murdered 26 rats since playing it. But does it count that I'm not young anymore?

  • Goodfella #7 4 months ago

    @Pinky_Floyd

    I think any sensible person knows they're only killing digital enemies who are frankly deserving of being killed, you know, terrorism and all that?

    The problem with the rat killing is that it's totally out of place and sadistic. Why on earth did Dice put it there?

  • Rajin #8 4 months ago

    Ah right... we all just love rats don't we?? Surely the guys from PETA hug them daily down in the sewers?

    God these hypocrits really have to much time on their hands.

    Edit: Not that i promote animal cruelty, but this is just such a waste of time(although i do hate rats, come live in one of the Dutch cities near a ''Gracht'')
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/11 @ 21:32

  • Cowbomb #9 4 months ago

    Fuck rats.

  • mingster #10 4 months ago

    lol this is a joke article right?

  • artibeus #11 4 months ago

    As soon as I saw that scene in the game I KNEW some c**t would cry about it.

  • Entity #12 4 months ago

    I DIDN'T HAVE 'THE OPTION'!

    It was just an animated sequence.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/11 @ 21:23

  • sirtacos #13 4 months ago

    I can sort of understand where they come from if the rat stabbing were totally unnecessary and out of place. As in, if the game's protagonist was just strolling along, capping insurgents, when suddenly he happened upon a rat and decided to skewer it for absolutely no reason. Problem is; that's not what happens.

    One would think an organisation committed to animal welfare would have more worthwhile things to worry about.
    Then again, it's PETA; a group that - despite its worthy causes - has a history of undermining itself with ridiculous shit like this.
    Edited by 4 at 07/11/11 @ 22:07

  • el_pollo_diablo #14 4 months ago

    As much as I hate animal cruelty, do be careful PETA, because you're starting to sound like the Christian Mothers, or whatever that group is called.

  • Sodding_Gamer #15 4 months ago

    But we don't want another Plague people!

  • Kengro #16 4 months ago

    For f**k's sake... Don't they have anything better to do, fu*k peta

  • Cypher_2011 #17 4 months ago

    The rat attacked Blackburn, so who is really to blame!! FU PETA

  • Bahumet #18 4 months ago

    I just killed about 50 of the blighters with a huge spear in Dark Souls. Does that make me a bad person?

  • darkmorgado #19 4 months ago

    Considering that PETA destroy thousands of animals every year, I'm calling "hypocrites" on this one. And, in fact, anything that comes out of that stinking, lunatic extremist organisation.

    Seriously, do some reading. They're completely fucked in the head.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/11 @ 21:40

  • Drunk-Si #20 4 months ago

    Even though it has been really tempting I just can't be arsed to crawl around the pavement looking for rats to stab.

  • ghearoid #21 4 months ago

    A rat? They're worried about a fucking rat in a videogame?

    Well that explains which fuckwits are voting for Frankie on X Factor.

  • doragonpawwa #22 4 months ago

    What about the undead???

    They deserve equal rights like every living thing on this planet, bias fools....

  • solidpes #23 4 months ago

    Would you rather stab a rat or die? Think PETA think. If you fail to stab that rat, then you will get a nice scene.

  • Jacksie66 #24 4 months ago

    They didnt complain when you shot the shit outta a load of chickens in Modern Warfare 2.

    Sad, sad little fuckers you are PETA...

  • Jacksie66 #25 4 months ago

    And the monkeys in Black Ops...

  • Hindle #26 4 months ago

    Fuck off Peta, go and hug a tree.

  • alcides #27 4 months ago

    Rats are pests.

  • kowst #28 4 months ago

    Someone please show them that you can throw sheep in Black and White, the press release condemning that would be hilarious.

  • Whizzo #29 4 months ago

    You click one mouse/pad button because the bloody thing attacks you first and has its teeth in your finger*, I'm sure the ROE concerning vermin would class that as a justifiable act.

    Either way, it's just a bloody rat in a game where you actively shoot lots of humans and a nuke goes off in a capital city.

    Edit: replayed the section to confirm what happens.

    *I hope Blackburn got some shots after he returned to his unit.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/11 @ 22:06

  • BigDannyH #30 4 months ago

    As much as this scene (and the whole SP) sounds crap, come on PETA, get a grip. There are clearly more pressing concerns.

  • Lightguy #31 4 months ago

    PETA in 'desperate attention seeking' shocker!

  • aphex187 #32 4 months ago

    Oh fo please!! *damn! i'm gonna get a letter bomb for that eek!

  • Toothball #33 4 months ago

    PETA seem to be pretty good at PR for games, I wonder what their rates are.

  • -cerberus- #34 4 months ago

    Ugh... Look, I'm an ALF supporter and a vegetarian and frankly, yes, killing pixels that look like animals in games disturbs me so I simply avoid it whenever possible. But if I would, it certainly wouldn't give me any ideas for you see, my parents taught me strong moral values. Miraculously, I also have a fully functional brain and I'm able to make the distinction between reality and fiction.
    For PETA to cry wolf again is just so fucking typical and embarrassing it makes me cringe. If there is a finger to point, don't point it at harmless entertainment but at the people misinterpreting entertainment as training.

    Finally, if hurting any living creature in games make you want to hurt living creatures in real life, you're fucked up in the head and video games are not for you. Get some professional help instead.

  • grover #35 4 months ago

    In fairness to PETA if they made a videogame it would almost certainly have better single player than Battlefield 3.

  • dudefella #36 4 months ago

    @Bahumet fuck no, they give you Humanity don't they?

  • 3william56 #37 4 months ago

    Easy boys. There will be a PETA poster with some hot nekkid woman cuddling a rat in a few days. That will make it all better.

    And anyway - compared to what the Worms and Lemmings went through, one rat is hardly a big deal.

  • eviroboy #38 4 months ago

    I thought it was in the head rather than the back but hey-ho wasn't really paying attention tbh, I was more concerned about the people wandering around with flashlights and those shooty shooty bang bang sticks.

    Well done PETA for making yourselves out to be bigger pricks than people thought.

    Btw was there a similar furore over Fallout 3? Some of the foods were a little suspect and I doubt they were made in sanitary conditions either...but then again it probably wasn't as big headline material *yawn*, so be quiet while I chomp on a nice Iguana on a stick.

  • Rajin #39 4 months ago

    @Bahumet

    No that earns you ''humanity''!:p

  • zubnut #40 4 months ago

    I had to check the date when I read this.
    Has to be a wind up- if not, whoever their spokesperson is needs to be sacked. Unfuckingbelievable

    And sort the site out so I don't have to go back and edit unfinished posts!
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/11 @ 22:53

  • Futaba #41 4 months ago

    The game is rated 16+. I'd hardly describe that as a 'young male target audience'. And if someone is stabbing animals, they wouldn't be getting the idea from a computer game, they'd just be a psychopath in the making.

  • obscured021 #42 4 months ago

    You dirty rat!

  • ucankurbaga #43 4 months ago

    In vampire masqureadon Bloodlines you eat a rat.

  • ajaxpliskin #44 4 months ago

    PETA better not watch Total Recall. Rictor blows a mouse away with 9mm uzi, and then cohagen kicks over a fish tank of real fish!

  • gjgjg #45 4 months ago

    @Jacksie66 even got an achievement for that one.

  • tangoownage #46 4 months ago

    I loled hard at the topic

  • Inmediasress #47 4 months ago

    hahahahahah!
    Now this is what I call comedy.

  • Bravestinsane #48 4 months ago

    Target audience is 18+ morons

  • bengaming #49 4 months ago

    PETA is crazy as usual. That said, it upsets me on a personal level that DICE feels the need to contribute to the bad rep that rats constantly get. The ones kept as pets are very loving and intelligent little critters. Not at all like the ones you might find in a sewer.

  • FWB #50 4 months ago

    Rats carry disease. Best stab it. Best stab them all.

  • Morte-360 #51 4 months ago

    This is almost to funny and stupid. How many times has any one actually tried something they have seen in a video game? PETA must not live in the same reality as anyone else. They do realise that anyone who seriously considers grabing a knife and impaling a rat isn't a young male gamer, hes utterly crazy or perhaps pissed out of his skull.

  • danidrums #52 4 months ago

    A rat? Nope, Chuck Testa.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XTlnNq90WA&feature=rel ated

  • King_of_Hyrule #53 4 months ago

    What an outrage, and here I was planning on buying Battlefield 3 because I thought it was the last ethically sound game left, at least it's still better than Tekken, where I regularly kick a giant panda in the face, and that's an endangered animal.

  • ballshock #54 4 months ago

    LOL.
    Realistic shooter allows people to shoot police and other soldiers, but stabbing a rat is NO NO

  • BeachGaara #55 4 months ago

    ಠ_ಠ

  • Collymilad #56 4 months ago

    PETA: Fuck Off. Just leave animal protection the big boys eh?

    The funny thing is if I recall you don't even stab the rat, the computer takes control and does it.

    Now where are those rats. After playing BF3 stabbing some was the first thing I wanted to do.
    Edited by 2 at 08/11/11 @ 04:32

  • SpaceMonkey77 #57 4 months ago

    Lol. PETA, you are reaching a bit, get some bloody perspective. Rats are carriers of pestilence and lurgs, that can kill all other species. Just another day with fools that think gamers are so easily led, that we'll wake up in a week with the rat populace dwindling from rat knife murder spree.

    I don't hate animals, nor am against some means of preservation for those that need it, but that rat bit of the game was cool, and in context can get you killed in the game, if not dealt with properly.

    I bet if you were eating the rat in a spit for survival/sport, they'd have nothing to say, yet from what I recall, the Cabela Hunts games have been around for a while.

  • SavageEvil #58 4 months ago

    Incredible, here I thought the human race couldn't get any more bored with living and once again some rogue group of idiots who think they know best about all things yet again thrusts themselves into the limelight with some more nonsense. Last I checked BF3 is rated mature 18 hardly a young teen, more like an old teen who is old enough to drive a car, and go to war and kill other humans...this world is incredibly sick and twisted with it's strange blame it on the popular things kids are doing these days.

    I mean if video games really were the simulators that these people make them out to be, then I would have probably gotten into incredible amounts of hijinks my whole life. I mean probably would have been the notorious turtle stomper supreme, grabbing feathers and somehow thinking that I can some how fit myself into a raccoons carcass.

  • Wyrm #59 4 months ago

    They should concentrate on people who are hurting ACTUAL animals.

  • King_Edward #60 4 months ago

    Ban this sick filth!

  • dfernand #61 4 months ago

    Richard Gere would not commit such a callous act of animal cruelty (in-game).

  • Quixz #62 4 months ago

    :confused:

  • Hyoscine #63 4 months ago

    PETA is nothing but a celebrity hype machine. This isn't news, and reporting on their deliberately absurd press releases is rather playing into their hands.

  • telboy007 #64 4 months ago

    Spoilers EG, spoilers!

  • guernican #65 4 months ago

    @Cypher_2011

    Steve Kean?

  • Gusdor #66 4 months ago

    I had my pet rat scrabbling around on my lap while I played this section. I didn't feel particularly fond of the whole event. At first I was all 'a rat!' and then I realised what right trigger was going to do :(

    I think PETA is barking up the wrong tree here. Sure, the character stabs a rat. But the rat just attempted to bite the guy's hand and he is in a bit of a tight situation. It may have just wanted his glove for it's next though. For a feral rat who had just lived through an earthquake the thing was super aggressive. I would say the steroid injections are the biggest animal rights violation here.

    The biggest crime I feel is the quick time event that accompanies it. Totally pointless.

    Fyi, rats are awesome pets! Smart, agile, adventurous. Just like your Q4 action games!

  • Laminator #67 4 months ago

    As an animal lover I did find that scene kinda crap. I think it was supposed to be comic relief. I was lolling at the rat attacking him then he stabs the poor little fucker which totally took any fun/humour out of it for me. Shoulda just made him flick it away or something.

    Still a bit of an overreaction.

  • username84 #68 4 months ago

    Oh god it's true.
    As soon as I played that bit I just couldn't help myself. I was so brutally traumatized I ran outside and started stabbing rats, dogs, cats and chickens.
    Not only that I ate their still warm twitching carcases raw. The ones that were still alive I ate slowly from the tail up. Bloody computer games, always making me do shit like that. These people in PETA seem really well informed and not in the least alarmist and hypersensitive. I'd vote for them tomorrow.

  • L0cky #69 4 months ago

    Rats are people too!

  • asphaltcowboy #70 4 months ago

    I didn't kill it nonchalantly... it was attacking me!

    Also, you do not kill it in order to then lift it by it's tail, then toss it away... unless the damaged young males you're talking about are desperate to throw dead animals by their tails...
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/11 @ 09:57

  • IkariW #71 4 months ago

    "a brutalising effect on the young male target audience."
    Good to see PETA think nothing of being totally sexist then?

    Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't BF3 rated PEGI 18? If your over 18 your classed as an adult in this country, if you can't deal with a digital rat being stabbed in a computer game at the age of 18 or over, then you should think of another pass time imo.

    I'm pretty sure that 'most' adults can deal with this though. Christ, I see worse than that on the morning news! and anyone is free to watch that!

    They really need to take a look at Red Dead if they think killing rats in the worst that can happen to an animal in a video game! haha. :)

    Basically, its a case of: PETA review - Game about war and shooting people = lets find anything we can to get its name in the mud with the general public.

    If you have a problem with the games content vs it's age rating PETA, take it up with PEGI and stop spouting your - Clutching at straws - sensationalistic bullsh*t.
    Edited by 2 at 08/11/11 @ 10:02

  • Stevonymo #72 4 months ago

    It's a rat for goodness sake! When I was a lad...long before video games...we would shoot them with my mates air rifle. The world has gone pc mad!

  • mechamonkey #73 4 months ago

    I just fireballed a deer and a squirell in WoW. Ban this sick filth.

  • Felbridge #74 4 months ago

    'young males'? i bet that was written by a middle aged female. See, i can use stereotypes to make up bullshit aswel!

  • metalangel #75 4 months ago

    @IkariW Right on. When I arrive at my destination in RDR, I don't dismount. I throw a knife into the back of my horse's head and just stand up as it slumps to the ground.

  • kangarootoo #76 4 months ago

    Not a fan of PETA, however...

    "This isn't the first time that PETA has got its knickers in a twist over a video game"

    Isn't that the sort of talk that we in the threads are supposed to engage in?

    I'm not reading a newspaper column here, this isn't the Fred Dutton blog. This is an article, and as such its supposed to maintain a professional level of detachment from bias in its reporting.

    Maybe basic journalistic standards like that don't matter here. Again I say, this isn't a defense of PETA, rather its a defense of writing standards. If that line appeared in ANY newspaper or magazine copy (outside of a viewpoint style column), the editor would flip. People say that the internet is ruining journalism, and I tend to disagree with them on the whole, which is why little things like that make me overeact (as I know I am doing now). Be a journalist, not a commentator.

  • Spielo #77 4 months ago

    Everyone knows they just do this for publicity, right?

  • Spekingur #78 4 months ago

    *waits for inevitable Modern Warfare 3 outcry from PETA*

  • Blazewamp #79 4 months ago

    . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ,.-‘”. . . . . . . . . .``~.,
    . . . . . . . .. . . . . .,.-”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“-.,
    . . . . .. . . . . . ..,/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ”:,
    . . . . . . . .. .,?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\,
    . . . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,}
    . . . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`^`.}
    . . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:”. . . ./
    . . . . . . .?. . . __. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :`. . . ./
    . . . . . . . /__.(. . .“~-,_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`. . . .. ./
    . . . . . . /(_. . ”~,_. . . ..“~,_. . . . . . . . . .,:`. . . . _/
    . . . .. .{.._$;_. . .”=,_. . . .“-,_. . . ,.-~-,}, .~”; /. .. .}
    . . .. . .((. . .*~_. . . .”=-._. . .“;,,./`. . /” . . . ./. .. ../
    . . . .. . .\`~,. . ..“~.,. . . . . . . . . ..`. . .}. . . . . . ../
    . . . . . .(. ..`=-,,. . . .`. . . . . . . . . . . ..(. . . ;_,,-”
    . . . . . ../.`~,. . ..`-.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..\. . /\
    . . . . . . \`~.*-,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..|,./.....\,__
    ,,_. . . . . }.>-._\. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|. . . . . . ..`=~-,
    . .. `=~-,_\_. . . `\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
    . . . . . . . . . .`=~-,,.\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . `:,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . `\. . . . . . ..__
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .`=-,. . . . . . . . . .,%`>--

  • Madder-Max #80 4 months ago

    LOL. Only young german Males kill animals

  • RevanNL #81 4 months ago

    yes, well I condemn PETA for trying to convince young males to become vegetarians. But that doesn't grab any headlines

  • wayne997 #82 4 months ago

    silly billy mw3 kills kids to shock .UNCALLEDFOR

  • bratmandu #83 4 months ago

    I condemn brutal quick time events. Ban em. Ban em all.

  • thesonglessbird #84 4 months ago

    It's an animated sequence. And you can't shoot the dog in the first mission.

    Not that I tried or anything... :cool:

  • Sodding_Gamer #85 4 months ago

    HOW IS IT BRUTAL?! He kills it with one hit right in the head. Which is more than humane for a little diseased vermin shit trying to bite you. I get so angry at people like these lmao.

  • ubergine #86 4 months ago

    I love animals, but PETA make me want to cut the throats of puppies and kittens in a sadistic ritual. They make animal welfare look like a cause for fucking idiots.

  • Ace-Reject #87 4 months ago

    I own 2 pet rats and there lovely creatures so my opinion maybe biased, i haven't got that far into the story as i only got the game, i must admit i'm fed up with people thinking gamers are stupid enough to recreate stuff they seen in games but due to a couple of idiots who do, we all get branded like that

  • Genji #88 4 months ago

    I supported them on the Super Meat Boy thing, but this is a bit much.

  • jetsetwillie #89 4 months ago

    anyone not sure what a hypocritical bunch of nazi's PETA are should check out penn and tellers Bullshit episode on them. http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=inFtOMx8nDU

  • elephant_stone #90 4 months ago

    Get yer rat out

  • KiLlerKnight #91 4 months ago

    It's a RAT. All rats should die.

  • cardboardMonster #92 4 months ago

    Still sounds like tacky shit to me. Why not throw some stray puppies off the side of a cliff while you're at it - after all, they're only defenceless animals and not proper, important humans. I'm sure this is blown out of proportion but the idea that it's ridiculous to assume impressionable kids won't recreate it or that the act is validated because it doesn't involve humans doesn't make it classy.

  • Iliad #93 4 months ago

    Given the game's 16 rating, there shouldn't be any "young males" playing the game to be influenced by the stabbing of a rodent. If so, blame the parents for letting them play it.

    Besides, any 16 or older teenager who is influenced by it was probably already fucked up to begin with!

  • Tyronne #94 4 months ago

    Have you seen my new gun? It goes ratatataratatataratatat....I love it.

  • richthebrief #95 4 months ago

    Got to laugh at PETA. It's wrong to stab a fictional rat with a pixellated knife, but absolutely fine to effectively call Germans weak minded, easily influenced, animal abusers

  • grenade_master #96 4 months ago

    They should've included the rat poison option. Much more humane to let it jump around while dying slowly.

  • airjoca #97 4 months ago

    "young males" have had "ideas" since we were all monkeys.

  • Nico4 #98 4 months ago

    Oh god not again. -.- Well if it happened in real life, then what we were supposed to do? It would just come back and ocntinue to bite at you, and make you sick as hell. -.-

    "There have been repeated cases of animal cruelty in Germany, where young people kill animals. Inspiration behind these acts often came from movies and computer games."

    Stereotypism ftw.

  • slivir #99 4 months ago

    Just popped in to say "LOL", the headline made me chuckle!

    And if it's any consolation, the rat attacked first so it was clearly self-defense.

  • callum9999 #100 4 months ago

    While I agree its ridiculous - killing people is universally regarded wrong, whereas many people would see stabbing small animals as fun. It's obviously therefore not some commentary that killing people is ok but rats isn't.

    And for the people moaning about PETA being lunatics, I'm sure if I had even a small scrap of faith in human beings I would be driven crazy! I can't be bothered doing anything about it as it's just futile, but it must be pretty disheartening to put so much effort into trying to improve the lives of animals only to be constantly ignored.

  • callum9999 #101 4 months ago

    @Iliad There is no reason at all why most "young males" under 16 shouldn't be playing the game.

    And have you ever met or been a child anyway? How on earth do you propose you stop them playing such games? Keep them locked in their room with no games and only let them out to go to school - where they will of course be escorted there, back and at all breaks during the day?

  • dirtysteve #102 4 months ago

    It's hardly nonchalant. That rat is ghosting you!

  • Mandiven #103 4 months ago

    SO its a bad thing to kill the disease spreading rats now?

  • DiamondIce #104 4 months ago

    The scene was pointless. As was the whole shitty, shitty campaign.

    Oh and insert some sick comment about killing an animal here because it is funny.

  • kinky_mong #105 4 months ago

    When they said you'll be "stabbing some rat" this isn't what I had in mind!

  • Stratix #106 4 months ago

    A vermin that spreads disease? Damn, are they worried a few extra people might consider a career in pest control after seeing that scene?

  • jstar #107 4 months ago

    I love animals. I'm a total softy. I can't even bring myself to set traps for the mice in my kitchen and I hate it when people kill flies and insects for no reason.

    But every time I hear from PETA it makes me want to wear fur.

  • MattRobson #108 4 months ago

    Sorry... what?

  • MattRobson #109 4 months ago

    rats are vermin.

  • Huxamalay #110 4 months ago

    'young male audience?' Its has an 18 certificate for a reason

    \sigh

  • HeNiCiDe1988 #111 4 months ago

    AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHATEVER PETA JUST MISS THE SHOOTING PEOPLE IN THE FACE AND WHINE ABOUT VIRTUAL RATS!!!

  • MrVengeance #112 4 months ago

    Its only a video game. These little psychos in Germany are going to to evil stuff regardless of what they see or what they play - they are inherently wrong 'uns in my view.

  • Whitster #113 4 months ago

    I'm a veggie and a rat owner and PETA still annoy me with stuff like this.

  • anomagnus #114 4 months ago

    Have any of you ever seen a full grown city rat? They're MASSIVE. No offence, but the odds are, in a fight between a wild rat, and a gamer, 9 times outta ten, the rats gonna win!

  • VibratingDonkey #115 4 months ago

    The reason why the player is forced to go through that QTE (i.e. it is not an active choice of the player) is to avoid getting captured and killed. The guy doesn't kill it for his own twisted personal satisfaction, it's for survival. And he does try to shoo it away at first, but then it gets aggressive and starts biting him.

    Causality etc. Don't really need to write an essay to prove that PETA is being silly again.

    I thought that scene was funny by the way, reminds you of crab battle and was like unintentional parody of how dumb the QTE's are in this game. I lost count of how many times there was a guy around the corner.

  • Cobalt_Jackal #116 4 months ago

    Im a young male (im 17), and belive me a stabbing of a rat is right down at the bottom of my list of most violent/brutal things i've seen . I mean when compared with alot of the stuff (real hardcore violent/sadistic stuff) i've saw on the internet a "brutally" stabbed rat hardly... even barely registers with me.
    Edited by 2 at 08/11/11 @ 16:32

  • misterdoctor #117 4 months ago

    This just in: PETA condemns brutal Mario turtle bopping.

    "That's just one bop too many, boys," read a press release written by head of PETA whose System Of A Down concert ticket was stolen from him when he was 15.

    "It's just wrong."

  • Bigglesworth #118 4 months ago

    @Cobalt_Jackal
    I'm not sure whether to applaud your sense of perspective or bemoan your desensitisation =)

  • DaemonSpawn #119 4 months ago

    Have guys at PETA actually encountered a live wild rat? I'd like to see them "lift it by its tail, then toss it away" - those things are vicious:D

  • IronCladChicken #120 4 months ago

    @callum9999
    You could educate parents on the basics of setting up parental controls on consoles... That would ensure only age appropriate games can be played?

  • Claudiov1.0 #121 4 months ago

    PETA is having a boring day... thats my guess!

  • cheeky_BILLY #122 4 months ago

    What about the dragons in Skyrim?

    PETA are going to go fucking mental when they see that.

    Dragons are real,right?

  • Eoin #123 4 months ago

    If one virtual rat's death got this reaction from them, I really hope, for their sake, that they never, ever play Oblivion.

  • icematt12 #124 4 months ago

    Well, based on what I played this rat showed a threat to revealing the position of an unarmed troop to enemy forces. After some gestures to scare the creature away the soldier in question stabbed it. I would say that it is acceptable on any battlefield. In a mature rated game even more so because it's just a bunch of pixels likely to convince few this is acceptable behaviour just for fun and imitation.

    What next, shooters having warnings not to do this stuff when not in combat situations?

  • Bilstar #125 4 months ago

    Ummm, ok. Rat killing tonight anybody? Sound like fun? C'mon, they've got nasty diseases that'll kill ya?

  • sourc0r #126 4 months ago

    @kangarootoo an editor from another gaming news site said they've made quite a fuss about it. you CAN'T and really shouldn't take this serious in any way. it's ridiculous and it should be treated like that, regardless of any journalistic standards.

  • bobbo #127 4 months ago

    In Duke Nukem Forever, I took a live rat and cooked it in the microwave. I now have urges to boil my girlfriends live rabbit in a pot.

  • Legion_nor #128 4 months ago

    Huh....Critter killsquad in wow anyone? Somebody should show them that achi :p

  • Trigg3rHippie #129 4 months ago

    Yep, and killing thousands of people in games doesn't encourage anything in deranged minds of today's youths. Jesus tap-dancing Christ.

    It's propably EA just stirring shit to promote BF3's crappy SP.
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/11 @ 20:41

  • airwalker2211 #130 4 months ago

    "brutalising effect on the young male target audience"

    bollox, the game is rated 16 plus in UK, at 16, you can join the army and do far worse if possible. they should just protest that game age restrictions are not enforced if anything.

  • Trigg3rHippie #131 4 months ago

    @bobbo I'd say "go for it";)

  • Farzlepot #132 4 months ago

    I hope for PETA's sake they never play any RPG ever made...

  • Trigg3rHippie #133 4 months ago

    "Brual"? Was it? Really? More than killing people? Really?
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/11 @ 22:06

  • tankboi #134 4 months ago

    Rats are considered Vermin in the UK. We can legally kill them. Along with squirrels, pigeons, rabbits, and even magpies I think. Maybe your beef is with the government PETA, you attention seeking hippies.

  • tankboi #135 4 months ago

    @Goodfella

    totally sadistic? The rat is attacking the player who tries to shoo it away with his hands several times, then has to kill it as its making noise and could give his position away amidst a whole enemy platoon. You would do exactly the same thing if a rat was biting your fingers when you are hiding for your life.

  • Trigg3rHippie #136 4 months ago

    "Sadistic violence"? Have you checked today's news?

  • ratmaggot #137 4 months ago

    The amount of busy bodies in this world makes my brain hurt.

  • shadow651 #138 4 months ago

    Dear PETA and a whole host of other groups,
    If you want to be taken seriously then DON'T ACT SO DAMN RIDICULOUS!

  • Genji #139 4 months ago

    @jetsetwillie yeah sorry, but Penn & Teller are a couple of trolls, even when they're right. Also, someone should tell them that comparing anyone to Nazis (except, you know, actual *Nazis*) is a losing argument in itself.

  • FenderMaster #140 4 months ago

    Soldiers ar active participants in war, they're out to kill you, so thers a reason to kill them. I think the issue here isn't that you can kill digital rats, but that the game lets you kill them just for the sake of it. You aren't killing them for food, or because they'll cause harm, but because... well that's just it I suppose, there is no because, so I'll agree with the sadistic comment here. Killing anything without reason is a little worrying.

  • oupe #141 4 months ago

    Apart from everything, why the hell would a company include a completely irrelevant rat killing scene in a game? It's tasteless.

  • trjp #142 4 months ago

    I think it's important you realise just how crazy PETA actually are.

    I'm 100% behind anything which reduces cruelty and suffering to animals - but they're on a different planet completely.

    They don't just want to end animal cruelty - their ultimate aim is to completely disconnect us from any interaction with animals as companions or as source of food or clothing or drugs - no farming of any kind - a total separation of them and us.

    In PETA's ideal world you'd not have a pet dog, you'd not eat any form of meat or animal-based material, you'd have no leather/suede/duck down/fur and you'd not be able to use drugs which were derived from an animal in any way (no cross-species transplants - no research of ANY kind on animals). You'd not even have eggs or honey or taramasalata (stop cheering at the back!!)

    The woman who set it up is a 100% Grade A mentalcase and anyone who is remotely associated with PETA has to be classed alongside her I'm afraid - nutjobs, the lot of them...

  • Bluetooth #143 4 months ago

    Fuck off PETA.

  • MattEdWithCheese #144 4 months ago

    PETA? You mean this PETA:

    They seem pretty legit to me!
    In all seriousness, I am a little biased with my massive pig-stabbing nose...
    Edited by 1 at 09/11/11 @ 08:01

  • Brev2034 #145 4 months ago

    At the end of the day PETA its a fucking game and thus NOT REAL get a grip and a proper job

  • Okamiwolf #146 4 months ago

    I am someone who has had the pleasure of owning pet rats and seeing first hand how they're nothing like the media stereotype of being dirty, ugly, aggressive animals – in fact they are often cleaner than you or I, smart as a dog, and cuddly as the cutest pokemon.

    Unfortunately, I’ve also had the displeasure of learning about the horrific abuses that some people inflict on small animals on a daily basis, either out of ignorance, lack of compassion, or outright sadism.

    I’ve seen some truly horrifying videos of rat (and other small mammal) abuse on youtube, enough to leave a permanent scar on my psyche and change my opinion of what the human race is capable of for the worse. The one that springs to mind in this context is a video I watched of someone taking a knife to a rat before throwing the bloodied mutilated animal it into the aquarium as food for their snake.

    Given this, I can see PETA’s concern that media, be it games or movies, that further perpetuates the myth of rats as being vicious creatures that exist to be killed and discarded at the earliest opportunity is doing no good for improving their already perilous lot in this world. This is following, for example, the disgusting option earlier this year to grab a rat in Duke Nukem Forever and throw it in the microwave. Over time, if you absorb enough such media, your brain can start to associate rats with deserving sadistic death even though you may not realize it.

    I don’t think any of us bought BF3 to play a contrived, unavoidable quick time event where you murder animals. The scene is completely out of place in the context of the game. A single rat would never attack an adult human. Wild rats are timid and stay in the shadows, that’s why they are so successful at surviving. The scene in the game is thus something out of a Resident Evil (or, as noted above, Oblivion) game. In a fantasy context this scene might be much more acceptable. But it’s the insertion of this sadistic scene seemingly at random into what is supposed to be a quasi-realistic war game that is so bizarre, and makes one question the agenda of the game makers.

    You see the real danger of the rat scene in BF3 is that regular everyday people encounter small animals frequently in their lives and have the power to make moral choices about their fate: whether they live or die, and how they die. In contrast, very few people, even in America, have assault rifles, grenades and tanks or are ever likely to contemplate going on a mass shooting spree. In this sense, the rat stabbing scene is the one we need to be more concerned about in terms of its ability to influence impressionable minds concerning what the correct moral choice is when it comes to the welfare of living creatures over which they actually have power.

  • Okamiwolf #147 4 months ago

    P.S. Ultimately, I tend to think of animal rights and abuse as being similar to racial rights and abuse in past centuries. Both are challenging moral issues where society has condoned the strong abusing the weak until enough people of conscience stand up and say, enough is enough.

    In that light, let’s examine a few of the responses to this article demonstrating blind contempt for rats as a species, and ponder whether our now discredited forefathers used very similar language to refer to groups of people.

    "It’s a rat. Safer to stab it then pet it!"
    It’s a slave. Safer to stab it then pet it!

    "It's a RAT. All rats should die."
    It’s a n****. All n****s should die.

    "Rats are vermin."
    J**s are vermin.

    And so on, and so forth….

    One day in the far future, comments like these about rats in this article might be seen in the same sort of light. Just something to consider.

    Lastly, if anyone from EA is reading this, I want you to know I specifically returned an unopened copy of BF3 I bought after seeing footage of the rat killing sequence online (along with concerns over the short single player campaign and toning down of terrain modification).

    Yes, some of us take these issues that seriously.
    Edited by 3 at 09/11/11 @ 10:02

  • meanmrmustard #148 4 months ago

    Just wait till they hear about the attack dogs strapped with C4 in MW3

  • DeltaBravoNiner #149 4 months ago

    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animations...

    There's a rat in ma kitchen what am a gonna do... oh yeah, stab it with my commando knife like I learned on xbox... oh wait no I don't have one because I'm not a psycho!
    Edited by 1 at 09/11/11 @ 16:14

  • Sideras #150 4 months ago

    I didn't play the Singleplayer in BF3 but if I did, I'd be killing rats now.

  • goondocks74 #151 4 months ago

    I found the rat sequence to be odd and out of place/context with the game.
    It does not, however, instil the need in me to go and stab rats.
    What kind of idiots do these people think gamers are?
    More people own a TV than a game console, and with the amount of TV shows or films which depict violence / death and various other unsavoury events, shouldn't the campaigners be looking elsewhere? Or is the (relatively small by comparison) gaming community an easy target?
    Political correctness has indeed gone mad in recent years, and unfortunately, shows no signs of abating.

    I wish this was all I had to worry about.

  • DeltaBravoNiner #152 3 months ago

    The statement went on to claim this sort of shocking violence can have can have "a brutalising effect on the young male target audience."

    "Shocking" and "Brutalising" really? It's hardly shocking to see an animated sequence of rat being killed, nor is it brutalising. I am less likely to want to stab the next rat I see than I am to want to jump in and pilot the next attack chopper I see... Even still, I'm sane enough to know not to do it.

    I once watched a film where a nut job did some "Shocking" and "Brutalising" things to his victims, I don't want to now go out and sew together the first random tourists that happen across my house. This is a joke and I actually cant believe that it has been acknowledged, to which I am obviously playing part. So I should just stop typing...

  • Morte-360 #153 3 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:51:34 12-12-2011