Just in time to snag parents as they race to the stores to begin their holiday shopping frenzy, the Family Media Guide has released their list of the Top 10 Most Violent Games of 2005. The Family Media Guide is an online resource for parents and entertainment researchers featuring detailed PSVratings for video games, films, and TV programming. By analyzing instances of Profanity (P), Sex (S), and Violence (V), the guide is designed to alert parents to content that may or may not be suitable for younger audiences.

Parents need to pay extra close attention to their children’s holiday wish lists this year, warns the Family Media Guide, because “some of the most ultraviolent video games ever created” were released in 2005. Although many other violent games hit the market this year, and even more are planned for next year, there are 10 titles whose levels of violence makes them “a cut” above the competition. The games, in no particular order, and the accompanying warning for each of them are as follows:

#1 - Resident Evil 4
In Resident Evil 4, the gamer plays “a Special Forces agent sent to recover the President’s kidnapped daughter. During the first minutes of play, it’s possible to find the corpse of a woman pinned up on a wall–by a pitchfork through her face.”

#2 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
It’s rare that a game makes the Top 10 list two years in a row, but Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has managed to do just that. In the game, players take on the persona of a young man who is collaborating with violent gangs to gain respect in the San Andreas community. His tasks include “murder, theft, and destruction on every imaginable level. Player recovers his health by visiting prostitutes then recovers funds by beating them to death and taking their money. Player can wreak as much havoc as he likes without progressing through the game’s storyline.”

#3 -God of War
The player becomes “a ruthless warrior, seeking revenge against the gods who tricked him into murdering his own family. Prisoners are burned alive and player can use ‘finishing moves’ to kill opponents, like tearing a victim in half.”

#4- NARC
In NARC, the gamer selects between one of two narcotics agents “attempting to take a dangerous drug off the streets and shut down the KRAK cartel while being subject to temptations including drugs and money. To enhance abilities, player takes drugs including pot, Quaaludes, ecstasy, LSD, and ‘Liquid Soul’–which provides the ability to kick enemies’ heads off.”

#5 - Killer 7
The object of Killer 7 is to take control of “seven assassins who must combine skills to defeat a band of suicidal, monstrous terrorists. The game eventually escalates into a global conflict between the US and Japan. Player collects the blood of fallen victims to heal himself and must slit his own wrists to spray blood to find hidden passages.”

#6 - The Warriors
The Warriors is “based on a ’70s action flick that set new standards for ‘artistic violence,’ a street gang battles its way across NYC in an attempt to reach its home turf. Player issues several commands to his gang, including ‘mayhem,’ which causes the gang to smash everything in sight.”

#7 - 50 Cent: Bulletproof
In spite of his recent claim that parents should use this game as a training tool for their children, 50 Cent: Bulletproof is based on the gangster lifestyle of the rapper, also known as Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson. “Player engages in gangster shootouts and loots the bodies of victims to buy new 50 Cent recordings and music videos.”

#8 - Crime Life: Gang Wars
The gamer plays the part of the leader of “a ruthless street gang, spending time fighting, recruiting new gangsters, looting, and of course, more fighting. Player can roam the streets and fight or kill anyone in sight for no apparent reason.”

#9 - Condemned: Criminal Origins
In Condemned: Criminal Origins, gamers take on the role of an FBI serial killer hunter. The game emphasizes “the use of melee weapons over firearms, allowing players to use virtually any part of their environment as a weapon. The next-generation graphics provide a new level of detail to various injuries, especially ‘finishing moves.’”

And last, but not least, to make the list is…

#10 - True Crime: New York City
The True Crime player is a New York City cop “looking for information regarding the mysterious death of a friend. Player can plant evidence on civilians and shake them down to earn extra money.”

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