

Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3 were all rated for "Blood and Gore," which would be more likely to lead to an M rating than just "Blood." The ESRB website doesn't list summaries for those older titles, but here are excerpts from the summaries of later Halo games. But you might find a clue if you follow the trail of blood. It's not apparent how Halo 5 managed to sneak in under the T rating guidelines while all the other games were rated M, especially since this game contains the assassination feature that appeared in Halo: Reach and Halo 4. The word "a*s" appears in the dialogue, as well as occasional taunts/insults (e.g., "I have copulated.with your genetic progenitors!" 'Your father was a filthy colo and your mother was a hole in the wall!'). Characters can also use "assassinations" to kill characters by snapping their necks, or by stabbing them with bladed weapons. Battles are highlighted by realistic gunfire, explosions, and occasional blood-splatter effects. Players use pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, and futuristic weapons to kill alien and human enemies in frenetic combat.

This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of a super soldier (Locke) searching for a missing character. The ESRB page for Halo 5 lists three content descriptors: "Blood," "Mild Language" and "Violence." Here's the full rating summary:

Halo 5: Guardians has garnered a T for Teen rating from the ESRB, making it the first traditional Halo game that isn't rated M for Mature.Īll previous Halo games - aside from the strategy game Halo Wars and the top-down shooters Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike - were rated M.
