The ESRB has released a description and rating for Bioshock: The Collection. Their description confirms that the collection contains all three games, namely, Bioshock, Bioshock 2, Bioshock Infinite.
Predictably, the anthology has received an M rating. Bioshock: The Collection earned this rating thanks to its depictions of intense acts of violence, sexual material references in the dialogue, use of cigarettes and alcohol, and the use of derogatory ethnic and racial terms. To be clear, this part is actually not a surprise, since it was seen in the boxart leaked by the Taiwanese rating for the anthology. Prior to this, we also saw a rating from Brazil, which was the first real indication that the anthology was real.
There is, however, one more thing the rating does not confirm. That is whether Bioshock: The Collection will include the Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea expansion. This expansion was bundled in Bioshock Infinite: The Complete Edition for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but has to be bought separately on PC. This expansion, spanning two episodes, ties in the stories of Columbia and The Rapture, and potentially would compel players to switch playing the games from date of release to the game’s fictional timeline. It would be nice if 2K left it up to the players too, of course.
Bioshock: The Collection has been rated for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It has yet to be officially confirmed. You can read the full ESRB description below.
This is a collection of three first-person shooters in which players assume the role of characters uncovering the mysteries behind the dystopian societies of Rapture and Columbia. As players explore each city, they use shotguns, machine guns, rivet guns, and rocket launchers to kill mutated citizens and enemy soldiers. Players can also use special powers (e.g., telekinesis, fire blasts, electric bolts) to kill enemies as well as a three-pronged hook to dismember and decapitate them. Large blood-splatter effects occur as enemies are injured; pools of blood can be seen around corpses.
Cutscenes also depict intense acts of violence: characters shot in the head at close range; a woman smothered to death with a pillow; a man impaled by a drill; a character nearly lobotomized with surgical tools. The game references sexual material in the dialogue (e.g., “I think yeh gave me the clap, ya dirty boy,” “Gonorrhea! That’s what you’ll get,” and “Sexual intimacy is no different from any other commodity friend. You sell soybeans I sell companionship.”).
During the course of the game, players can consume alcoholic beverages, resulting in a screen-blurring effect; a handful of scenes depict children smoking cigarettes. The social/political backdrop of one fictional city (set in the year 1912) includes the use of derogatory ethnic/racial terms (e.g., the words “gook,” “chink,” “negroes,” “injuns,” “crackers”); language such as “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “c*nt” can also be heard.
