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Think of the Children

Think of the Children

Written by Dan Keener on 9/10/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  
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These are the types of lists from the ESRB that I like to see. Not only is there a ton of rated titles, but it is littered with powerhouse and anticipated games in addition to the usual junk. One thing I have noticed lately is that the Mac continues to gain a foothold every week, and not just the casual market. The DS and Wii are getting ready for an all-out-blitz on kids this upcoming fall and the PS3 and Xbox 360 are starting to hold their own when it comes to rated titles. My intriguing title of the week is the next great money maker for the recently formed Activision-Blizzard that is smack in the middle of Beta testing…

I always tend to list the Platforms that have at least five rated titles each week, and the Mac has continued to surprise me as it grows into a legitimate gaming platform. Granted, the titles aren’t exactly the best-of-the-best, but at least they are seeing some life. Their big catch this week was the WoW expansion Pack 2 which was also on PC. But the biggest opening was made with the kids titles, as games for the Wonder Pets, Diego, Dora and Nick Jr have been rated. As for the DS, Wii and PC, it was pretty much business as usual with a crapload of titles, dominated by kids themed games left and right. I guess now is the time to start the build-up for the Holiday rush, and kids everywhere shall not be disappointed. The DS in particular is milking the franchises such as Imagine, Smart Boys/Girls, Petz, Nickelodeon based shows and so on. The Wii seems to still be all about party style games with GameParty 2, Carnival Games: Mini Golf Adventures, Rock Band 2, Ultimate Shooting Collection and Disney Sing It. I assume the demand is there for this stuff, so maybe I should ask my six-year-old what she wants to play?

Now that the summer doldrums are behind us, we should see this type of quantities from the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 every week. Both consoles saw the following titles rated: Disney Sing It, MotoGP 08, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, Rock Band Track Pack vol. 2, NBA 2K9, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Call of Duty: World at War and Dead Space. In addition, the Playstation 3 also had NBA 09: The Inside rated, while the Xbox 360 saw Warriors Orochi 2, High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE!, A Kingdom for Keflings, Airburst, FunTown Mahjong, The MAW, TNA iMPACT! Wrestling (Toys R' US Pre-Sell) and Fable II on the list. A really nice week for both with something for everyone, but the Xbox 360 continues to beat out the PS3 on sheer volume. I also ask again, where are the PSN titles? Sony is really lagging in this area….

The Intriguing Title of the Week is World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King from Activision-Blizzard. Why? I want to see if it can shatter the record its predecessor (The Burning Crusade) set for PC game sales. Among those records was Fastest Selling PC game in Europe and North America as well as the fastest selling PC game of all time with an astonishing “2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours and approximately 3.5 million in its first month” according to Wikipedia. What’s also fun are the side stories of the crazy WoW players to be the first to level up to the new cap and how many hours straight it took them and their buddies to do it. Not to mention the next round of those that experience serious injury due to lack of sleep or food while playing. Fun times, fun times….

Title Publisher Rating Platforms
Action Heroes Policeman Ubisoft Everyone Nintendo DS
American McGee's Grimm: Little Red Riding Hood Spicy Horse Teen Windows PC
Dead Space Electronic Arts Mature Windows PC, Xbox 360, PS 3
Prison Tycoon 4: SuperMax ValuSoft Inc. Teen Windows PC
Rock Band 2 MTV Games Teen PS 2, Wii
Rock 'em Sock 'em Fish Viva Media LLC Everyone Windows PC
The MAW Twisted Pixel Games, LLC Everyone 10+ Xbox 360
Travel Games For Dummies Electronic Arts Everyone Nintendo DS
Zenses Rainforest The Game Factory Aps Everyone Nintendo DS
TouchMaster 2 Midway Everyone Nintendo DS
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon Activision-Blizzard Everyone 10+ PS 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS 3
Skate It Electronic Arts Everyone Nintendo DS
Disney Sing It Disney Interactive Studios Everyone PC, PS 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS 3
Fable II Microsoft Mature Xbox 360
Balance Tri Synergy Inc. Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
Call of Duty: World at War Activision Mature Windows PC, Xbox 360, PS 3
FunTown Mahjong FunTown World Limited Everyone Xbox 360
Go Fitness Ubisoft Everyone Wii
High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE! Disney Interactive Studios Everyone Windows PC, PS 2, Xbox 360
Imagine Movie Star Ubisoft Everyone Nintendo DS
Jojo's Fashion Show Ubisoft Everyone Nintendo DS
Little Shop - Road Trip RealNetworks Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
My Dream Job: Babysitter Viva Media LLC Everyone Windows PC
Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek SEGA Everyone Wii
NBA 09: The Inside SCEA Everyone PS 2, PS 3, PSP
NBA 2K9 2K Games Everyone Windows PC, Xbox 360, PS 3
A Kingdom for Keflings Wahoo Studios Everyone Xbox 360
Crysis Warhead Electronic Arts Mature Windows PC
Sally's Salon DS RealNetworks Everyone Nintendo DS
Power Rangers - To the Rescue Jakks Pacific Inc. Everyone 10+ Plug-and-Play
Petz Crazy Monkeyz Ubisoft Everyone Wii
Tony Hawk’s Motion Activision Everyone Nintendo DS
TNA iMPACT! Wrestling (Toys R' US Pre-Sell) Midway Teen Xbox 360, PS 2
Tropix 2 - Quest for the Golden Banana RealNetworks Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
Ultimate Shooting Collection UFO Interactive Games Everyone Wii
Clu Clu Land Nintendo Everyone Wii
Donkey Kong 3 Nintendo Everyone Wii
Cho Aniki Hudson Entertainment Inc Everyone 10+ Wii
Airburst Freeverse Everyone Xbox 360
Warriors Orochi 2 KOEI Corp. Teen PS 2, Xbox 360
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Activision-Blizzard Teen Macintosh, Windows PC
Petz Rescue: Wildlife Vet Ubisoft Everyone Nintendo DS
Populous DS XSEED JKS, Inc. Everyone 10+ Nintendo DS
Reel Deal Slots Blackbeard's Revenge Phantom EFX, Inc. Teen Macintosh, Windows PC
SKATE CITY HEROES Zoo Games, Inc. Everyone Wii
Smart Boy's Toys Club UFO Interactive Games Everyone Nintendo DS
Ener-G: Gym Rockets Ubisoft Everyone Nintendo DS
My Ocean Sim Viva Media LLC Everyone Windows PC
Jewel Quest Mysteries: Curse of the Emerald Tear iWin, Inc. Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC, Browser
Happy Tails: Animal Shelter Viva Media LLC Everyone Windows PC
GameParty 2 Midway Everyone Wii
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Activision Everyone 10+ Windows PC, Xbox 360, PS 3
CHRYSLER CLASSIC RACING Zoo Games, Inc. Everyone Windows PC, Wii
Pufu's Spiral - Adventures Around the World pondergames Everyone Windows PC
Petz Rescue Endangered Paradise Ubisoft Everyone Nintendo DS
Nick Jr. Bingo Activision Value Early Childhood Macintosh, Windows PC
Rock Band Track Pack vol. 2 MTV Games Teen PS 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS 3
Smart Girl's Party Game UFO Interactive Games Everyone Nintendo DS
Wonder Pets! Save the Puppy Activision Value Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
Tropical Swaps 2 RealNetworks Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
Crash: Mind over Mutant Vivendi Games Everyone Nintendo DS
Dora Saves the Snow Princess Activision Value Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
All Star Cheer Squad THQ Inc Everyone Nintendo DS, Wii
Carnival Games: Mini Golf Adventures 2K Games Everyone Wii
Boogie Superstar Electronic Arts Everyone 10+ Wii
MotoGP 08 CAPCOM Everyone PC, PS 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS 3
Go Diego Go! Great Dinosaur Rescue Activision Value Everyone Macintosh, Windows PC
King's Bounty - The Legend Atari Teen Windows PC
Hidden Secrets Brighter Minds Media Teen Macintosh, Windows PC

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last week. There were 69 rated titles on 10 platforms. PC (29), Wii (18), DS (17), Xbox 360 (16), Mac (12), Playstation 3 (9) and Playstation 2 (9) had the most games rated. There were 55 of the 69 titles rated at E10+ or lower, 10 rated at T for Teen and four (Call of Duty: World at War, Crysis Warhead, Dead Space and Fable II) 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.

* 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.


 

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