on’t worry – for those of you who enjoy it – curb-stomping, human shields and bloody chainsaw battles are sticking around in Gears of War 2. However, if you are morally opposed to blood, violence and strong language (which if you are, we strongly recommend you avoid this title all together) Gears of War 2 will feature an optional filter to cut back on some of the more mature material.

In an interview with WhatTheyPlay.com – a parents guide to video games – Microsoft revealed that they have implemented an optional filter in the upcoming release that will transform blood spray to sparks and remove obscenities from gameplay. Keep in mind – this title is still M-rated. And for good reason.

While we applaud the addition of filters for those who desire them – taking the blood and f-bombs out of Gears II makes it no less of an adult game. Sure, the filter might come in handy when your spouse is hosting friends in the other room and requests they not be interrupted every few moments by profanity, but we doubt that the addition of the filter is enough to sway parents into picking up the title for underage children. However, we don’t doubt that those children will try to use this tidbit of information as a selling point.