Think of the Children for January 17th

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posted 1/17/2008 by Dan Keener
other articles by Dan Keener

After a few weeks off due to the Holidays and a lack of rated games (not to mention a trip to CES in Las Vegas), we are back with a whole messload of games that the ESRB posted in the first 10 days of 2008. This was an interesting couple of weeks, as the PC dominated and the Next-Gen systems FINALLY came out of hibernation with quite a few titles. Nintendo also pumped out some good games for both the Wii and DS, but still has a steady supply of drivel. We finally saw a few titles rated that have been flying under the radar pop to the surface. All in all, a good couple of weeks if you are a gamer looking toward the immediate future.

This week(s) were dominated by PC games, with over 43 rated out of 102. It seems that the digital download services and PC packing of the Tom Clancy series by Encore USA is bolstering the games getting rated or re-rated. There were the usual casual games and card games as well, so I don’t foresee the PC ratings to go down anytime soon.

Nintendo still seems to have lost a bit of steam, as the Wii and DS were beaten out by the PC for top honors, and once again have Sony nipping at their heels. It was refreshing to see some quality titles for the Wii getting rated and a handful from the DS. However, the same junk I have been bitching about for awhile now made a huge comeback on the DS. At some point I imagine people will wise up and quit buying the crap, which would force Nintendo to focus on getting better quality games on the popular handheld. It will be interesting to see if Nintendo will continue to pump out titles for DS and Wii at such a high rate or if the other systems will close the gap and keep up, albeit with higher quality titles.

The next-gen system(s) spit out a whole bunch of new games with the Xbox 360 (14) and the Playstation 3 (9) having a total of 23 rated games. It wasn’t just Arcade and casual titles though, as Dark Sector, the latest MLB 2K8, FIFA Street 3, Dynasty Warriors 6, LOST, Dark Sector and NFL Tour were all rated for both platforms. There were quite a few retail titles that were rated for one or the other, such as MLB 08 the Show for the Playstation 3. The Xbox 360 though, had Supreme Commander, Warhammer: Battle March, Jumper Griffin’s Story and Dark Messiah: Might and Magic Elements. This is quite a decent haul for those of us that have been feeling lonely with the lack of releases during the Holidays.

The ESRB ratings held several surprises and quite a few games I haven’t heard much buzz on lately for the Xbox 360. Games rated include TiQal, Shred Nebula, Shotest Shogi and Jumper Griffin’s Story, all of which are Xbox Live Arcade titles except Jumper Griffin, which is based off the upcoming Jumper movie. The PS3 looks to be getting Rayman and Street Fighter Alpha to the Playstation Network before long. Not a bad way to start off 2008, so let’s just hope that there is a steady stream of new titles getting rated all year long. 

Title Publisher Rating Platforms
CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- Square Enix, Inc T PSP
Dinosaur King SEGA of America E DS
JumpStart Spanish Scholastic Inc. E PC
MLB 08 The Show SCEA E PS2, PSP
MLB 08 The Show SCEA E PS3
SingStar 90's SCEA T PS2
The World Ends with You Square Enix, Inc T DS
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company T PC
LOST Ubisoft Entertainment T PC, 360, PS3
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis NIS America, Inc. E10+ PS2
BRAIN CHALLENGE™ Gameloft E PC, 360
DYNASTY WARRIORS 6 KOEI Corporation T 360, PS3
Legends of Norrath: Forsworn Sony Online Entertainment E10+ PC
Mahjong Escape - Ancient China PopCap Games, Inc. E PC, Web
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. E Wii
RPG MAKER VX EnterBrain, Inc. E PC
ArmA: Queens Gambit Atari, Inc. M PC
Dark Messiah: Might and Magic Elements Ubisoft Entertainment M 360
Imagine Figure Skater Ubisoft E DS
Jumper Griffin's Story Brash Entertainment T PS2, Wii
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword Tecmo, Inc. T DS
Pirates of the Burning Sea™ Sony Online Entertainment T PC
The King of Fighters '94 SNK Playmore USA T Wii
Warhammer: Battle March NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. M 360
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Battle March NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. M PC
Card & Casino Games Platinum Selectsoft Publishing / MPS T PC
Dark Sector D3Publisher of America M 360, PS3
Elf Bowling 7 1/7: The Last Insult United Developers E PC
The Sims 2 FreeTime Electronic Arts T PC
Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys Ignition Entertainment E10+ DS
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company M PC
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company M PC
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advance War Fighter Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company T PC
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Island Thunder Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company M PC
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company T PC
TiQal Slapdash Games, LLC E PC, 360
Jumper Griffin's Story Brash Entertainment T 360
Major League Baseball 2K8 2K Los Angeles E 360, PS3
Math Missions: The Race to Spectacle City Arcade K-2 Scholastic E Mac, PC
MLB Fantasy All-Stars Take-Two Interactive E DS
N+ Atari, Inc. E DS, PSP
Carrie the Caregiver 2: Preschool Activision Value Publishing E Mac, PC
Dr. Daisy ValuSoft E Mac, PC
Shred Nebula CrunchTime Games Inc. E 360
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 SNK Playmore USA T PS2, PSP, Wii
Twisted Metal Head On SCEA T PS2
Catz: Your Computer Petz Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company E PC
Catz: Your Virtual Petz Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company E PC
Chessmaster: The Art of Learning Ubisoft Entertainment E PSP
Buzz Jr! Dino Den SCEA E PS2
Buzz!™: The Hollywood Quiz SCEA T PS2
Aquarium Destineer E DS
Baroque Atlus USA, Inc. T PS2, Wii
Afterschool Mystery Club: 13 Creepy Chambers UFO Interactive Games E DS
Afterschool Mystery Club: 13 Rooms of Doom UFO Interactive Games E DS
Alchemy PopCap Games, Inc. E Mac, PC, Web, PDA
Columns III SEGA of America E Wii
Dream Pinball 3D Southpeak Games E10+ PC, Wii
Dream Pinball 3D Southpeak Games E10+ DS
Dynomite PopCap Games, Inc. E PC, Web, PDA
Drop Point: Alaska Destineer E Mac
Dogz Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company E PC
Dora The Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids 2K Play/Take-Two Interactive E PS2
Fantasy Aquarium Destineer E DS
Farm Vet Legacy Interactive E PC
FIFA Street 3 Electronic Arts E 360, PS3
Garden Defense iWin Division 90 E PC
Shotest Shogi AI Factory Limited E 360
Target: Terror Konami Digital Entertainment M Wii
Supreme Commander Aspyr Media, Inc. E10+ 360
Tic-a-Tac Royale ValuSoft E PC
TipTop PopCap Games, Inc. E PC, Web, PDA
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Sega of America E DS
Major League Baseball 2K8 2K Los Angeles E PS2, PSP, Wii
Mahjong Escape: Ancient Japan PopCap Games, Inc. E PC, Web
Little Shop-Big City RealNetworks E Mac, PC
Kidz Sports Ice Hockey Destineer E Wii
Heavenly Guardian UFO Interactive Games E PS2
High School Musical - TV Game JAKKS Pacific Inc. E Plug-and-Play
Mysteryville 2 Brighter Minds Media E10+ PC
Newspaper Puzzle Challenge: Sudoku Edition Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company E PC
OPERATION WOLF TAITO Corporation E10+ Wii
Petz Bunnyz Ubisoft E DS
Puzzle Guzzle AGETEC E PSP
Quick Yoga Training Ubisoft Entertainment Inc. E DS
Rocket Mania PopCap Games, Inc. E PC, Web, PDA
World War II Aces Destineer T Wii
Brain Voyage Eidos E DS
Monster Lair Hudson Entertainment Inc E Wii
NFL Tour Electronic Arts E 360, PS3
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer SEGA of America E DS
Chessmaster 10th Edition Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company E PC
Aliens Vs. Predator-Requiem Vivendi Games T PSP
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Encore, Inc., A Navarre Corporation Company T PC
The Sims 2 H & M Fashion Stuff Electronic Arts T PC
The Sims Castaway Stories Electronic Arts T Mac, PC
Street Fighter Alpha SCEA T PSP, PS3
Petz Wild Animals: Tigerz Ubisoft E DS
Rayman SCEA E PSP, PS3
Worms: A Space Oddity THQ E10+ Wii
Sins of a Solar Empire Stardock Corporation T PC
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice SCEA T PSP

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last two weeks. There were 102 rated entries on 11 platforms. Windows PC (42), Nintendo DS (18), Xbox 360 (14) and Nintendo Wii (14) had the most games rated. There were 66 of the 102 games were rated at E10+ or lower, 27 rated at T for Teen and nine rated at M for Mature.

Got a comment on the rated games, put it in the section below. Until next week, make sure you know what your kids are playing……



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