I will be the first to admit that I’m not good at video games. I used to be good, back in the day when I played Duck Hunt and that game where you had to type in up up down down left right left right B A start in order to get the extra lives.
But put me in front of a game system now, and my person always gets stuck on a cliff somewhere and Shrek is yelling at me to come on and I can’t seem to move.
My kids however, from the 17 year old all the way down to the 2 year old love video games. So does Geo and my dad. This Christmas, I know that video games will be on my shopping list for the kids.
Being video game challenged, I have to rely on the kids to let me know what games they want or pick out what looks good when I’m in the store. This doesn’t give me a lot of time to research the game and see if it is family friendly or whether it features someone’s head being blown off. This is especially difficult in a home where there is such a wide range of people who want to play the games.
Luckily, there is a simple solution for Moms like me. The Entertainment Software Rating Board puts ratings on video games similar to those found on movies. Not only are the games given a rating, but information is also given as to why it was rated that way. That way you can make decisions based on the actual content of the game.
On the newer game consoles, you can set parental controls to only allow games to be played with ratings you approve of. If you go to the ESRB website, you can read instructions on how to set up your Wii, XBox 360 or Playstation 3 to block inappropriate games from your children.
Of course, actually trying out the game is best, but when you are grabbing games off the shelf at 6 am on Black Friday, these rating systems will help ensure that you are picking out ones that are good for your family.
November 13, 2007 at 4:51 pm
If you have a Nintendo DS, I just picked up a game that I enjoyed that could easily be played by any kid old enough to hold the stylus.
It’s a Crayola coloring game. The game part consists of super easy connect the dots, puzzles and speed coloring. Each level unlocks more coloring book book pages and crayon colors. The coloring book portion is really easy to use and makes you look like a great artist even if you just scribble on the page.
Yes, I’m 29 and still like to color. So sue me.