Common Sense Media is a somewhat right wing, religious group who dole out parental advice to people who probably shouldn’t have had children in the first place. Displaying a complete lack of their namesake, they’ve compiled a list of games to avoid buying kids for Christmas, as well as suitable replacements.
While their goal is a noble one, and I agree that children shouldn’t be playing games unsuitable for their ages, their choices as alternative games have left me scratching my head a bit.
This is the list of games to not but for kids, with “suitable†alternative encased in parentheses.
- Assassin’s Creed II (Mirror’s Edge)
- Borderlands (Infamous)
- Brutal Legend (Ghostbusters)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Battlefield: Bad Company)
- Dead Space: Extraction (Deadly Creatures)
- Dragon Age: Origins (Braid)
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Batman: Arkham Asylum)
- Demon’s Souls (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
- Left 4 Dead 2 (Overlord II)
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (C.O.P.: The Recruit)
And here are the problems :
Replacing Borderlands, which, yes, is a horribly violent game – but one set on a fictional planet with decidely satirical overtones with inFamous, a decidedly violent game set in a realistic world where your moral choices hardly matter and you can be a right evil bastard? Substituting Dragon Age Origins, a pretty violent RPG with adult themes with…Braid, a time-distorting puzzle game? Barring the fact that they’re completely different games, just how the hell do you put downloadable content under a Christmas tree?
Batman : Arkham Asylum, while not as superficially violent as GTA is a game filled with mature themes that just aren’t child appropriate, and Overlord II is a game where the sole purpose is to be evil, going so far as to club baby seal. I reckon ridding the world of infected scourge is a more noble endeavour.
You can read more about why Common Sense Media thinks these games are so morally bankrupt over at their site, here.
Last Updated: December 9, 2009
easy
December 9, 2009 at 11:09
at least they are giving alternatives/solutions instead of the ‘carpet banning’ of games.
Dragon Age: Origins (Braid) – whahahhahahhaha
Fox1
December 9, 2009 at 11:11
Now I know why I don’t have any of those games on that list :whistle:
ClericZA
December 9, 2009 at 11:16
Uncharted 2 has a fair amount on swearing in it, so this kinda surprises me.
LazySAGamer
December 9, 2009 at 11:20
Overlord II… the one we smite seals in?
inFamous… the portable electric chair?
Battlefield Bad Company.. how is that better than MW2?
Bonk
December 9, 2009 at 12:56
In some societies clubbing seals are perfecty acceptable!