Think of the Children for July 23

Written by Dan Keener on 7/23/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  

Now that E3 is over, the ESRB posted a full two-week slate of titles on their site that finished the rating process. As expected, the PC, Wii and DS dominated the ratings, with strong showings from the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Mac. There was an Xbox game and the Intriguing Title(s) of the Week came from a very unlikely source.

This week’s PC, DS and Wii rated titles contained quite a few of the repetitive products and themes that we have grown accustomed to. There were titles from the venerable Bratz (DS, Wii), Babysitting Mania (DS), Wario (Wii), The Sims (PC), Disney (DS, PC, Wii), Animal (DS), Pets (PC) and Kirby (DS) lines of games. However, there were a few “name” titles that came down the pipe. These included LEGO Batman: The Videogame (DS), Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 (DS), Metal Slug 7 (DS), SCRABBLE (PC), Pitfall Harry: The Big Adventure (Wii), Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System (Wii) and two personal favorites, Splatterhouse 2 (Wii) and A.P.B. (PC).

The PS3 and 360 each had six titles get rated this week with several being shared. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09, FaceBreaker and Mega Man 9 all came across for both platforms. In addition, the PS3 saw PixelJunk Eden and Buzz! Quiz TV get rated. The Xbox 360 also had Guilty Gear X2 #Reload and the unannounced XBLA title Minesweeper Flags by Tik Games. Tik was responsible for the free Texas Hold Em title that Microsoft promised when the console launched. Hopefully this version of the game (I believe it is part of MSN Messenger Game lineup) is also another freebie that will be coming down the pipe. Not too bad a week for these two, with several retail and DLC titles rated.

The Intriguing Title of the Week was actually three titles, which caught me off guard because they are all tied to video services. IQ Academy was rated for Cable Box/IPTV, Sudoku+ for Set-Top box and Dynamic Bowling for the Samsung TV 750. The game for the Samsung TV 750 is something that Chuck and I saw during our Samsung booth tour at CES 2008. The Samsung 750 model TVs not only include an integrated RSS reader, but they come pre-loaded with content (including Children Games) and have the ability to download future games as well. Expect this video based gaming market to continue to heat up, as content providers try to get more products into their one-stop-shop offerings.

One item I did note was that The Princess Bride Game, which we covered in the July 9th edition and had been rated E10+, was re-rated for the Mac and PC and had the rating decreased to E for Everyone.


Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last two weeks. There were 66 rated titles on 10 platforms. PC (27), DS (19), Wii (19), Mac (8), PS2 (7), 360 (6) and PS3 (6) had the most games rated. There were 47 of the 66 titles rated at E10+ or lower, 16 rated at T for Teen and just three (Code of Honor 2: Conspiracy Island, Splatterhouse 2 and Two Worlds Epic Edition) rated at M for Mature.


Got a comment on the article or a rated games, put it in the section below or send me an e-mail. Until next week, make sure you know what your kids are playing……

*The weekly Intriguing Title of the Week (and any game that is tossed in that paragraph) is identified based on a game on the list that catches the eye of the author for any number of reasons. Good, bad or otherwise, feel free to agree, disagree or add some constructive input to the discussion.