Think of the Children for December 31

Written by Dan Keener on 12/31/2008 for DS   PC   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  

After taking a week off due to the Holidays and the ESRB having little content out, we are back with the latest and greatest rated titles. The big three were prolific, with a combined 30 of the titles. The Xbox 360 and PS3 also had a strong two-week period, while the intriguing titles were a bit on the strange side.

Despite the two-week holiday period, the PC, Wii and DS platforms has a surprisingly long list of titles. Some of the potential Guitar Hero Modern Hits (DS), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (DS, Wii), Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game Squadrons Over Corellia (PC), Heroes of Might and Magic V (PC) and Strong Bad Episode 5 8-Bit Is Enough (Wii). Not overwhelming, but it also it wasn’t littered with the girl power and casual titles we usually see.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 had quite a few rated titles, primarily on the strength of the PS3 with several episodes of Gran Turismo TV rated. The ESRB saw fit to rate each TV episode separately, as they range from E10+ - Teen. In addition, the PS3 saw Burn Zombie Burn rated. Both consoles had the following titles: Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Street Fighter IV, CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars, The Godfather II, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, and Wheelman. The Xbox 360 also had Stoked on the list. Overall, not a bad group for the two-week holiday period, showing that us gamers do have a few things to look for over the winter months in 2009.

My intriguing title(s) of the week are the Gran Turismo TV segments that were rated individually. I am curious is Sony submitted them to be rated, or if the ESRB went ahead on their own and decided to rate them. The previews for each can be fond at ESRB.org and it is an interesting read. But it is a bit surprising that the episodes were rated in such detail individually for in-game content. I don’t recall the mini-games in Bully SE getting rated or PGR3 getting rated.


Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for last week. There were 58 rated titles on just eight platforms. PC (17), PS3 (14), Wii (8), 360 (7) and DS (6) had the most games rated as expected. There were 25 of the 58 titles rated at E10+ or lower, 14 rated at T for Teen and five (Commander In Chief - Geo-Political Simulator, The Godfather II, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Burn Zombie Burn and The House of the Dead: Overkill) 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.