The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) has released a free app for the iPhone and iPod touch (App Store link).

With this handy app you can search their for rating summaries to find out what content is in the videogame you (or your child) are interested in.

So while your at the local department store and Junior asks to buy Ultra Mega Battle 3000 you can quickly find out if it’s an age appropriate game.

Here’s the PSA the ESRB has produced.

This is a great tool to add to the super-parent utility belt. Like Batman you should always be prepared.

If you try out the app and have anything to add please let us know!

My dear friend John passed me a link to a recent article on Ars Technica. Raising a Healthy Gamer: Seven Tips for Parents offers some good common sense insights and some excellent references. The author’s first recommendation really struck home. He suggested that parents make time to take an active role in the gaming lives of their children. He expounded with the following:

Even if you aren’t always there when your child or children plays a game, putting an hour or two into the game when it’s first opened up will give you a great idea about what kind of content you can expect to see in the game. Watch your child’s body language, because games can evoke strong emotions and reactions in those playing them.

The article has a number of other excellent observations and they all stem from the fact that parents are the best judges of whether or not content is appropriate for their children. That requires time and involvement…which pretty much defines parenting.

If you get a chance, point your browser in their direction. It will be time well-invested.

Chris emailed me a link that put me into a feeding frenzy on the web. For those of you who don’t know, I take great joy in playing games that demonstrate how interactive media can provide a unique narrative form. Whether it be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Sam & Max Hit the Road, Beyond Good and Evil, or (one of my all-time-favorites) Ico.

For those of you who know what Ico is and have enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus, this information is golden. Check out the details from PlayStationLifestyle.net HERE. For those who don’t know what these games are, feel free to follow the Wikipedia links that I have provided. But please understand that the beauty of these games is not to be captured in still images or descriptions. Team Ico creates living breathing worlds where you want to discover what lies around each corner. Their use of soundscapes and music envelops the player within the environment. Simply put, their experiences are truly immersive.

If your curiosity hasn’t been piqued, take a look at the following video…

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Both of the original titles from Team Ico have an ESRB T rating. Though there is a fairytale quality to these experiences, they provide some moral questions and have environments and situations which I believe could be a bit haunting for the younger ones in the household. See what you think before you present it to your family. Although I believe that like many of the good books or wonderful films I’ve enjoyed over the years, the experience of playing these titles has made my life richer and I heartily recommend them to all. As for the latest in the series, I’m downright giddy!

A couple of years ago as we were approaching the Holiday 2007 Season, Chris and I shared THIS POST highlighting the parental controls for the three major home consoles. We didn’t list instructions for the Nintendo DS because the system doesn’t have any. The reason is that for the most part, there weren’t any ESRB M-Rated North American NDS releases. Since then, a few have crept into the pool. Considering that there are close to 1000 titles domestically available, the dozen or so M-Rated titles have been of little issue. However, Rockstar North has changed that.

With the release of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the DS has a Mature title that many will want to play (even though some probably shouldn’t). In fact, Rockstar Games’ site highlights THIS LINK to MetaCritic as proof that Chinatown Wars is “the best game to ever hit the Nintendo DS™.” I have clocked-in about 4 hours with the title at this point and I must say that their boast is not unfounded. This game is quite an extraordinary experience for the DS.

To give you a little taste, here’s the trailer for the game:
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There are two important messages that we want to drive home here:

1. GTA Chinatown Wars is a great game.
2. GTA Chinatown Wars is not a great game for everyone.

As an adult, I enjoyed the wry sense of humor and typical violence for which the Grand Theft Auto franchise is known. Within the first hour of gameplay, the writers had incorporated the “f-bomb” repeatedly, the protagonist had his masculinity questioned on an “exotic film” set, and the experience included hot-wiring cars, buying/selling drugs, and killing a dozen or so characters. And the use of the touch screen on the DS for creating Molotov cocktails felt like WarioWare gone really bad.

I can heartily recommend this title for those old enough in your family to know the difference between right and wrong and want to have a little fun without hurting anyone. However, keep in mind that if you have younger ones with access to the DS, this title cannot be locked out with parental controls. The DS doesn’t provide that feature.

Enjoy, but be aware!

A number of reputable reviewers have given the title high praise including Game Informer magazine which gave it a 9.25 out of 10. The classic gameplay uses the same tilt approach as the original and offers hours of fun for kids of all ages. The primary colors and fun music will make it hard to identify the kids from the parents once this one starts up. And at this price, it’s hard to pass up.

Watch out for the Mojas!

First – DISCLAIMER – The two titles that I’ll be talking about here are both rated M by the ESRB and are not intended for individuals under the age of 17 years. (You should be able to see the “M” pretty clearly on the covers above!) Having said this, these two Capcom titles are really quite impressive for the older members of your family. They are not recent releases, but they’re currently available new at GameStop for $9.99 each!

Resident Evil 4 (available HERE for $9.99) was originally developed for the Gamecube and was released subsequently for the PS2 and the Wii. Many believe that upon it’s release, RE4 was the most impressive entry to this survival horror franchise and all versions are something to behold. The PS2 version even offers 16:9 480p support for those of you with component cables on your PS2s or backward compatible PS3s. If you’re (not so) patiently waiting for the next installment for the Xbox 360 and PS3, this could keep you creeped out until RE5 hits the store shelves on March 13th.

If you prefer your gaming to be steeped in action rather than horror, you’ll find Devil May Cry 3 (available HERE for $9.99) a treat. This release offers a form of redemption to the franchise. Though the original Devil May Cry was an instant classic on the PS2, the sequel fell a bit flat and lost the sense of style and over-the-top action that had made the first release so compelling. However, DMC 3 brought the thrill back and abandoned the less creative level design and redundancy that plagued the second incarnation. Furthermore, the “Greatest Hits” version of this PS2 title provides even more content. It is a “Special Edition” complete with the ability to play the game as Dante’s brother Vergil, a more forgiving “continue” system, and a less strenuous difficulty overall. The one complaint that many had about the original release of DMC 3 was that it was just too hard. For better or worse, this is no longer the case.

As I said before, these titles are not for the younger ones in the household. But if you have an older teen, or if you yourself are looking for a reason to dust off the PS2 and you missed these when they first released, both titles are an undeniable bargain at this price.

The frugal dad strikes again! Enjoy!

Micro transactions…downloadable content…updates…expansions…whatever you call it, the gaming industry is leveraging online marketplaces to sell additional gaming goodness for less than the cost of a whole new game via your local brick-and-mortar location.

Expansion packs are nothing new with this generation of gaming, however there are a number of factors that are making this a more feasible option for many console players. Right now all of the current generation systems have the ability to store content locally. The Wii uses flash ram. The Xbox 360 has an optional harddrive. Even if you choose to buy the Xbox 360 Arcade without a harddrive, you can add one on later. And all PS3s come with a harddrive. This means that each system has a place to store downloaded content.

Add to this our current economy and finding cost-effective ways to re-vitalize gameplay of your favorite title seems far more frugal than buying a whole new game at full-price which you may or may not enjoy as much. This is an important concept for parents. How many times have you heard a child (yours or another) beg for a game only to realize later that it was a total dissappointment. (Anyone my age remember E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial for the Atari VCS?) The fact is that if you know your child likes a game and you can add new levels to it or add another character which changes the gameplay experience, you get more fun for less than buying another game.

The industry is leveraging this more than ever even to the point that some games are created with the expectation that people will invest more in downloadable enhancements to the game than the original investment in the game itself. Look at the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises. Every week Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony push the latest song packs for these titles through their online marketplaces. Granted, there is logic to extending the value of something you enjoy as long as the original game is worth its initial investment freestanding. My biggest concern is that at some point the industry may choose to release Rock Band 7 with only one demo song per each of 5 genres because they expect you to fully customize the experience. Yet, they will charge the full amount for the title.

Perhaps it’s the cynic in me.

Anyway, for now there are some real interesting options available for all three current generation platforms. Those who have the Xbox 360 who enjoy GTA IV (M-rated – not for the kiddies) are probably excited that Microsoft has secured an exclusive expansion which has an entire new story and characters using the original engine. Burnout Paradise (E10+rated) has offered a number of enhancements on the PS3 and 360 and many were free! And Little Big Planet (E-rated) for the PS3 has a number of costumes and levels available online.

However, LIttle Big Planet offers something which I hope to see more frequently. It presents the ability for the community to create their own content and share it free of charge. This is nothing new to the mod scene for PC games, but it has been much less common on the consoles. I hope that we see more games with this ability because it not only creates additional content with which to enjoy the game, but it opens provides a whole different form of entertainment through the creative process and, thus, offers a whole different type of “play.”

Enjoy!

I remember my parents previewing the original Star Wars (known now as “Episode IV: A New Hope”) back in the summer of 1977 to see if they thought that it would be appropriate fare for my brother (9) and me (11). Ironically, we were at home hiding under the covers because we had been watching the 1953 War of the Worlds. (Man, those aliens were creepy!) As it is, the PG rating seems overprotective for what most see these days. Yet, my parents wanted to be sure.

Fast-forward 31 years and we are looking at a videogame that has gotten a unique George Lucas seal of approval. This title is the official bridge between Episode III and Episode IV. Granted, depending on your choice at the final battle, you can experience either the canon or non-canon ending. But my real question as I was playing it was, “What would my parents have thought?” Honestly, this title is much darker than any of the original trilogy. Episode IV-VI feel much more innocent as they tell the story of Luke Skywalker. Whereas the newer trilogy (especially Episode II-III) have a much more sinister quality in that they document the tragic fall of his father Anakin.

But Force Unleashed tells the story of a boy who Darth Vader turns to the dark side of the Force after killing his father. Even the premise begins darker. As you play this character, you are responsible for slaying Jedi Knights and, in one level, you are expected to kill virtually everyone with whom you come in contact (enemies and allies alike) to eliminate surviving witnesses. Now don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed the game. However, it is not the story that my parents would have taken my brother and me to see back in the Summer of 1977.

I have had a chance to play the demo for the PlayStation 3 and it is gorgeous. The PSP version is very impressive considering the capabilities of the handheld in comparison. I’ve seen the Xbox 360 version and it appears to be every bit as beautiful as the PS3 version and the Nintendo DS iteration seems to be on par with the PSP. I hear that the Wii takes advantage of the Wiimote for lightsaber control (how cool is that?!?!). I have never played a Star Wars game in which I felt more like a Jedi (or a Sith) than in this title. Sure, the camera can get a little squirrelly and the targeting is less than perfect. However, the immersive experience and the sense of awe that you will have at the power of the dark side is downright intoxicating.

Yet, I must say that the ESRB Teen rating for this is appropriate. This rating expects the player to be at least 13 years of age and considering the lack of respect for human life and the protagonist’s questionable ethical foundation, I would not necessarily want this anti-hero to be a role model for a young child. His actions could be perceived as too exhilarating when, in fact, they are driven by evil and manipulative purposes.

In classic Lucas form, the opportunity for redemption becomes available in the end. However, by that point, I question whether or not the player can be redeemed. I know that after 15 or so hours of playing this character and using the Force Choke and the Force Lightning (both non-Jedi Force powers), I don’t know to what extent I would want to cease using the power of the Force as an offensive tool.

All in all, it’s an excellent story that reveals some interesting information about the time that passes between the two trilogies. I would not recommend it for the younger children. But for the teens and older in your household, it is quite a ride. I also believe that this could provide an excellent discussion tool for ethical decisions for those middle schoolers and high schoolers in your family.

May the Force be with you.

This week the ESRB has announced a new campaign (press release). They are partnering with the Parent Teacher Association to help parents within the community to recognize and utilize the rating system in order to identify appropriate game content for children. The initiative includes a booklet (view the electronic version) that will be distributed throughout the 26,000 PTAs nationwide.

We at Game Apparent always encourage families to look for the ESRB ratings on games before purchasing them. It’s a simple way to help parents filter media for which their children aren’t prepared. It’s good to see the ESRB engaging in proactive initiatives like this and the Game Search Widget (see the yellow box in the upper left corner of our main page).

We’ve added it to the far right of the site so take it for a spin and let us know what you think.

The press release can be found here if you want all the juicy details.