Think of the Children for October 25th
Do to being offline with this for so long, I’m only going to take the last 49 games that were rated and take a peak at them. Looking over the list, there appears to be a lot of familiar faces and trends, a definite diverse undertow and a lack of true-next gen titles making their way through the process.
The first thing that jumped out was the volume of previously released games going through the ringer once again. With new version of Feeding Frenzy, AstroPop, Tiger Woods and a host of sequels, it’s a wonder people keep buying the same recycled crap across every single platform. Speaking of, how about a “Holy Spellforce Batman!”, as there were no less than five titles rated by the ESRB for the Windows PC series. It probably was for the Spellforce Universe set that went on sale recently, but still….
I think we all know that diversity in the workplace is not only encouraged, but in some cases required. However, can you see the ESRB raters’ face that had an inbox of Hannah Montana, Big Mutha Trucker 2 and Baby Luv waiting to be played? Once those were finished up, Cake Mania 2, My French Coach: Intermediate and Army of Two were begging for attention. Honestly, I am getting this vision of Forrest Gump talking about a big box of chocolates and never knowing what you will get.
Now we get to take our weekly (or is that monthly?) poke at the true next-gen systems Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Again, there is so little to get excited about, as only two titles were rated that span both systems: The Club and Army of Two. That was it for the PS3, and the Xbox 360 fared not much better with a couple of XBLA retreads (Feeding Frenzy and AstroPop) and the new Omega Five XBLA and Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess, shared with PS2 and PC.
<shakes head>
Based on my look through, I didn’t really notice any game getting outed by the ESRB. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss one.
| AstroPop | PopCap Games, Inc. | E | PC, PS2, Cell, Web, Xbox 360 |
| Cake Mania 2 | Elephant Entertainment | E | PC |
| Feeding Frenzy | PopCap Games, Inc. | E | Macintosh, PC, Xbox 360 |
| Fire Pro Wrestling Returns | Agetec, Inc. | T | PS2 |
| Gate of Thunder | Hudson Entertainment Inc | E | Wii |
| Gothic 3 | Dreamcatcher Interactive Inc. | T | PC |
| Metal Marines | Namco Bandai Games America | E | Wii |
| MX vs ATV: Untamed | THQ | E | Nintendo DS |
| NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams | SEGA of America, Inc. | E | Wii |
| SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals Tactical Strike | Sony Computer Entertainment America | T | PSP |
| Spellforce | Dreamcatcher Interactive Inc. | T | PC |
| Spellforce 2: Dragonstorm | Dreamcatcher Interactive Inc. | M | PC |
| Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars | Dreamcatcher Interactive Inc. | M | PC |
| Spellforce: Order of the Dawn | Dreamcatcher Interactive Inc. | T | PC |
| Spellforce: Shadow of the Phoenix | Dreamcatcher Interactive Inc. | T | PC |
| STAR TREK®: Conquest | Bethesda Softworks | E | PS2, Wii |
| Avatar: Bobble Battles | ValuSoft | E | PC |
| Cocoto Magic Circus | Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation | E10+ | Wii |
| EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 Family DVD Game | Bright Things | E | DVD |
| Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess | Square Enix, Inc | T | PC, PS2, Xbox 360 |
| My French Coach: Intermediate | Ubisoft Entertainment | E | Nintendo DS |
| My Spanish Coach: Intermediate | Ubisoft Entertainment | E | Nintendo DS, Wii |
| The King of Fighters XI | SNK Playmore USA | T | PS2 |
| Army of Two | Electronic Arts | M | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 |
| Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition | Ubisoft Entertainment | E | PC |
| Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour | Disney Interactive Studios | E | Wii |
| Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law | Capcom | T | PS2, PSP, Wii |
| Tria-chnid | Compass Marketing | E10+ | Macintosh, PC |
| OMEGA FIVE | Hudson Entertainment Inc | E10+ | Xbox 360 |
| Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles | Capcom Entertainment | M | Wii |
| Rock Tour Tycoon | Game Mill Entertainment | E | Macintosh, PC |
| Belief & Betrayal | Lighthouse Interactive | M | PC |
| The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff | Electronic Arts | T | PC |
| The Club | Sega | M | PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 |
| Super Collapse! Puzzle Gallery | United Developers | E | PC |
| Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull | Her Interactive | E | PC |
| Mega Brain Boost | Majesco Entertainment | E | Nintendo DS |
| M&M's Kart Racing | Destination Software, Inc. | E | Wii |
| Imagine Master Chef | Ubisoft | E | Nintendo DS |
| Professor Layton and the Curious Village | Nintendo of America | E | Nintendo DS |
| Petz Hamsterz 2 | Ubisoft | E | Nintendo DS |
| Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008 | Sega | E | Macintosh, PC |
| Big Mutha Truckers 2 | Strategy First | M | PC |
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am | Midway Amusement Games LLC | M | PS2 |
| Baby Luv | Game Mill Entertainment | E | PC |
| American Girl: Julie Finds a Way | ValuSoft | E | Nintendo DS |
| Code Lyoko-Quest for Infinity | The Game Factory ApS | E10+ | Wii |
| Colin McRae Rally Mac | Codemasters UK | E | Macintosh |
| Culpa Innata | Strategy First | M | PC |
Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated. There were 49 rated entries on 11 platforms (DVD debuted this week). Windows PC (23), Wii (10), Nintendo DS (8) and Playstation 2 (7) had the most games rated. There were 30 of the 49 games at E10+ or lower, 10 rated at T for Teen and nine rated at M for Mature.
Until next week, make sure you know what your kids are playing……
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
About Author
Like many gamers in their 40's, I developed my love of gaming from my Commodore 64 after we wore out our Intellivision. I spent countless hours wandering around the streets of Skara Brae, as my life was immersed in The Bard's Tale series on the C-64, D&D Titles and any/all Epyx titles (California Summer and Winter Games) and sports titles. After taking the early 90's off from gaming (college years) minus the occasional Bill Walsh College Football on Sega, I was re-introduced to PC games in the mid 1990's with a couple of little games called DOOM II and Diablo. I went all-in with the last generation of consoles, getting an Xbox 360 on launch weekend as well as adding a PS3 and Wii in subsequent years. I now am into the current-generation (latest?) of consoles with the WiiU and Xbox One. Recently, I was able to get back into PC gaming and have enjoyed it very much, spending most of my time going solo or playing with my fellow GamingNexus staffers in controlled multiplayer action.
While my byline is on many reviews, articles and countless news stories, I have a passion for and spent the last several years at GamingNexus focusing on audio & video and accessories as they relate to gaming. Having over 20 years of Home Theater consulting and sales under my belt, it is quite enjoyable to spend some of my time viewing gaming through the A/V perspective. While I haven't yet made it to one of the major gaming conventions (PAX or E3), I have represented GamingNexus at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in nine of the last ten years.
Personally, I have been a staff member at GamingNexus since 2006 and am in my third tour of duty after taking off the last year and a half.
