Conservative watchdog group gives shopping list of video games with the most gays, sex and violence

A true guilty pleasure of mine comes when conservative media watchdog groups deliver their annual lists of condemnations. These lists clearly come from a place of hate and yet they're often hilarious in how they reveal more about the particular issues of the group that developed them.

What's more, the lists often explain the offenses in such loving detail that they could be a substitute for actual decadence or, as comic writer Tom Peyer calls them, "God's Guide to the Hot Parts".

A new list grabbed my attention today, one dedicated to naming the 30 top offensive games. Much like the Parents' Television Council's annual list of TV shows they hate, this list, compiled by a conservative investment company, is very interested in finding gay content. In fact, I'd say they've managed to put together one of the most useful resources on recent, gay-inclusive video games not written by gay video game players.

Find out about their gay video game recommendations warnings after the break:

Grand Theft Auto IV and Saints' Row 2 tie for the group's worst video games. GTA IV's sex, violence and substance abuse are all noted, as well as the gay dating site that appears in the game. (I guess they didn't hear there was more gay content to the game.)

Grand Theft Auto IV's gay characters French Tom and Bernie Crane

Saints Row 2 isn't a game I've paid much attention to since it's only available on consoles I don't use, but based on this description I'm thinking I need to learn more about the game:

Players can customize the character in any way imaginable. You can cross dress your character and select voices to match your homosexual or transgender created player. Characters like Randy the Tranny were used in marketing the game.

Seriously? Why haven't I seen heard about this "Randy the Tranny" game until now? And what does it mean if you can select a voice to match a gay character; are they saying you could create a character that speaks with a lisp? What depravity!

And, uhm, if not forcing user-created characters to live up to gender expectations draws their ire, perhaps they should have taken a closer look at My Sims?

Saints Row 2 and Fable II

The list of the 30 worst games also includes the same-sex marriages in Fable 2, the potential lesbian relationships in Mass Effect, the boy-kissing achievement in Bully as well as Army of Two, which apparently has no gay content but plenty of homoerotic moments like ducking behind a bullet shield with another guy or sharing a parachute. I suspect the person who wrote that entry does not like human contact of any kind. Further evidence of Army of Two's gay tendencies are found in the ability to have gold-plated or diamond-encrusted weapons ... is that what the fashion-forward armed gay is packing?

Unfortunately, the report has nothing to say about LGBT content in Fallout 3, another confirmation of my suspicion that there's nothing gay about the game ... except maybe for that prissy guy who sells clothes in Tenpenny Tower. Way to follow up on a groundbreaking legacy, Bethesda.