Parent Alert! Video games that parents want their kids to avoid

Posted Nov 29, 2006 at 3:46PM by QJ Staff Listed in: Magazines, News Tags: London, Scarface, The Sopranos

Have any of you guys heard of the NIMF? Nope? Okay, to brief you guys, NIMF stands for National Institute on Media and the Family, it's an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization.

Errr...from that and the title alone I bet some of you guys can already feel the oncoming surge of parental restrictions, eh? In this case, you're right on the target.

NIMF has just released the 11th issue of their MediaWise Video Game Report Card. Now, whaddya guys think this report card grades? Yep, you got it -- video games. It basically runs down the goings-on in the gaming community and grades video games according to how "child-friendly" they are.

Now before you get your panties all in a twist, they're not exactly anti-gaming you guys, they're just, as they say, looking out for the welfare of children and teens. The report card is actually pretty intensive so we'll just get to the core of this whole issue and bring you guys the list of games that are parent-approved, and those that aren't, alright? [Please reserve the violent reactions 'til the end of the article]

Parent Alert! Games to avoid for your children and teens (their label, not ours):

Gangs of London
The Sopranos
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Reservoir Dogs
Mortal Kombat: Unchained
Scarface: The World is Yours
The Godfather: Mob Wars
Saints Row
Dead Rising
Just Cause

MediaWise recommended games for children and teens:

LEGO Star Wars II Â– The Original Trilogy
Mario Hoops 3 on 3
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Roboblitz
Madden Football Â‘07
Loco Roco
Dance Factory
Brain Age
Nancy Drew: Danger by Design
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: The March of the Minis

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Comments

# nothing — Guest 2006-11-29 11:03

i'm first omfg!

# first? — Guest 2006-11-29 11:05

Probably not... But these guys are retards... THe recomended games suck

# Congratlations! — Guest 2006-11-29 11:05

You want a medal or something? 'Cause you ain't getting one.

# lol — Guest 2006-11-29 11:05

9/10 of those have to do with gangs, they should be a little more imaginative.

# HMMM — Guest 2006-11-29 11:07

Dont get your panties in a knot just because you dont have those games....loco roco...wicked fun (great concept) the Mario games ditto...as for brain age dont be mad that you have the brain age of 120...just practice and get it back to 20!

# hahahahaha — Guest 2006-11-29 11:08

but most of them r fun

# heres ur medal — Guest 2006-11-29 11:12

heres ur medal

**The IDIOT of the Day Medal**

im 15 and i play 75% of those games and only 1 of the list below...

# It's times like this... — Guest 2006-11-29 11:14

that I am glad I am 18 ^_^

# asd — Guest 2006-11-29 11:20

***** nimf

# ... — Guest 2006-11-29 11:44

Nancy Drew: Danger by Design...

Wtf is this *****? Mabey for a 6 yr old...

# Haha.. — GaveUpTomorrow 2006-11-29 11:55

I actually used the 10th edition of their release for a research paper I wrote last year...ahh, brings back memories. I agree though, children shouldn't be playing most of the games on the list... but as always, its up to the parents..

# Avoid those games not because of violence, but because... — Guest 2006-11-29 11:58

They're trash (except for the last three, and maybe GTA). Honestly, Reservoir Dogs is one of the worst games of the year, absolutely everything about it is bad. The same goes for Gangs of London.

Of course, that's not to say the same doesn't apply for the recommended list. Just from their names I can tell "Dance Factory" and Nancy Drew" are garbage, and Mario Hoops got horrible reviews across the board. The only good game on the recommended list is LEGO Star Wars II.

# Loco Roco — Guest 2006-11-29 12:18

Loco Roco ftw!

# LMAO — Guest 2006-11-29 12:23

You know what the problem is? Have you ever been to a carnival, festival, party, or whatever, and before you go there are TV advertisements that say "Games for Teens will be here!!". You then get there, and it's stuff like pin the tail on the donkey or some other *****. At the end of the day, parents and other adult figureheads still have no clue as to what teens want, and lemme tell you, it's not these kiddy games they're trying to force on everyone.

# GAY — Guest 2006-11-29 12:27

This is SO GAY!!!

# B-S — Guest 2006-11-29 12:32

People play the violent games because that's something you can't do in real life. Seriously there has not been any proof video games are linked to real world violence. All the people who claim they were influenced by video games are just trying to get off the hook.

The only game that i actually play on the approved list is locoroco (w00t!)

# I like this group — Annony 2006-11-29 12:36

Honestly, it's a hell of a lot better to have a 'Parental Report Card' than to have some jerk with an agenda try to BAN certain video games outright.

# Don't be ridiculous — Guest 2006-11-29 12:41

Lego Star Wars is great! It's puzzle solving, so good for kids brains. Plus it's hilarious (seeing AT-AT's wearing a fake nose and moustache is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in a game!)

# why... why are kids so stupid — Guest 2006-11-29 12:50

I don't know about you guys, but I think many people of my generation are like me and never had trouble with this, I live in portugal and my parents always bought me games, any games I wanted no matter what age they were for, at the age of 5 I think I was playing castlevania bloodlines on my megadrive I don't remember the age but I believe it was past 13, and when I got my playstation (gosh what a beatiful day, I love tha thing) I fell in love with FF7, metal gear, medievil many games, they were all past my age, I never did anything stupid when I was a kid ( Ok I did stupid stuff some times but it was harmless stuff, you know childood), I think that kids are getting stupider every generation and it saddens me :S, I'm not saying they all are but some, well some can't tell the diference between virtual reality and reality, and those kids SHOULD be stopped from playing games that might affect them, some children are inteligent like I and most of my firends were (we still are but now we aren't kids :P) and they should be able to play them, parents, if you know your children well enough I hope that you make the right choice and let them play, if they have common sense, something parents should teach they're children, something that should be taught instead of not giving a crap about your child and then fiding out he threw himself out the window because he thought he could fly just like the game character, it's not the games fault, it's their parents fault for not teaching common sense to the child.

# My Opinion — Guest 2006-11-29 12:51

Meh. Parents can be too stupid to read the box of the game, so I say go MediaWise.

# No love for da Q? — ayrkain 2006-11-29 12:51

Lumines should be on the Good List. My kids rock out to that one.

# forgot to mention — Guest 2006-11-29 12:58

I forgot to mention that I fregged so many virtual characters, can't even count them how many, I guess like 10000000000 maybe more, just the other day in medal of honor I fragged about 300 or more I'm not counting lol, and I never killed anyone in real life, and I haven't been in a fight since like 2 years ago, it's been said here alreadym people that say they were influenced are just trying to get off the hook, and kids do what they see in games because one of the two, either their parents aren't giving any attention to the child, or they don't teach them about virtual world and the real world (gosh at least tell them that anything in the games can't be done in the real world because of some lame ass excuse, they'll believe it and wont do stupid stuff), ti finish let's just say that, crimes ocurred everyday before gaming was this violent?, I don't think criminality or mortality rose that much, and if it did is because someone is just and idiot (trying to get off the hook) or a kid whose parents don't give a damn (I pity the kids not the parents, it's their fault)

# LMAO — badboy20689 2006-11-29 13:12

I GOT ALL OF THEM GAMES But actually im 17 yrs old but i got rated M games since i was 10

# boners — Guest 2006-11-29 13:15

@nilzxx

Really? You only played 75% of the mostly *****ty, most violent games? Here's your medal.

*International Award for Excellence in Dumbassery*

# God Freakin' Help Me! — Guest 2006-11-29 13:29

What the hell is this??!?! Another anti-violent game thing?! Damn stupid government... I mean, come on!!! Nancy Drew?! I've never even ****ing heard about that game!!! The only thing I play on the recommended list is LocoRoco. Nothing else. Idiots. Take it down, QJ.

# ahhaahah — Guest 2006-11-29 13:40

Parents are always trying to protect their children. Reminds me of dads' who try and protect their daughters. Well little do these dads' know..... Their daughters are out SMOKING some dude's DONG before their' 14th birthdays and by the time they are 22, they are mega sluts. Sorry dudes, I know, the truth hurts. You can't protect your children. That's why I'm not going to have any!!!!!

# sdfg — Guest 2006-11-29 13:47

stupid *****, those all games rated m which kids shouldnt have anyways...

# lolol — Guest 2006-11-29 13:48

This is actually very convenient.

They just gave you a list of all the best games for the psp lol.

Time to dl some isos...

# *****ing retarded — Travisweet3 2006-11-29 13:49

I can just see all those disapointed kids come christmas time after their parents have seen this rofl

But i think i too would have more fun with the box those recomended games come in than the games themselves

# here you go singh — JOshISPoser 2006-11-29 14:34

since it's cold outside, here's a nice cup of hot stfu. i no it's stupid. i needed a reason to say it

# . — Guest 2006-11-29 14:46

*****

# 3 — Guest 2006-11-29 14:49

The above is the list of dead people. Thank you for reading so far.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holy Cow!

1st post!!!

# Deadrising Rules! — Sr_Moska 2006-11-29 15:14

I want a 360 just to play deadrising! :'(

Anywho I'm 21 so I can play them and I won't try to kill people in real life n' ***** =)

# So ture. — Guest 2006-11-29 15:34

Parents are protecting there kids like boys, Tere looking at pr0n and there parents are concered about people makin out XD

# ESRB — Ryu 2006-11-29 15:36

all ESRB M right for 18+ only

# Gangs of London

# The Sopranos

# Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

# Reservoir Dogs

# Mortal Kombat: Unchained

# Scarface: The World is Yours

# The Godfather: Mob Wars

# Saints Row

# Dead Rising

# Just Cause

all ESRB E-T right any age

# LEGO Star Wars II – The Original Trilogy

# Mario Hoops 3 on 3

# Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

# Roboblitz

# Madden Football ‘07

# Loco Roco

# Dance Factory

# Brain Age

# Nancy Drew: Danger by Design

# Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: The March of the Minis

# lol — Guest 2006-11-29 15:38

LOL dude.

# Ease up! — Guest 2006-11-29 15:58

Hey! Its only recommendations . It doesn't mean we can't, :( under any circumstances, play these games!

# O_o — Guest 2006-11-29 16:55

If I had to play Nancy Drew all day, I would kill myself. So why is it recommended instead of banned. Think about it, if we didn't have a way to let our anger out in video games where would we let it out then? That's right, rea life.

# My thoughts exactly :-D — Guest 2006-11-29 16:59

Thats what I thought! The parents should be warned that most games on the psp are a waste of money and treat their kid to a memory stick with a load of snes / retro classics preinstalled. . . cannon fodder anyone?!

it also doesnt state GTA Liberty city in the list!

# Yeah? — Guest 2006-11-29 17:32

Oh yeah you're first so what???! Come on guys, seriously, give him a medal.. like that "idiot of the day" medal you were talking about.. or something like that..

# -.- — Guest 2006-11-29 17:32

Finally some one recommends Nancy drew games.....

# you people don't understand videogames — comedy 2006-11-29 21:09

look at those lists of games... there is maybe one game on the M rated games list with any merit, and that's short lived (dead rising looks interesting, but i haven't played it)... but if you look at the games on the recommended list, apart from the stupid crap lika nancy drew there are a few titles on there with some real value - who says videogames have to be violent?

who here didn't enjoy tetris?! what about mario land? what about monkey ball, or lumines, or doing a crossword, or doing a sudoku? who here reads purely violent books? do we all read that crap andy mcnab pours out?

look at these titles and ask yourself, 'which of these games is a derivative by-the-numbers gta-clone or lazy movie tie in?'

what we need in games is a list like this where the heading are in fact 'games to avoid as they have no creative or intellectual value whatsoever'

admittedly nancy drew would appear on the list with gangs of london etc, but MORE of the 'youngster' games would be on the 'worthwhile games' list than the M rated ones.

think about what you play and why you play it. fun or bloodlust?

# oh and... — comedy 2006-11-29 21:13

i'm getting a bit tired of people saying things like 'it makes you less violent because you can do the violence in the game rather than real life' - did everyone have this insane bloodlust just 20 years ago?

people kill people because they're crazy, not because they haven't got gta. i admit there's something fun about beating people in competition (or beating a hard challenge) but the killing is incidental and, imo, worthless.

# lol — Guest 2006-11-29 22:28

u cant play 75% of em and 1 game from below... learn math

# parents suck ass — Guest 2006-11-29 23:18

protecting us never works, just let us find out our own way

# idk — Guest 2006-11-30 00:55

what's worse...? Playing 'violent' video games, or joining the army, handling real guns and killing REAL people? Cause I don't see any lawyers or government funded agencies preaching to parents about the dangers of their kids enlisting.

# wat — Guest 2006-11-30 01:24

i already play 18+ games even if i am younger than 15

in d recomended list loco roco is my only game

# I'm pissed off — Guest 2006-11-30 04:50

Playing games that suck ass (such as ones based on nancy drew) would make me want to kill people more than games that let me take frustation out on pixels. Also wouldn't Lego star wars teach you to melt lego people with lasers? lol

# Not a bad thing — Guest 2006-11-30 05:33

Such a list is not a bad thing, there are games children and teens shouldn't play and all of the "to avoid" list are in that cathegory. But most games on the "good games" list suck. So if you create such a list, make sure it has games that are really good.

Such a list is way better than the discussion we have here in Germany atm to make so-called "killer-games" illegal. There was some guy going amok in a school and it seems he played Counter-Strike. Noone cares if that guy was massively mentally disturbed or if he did it because he couldn't cope with life (was thrown out of school, didn't get a job, was mobbed by his classmates back in school and so on). No, we have the discussion that these games are bad for children, who shouldn't get them in the first place because they are 18+ anyway.

# >:( — Guest 2006-11-30 06:21

*****ing stupid bunch of *****ing retards, these games are aimed at kids and should be played no matter how voilent they are.

# . — FLai 2006-11-30 07:46

Nancy freaking DREW?! Parents suck. I was playing GTA since I was 8 and it didn't do me any harm. Its only video games. Next your gonna be covering your children's ears when they hear a bad sweary word! Bastards...

# NANCY DREW!!! — Guest 2006-11-30 08:32

ZOMG!!! WE TEENS CAN PLAY NANCY DREW!!! W00T!!

# pfff... — Guest 2006-11-30 11:09

Damn NIMF to hell. If I was a dad, I'd let my kids play Reservoir Dogs any day.

# Good — Guest 2006-12-01 11:44

"You can't protect your children. That's why I'm not going to have any!!!!!"

That's probably for the best if you really think that. Kids want the violent games cuz they think they're "cool". At least this is one way of educating parents on guiding their kids to the games that are good for them.

# Definition of 'kids' — Guest 2006-12-01 11:55

Do you guys know what the ratings are for? Not to be ignored, but to help parents decide what games are appropriate for their kids. It's like the movie ratings, some parents use them to protect their kids from things they don't want to expose them to yet. Some ignore the ratings. If you're underage for the games you play, either your parents trust you (whether they should or not) or they don't care. Stop bashing an organization for helping parents who want to protect their kids.

# There's a difference... — Guest 2006-12-01 12:02

...training. And besides how often do you gear of a soldier killing people in the US? There have been many school shootings over the years and so what if they blame video games? Don't you realize that they wouldn't have video games to blame if they weren't there to play. Video games are definitely not 100% resposible for those shootings, but you can't say they're 0% responsible either.

# Definition of 'kids' — Guest 2006-12-01 12:23

The ratings ARE meant to be ignored. Don't you know that the ESRB is evil?! They're part of the fricken' ESA!

# Wow. — Guest 2006-12-14 19:40

Your PSP is bad ass, if it can play Dead Rising.

PS: [your favorite game here] blows.

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