Take that, ESRB!

The North American shoot-em-up crowd may have looked at the Japanese Virtual Console with some envy the past few months for having the Neo Geo CD release Ironclad ready and willing, but the jealous glare will hopefully soon diminish as the Entertainment Software Rating Board has put their stamp on it.

The Neo Geo game has been rated Everyone 10+ for fantasy violence and mild language. ESRB, would you care to explain?

This is a side-scrolling shooter in which players control a small aircraft that battles enemies in an alternate 1920s setting. Players use flame-guns, missiles, lasers, and rockets to destroy an assortment of small spaceships and robotic creatures. As players manoeuvre and attack in the foreground, images of houses burning, buildings in ruins may appear in the background. The laser fire is loud and constant, and enemies burst into fiery explosions amid the frenetic combat. Text-based dialogue includes the phrases "[W]e come in to have some gore," "cheerful torture brothers," and "killin' is such a bore." The word damn also appears in the text.

Sean Aaron reviewed the Japanese VC release in December and thought it was a real keeper. There's no date set so far, and ESRB ratings for Virtual Console games aren't always the best indicators for when a game will actually be released, but it's a start.

Thanks to Bstiles for the tip!

[source esrb.org]