The video games industry is huge, even bigger than the film industry, so naturally, we have rules and regulations about what we can and can't see in video games. We have the rating system and with Australia moving even closer to an R18+ rating, we should have the same access to the content as the rest of the world. However, there are some problems. What do we really see in video games and do we really want people to see this? In games like Mario or little big planet, there is almost nothing that any parent could consider wrong for a child or anyone else to view. Games like Super Smash Bros may be violent, but not in a way that encourages or glamourises real fighting. It's not realistic and overall it feels a bit like a game show. But there are some games which have explicit content.
The Batman games stirred up controversy for the liberal use of the word "bitch" and other adult themes like drugs and torture. Now, these games are rated M, but I know plenty of kids under 10 who have their hands on content these games. Batman is great, so kids will naturally want to copy what they see on the screen. They're not stupid enough to try and expose themselves to radioactive waste to get super powers, but hearing the word bitch used so often may desensitise them to it's intended effect. Adults know the effect that the word has, so they won't go around calling girls after female dogs, but kids may just think it as an insult to use freely. I'm not calling this a certainty, but it is indeed possible.
Games like Heavy Rain have drug use, violence and torture, but then again, so do movies. Some movies that have these elements wouldn't be the same without them, so you can't really ban drugs, so what's the difference for games. Games require your own input to shoot that person, or stab that enemy. So do we really want to put this stuff in our games? In a COD game, you torture someone by forcing glass down their throat. That's a cutscene, but there's another instance which makes you strangle someone to death by using the joysticks? Do we really put these things in games? Is it alright? The rating system helps, but at the same time...how many kids play COD? A lot. So is what we see in video games alright for anyone to see?
So, you're walking through the forest at night armed with nothing but a torch and all of a sudden you see a large tree in the distance. You walk over to it and see a piece of paper on it that has the words: HELP ME! Scrawled on it in pencil. After this, you continue walking, because that's all you can do. You need to collect 7 more pieces of paper. You walk and walk and walk. You feel an eerie sense of being followed. Each tree begins to resemble a figure and each footstep starts to sound like something sinister. You turn the other direction an see a monstrosity. A creature with unnaturally long arms and no eyes walking slowly towards you. You visions turns to static. You turn and run. Run like your life depends on it. You turn around to check if he's still following you, but he's gone. Literally disappeared into thin air. You continue to walk everywhere, looking for that piece of paper and eventually find it. As you continue you search, it becomes clear that he's following you. You see this creature every so often and you run away terrified. At last...page five. You read the words: He is everywhere on the page. You turn and...oh god...HE"S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! All you see as the static fills your vision is the faint outline of a head and shoulders, before you die. 
At number 10: Norman Jayden (heavy rain) one of the games 4 playable characters, Jayden is an FBI agent assigned to work on the case of the oragami killer. however, he is also addicted to a substance called triptocane. the good thing about heavy rain is that you can get jayden to break his addiction and, to quote terfle, tank the cravings.
Number 7: John Marston (Red Dead redemption) because John Marston...
Number 5: Sora (Kingdom Hearts) Keyblade wielder Sora comes from the destiny islands. however, after they are consumed by darkness, he must go on an epic quest to find and rescue his friends, Riku and Kairi. Sora's place on this list is based on his resolve. He will stop at nothing to reunite with his friends. 
At number 4: Master Chief (Halo series) Chief is, quite frankly, the definition of badass. problem? hell shoot his way out, just to mix things to a little.
