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).

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“I Love Pokemon!” 

I am a media consumer and so are my children. There - I said it. My kids watch television, enjoy movies, and even play games. Having said that, they also enjoy drawing, finger-paints, Lock Blocks, Exo-Bonz, and anything that you can do with a ball. We try to use moderation. Yet, Saturday mornings are an exception.

Long before I discovered that Saturday mornings were invented to sleep in after hanging out with your friends on Friday night, I used to relish the Saturday morning cartoon brigade. I have fond childhood memories of getting up as early as I could to watch Scooby Doo: Where Are You? Yes - the original. I’m that old. Well my son has his favorites and the commercials are just as devious now as they were when we were young. I had the opportunity of witnessing the impact this weekend.

Yesterday we were at a local soccer park for a birthday party. Kids were running as fast as they could in every direction (and occasionally toward the ball) and it was a workout for all. During the break when the kids got to replenish their energy with a the ever healthy mega dose of sugar (cupcakes with a layer of diabetic-shock inducing icing), my son saw another child playing with a Nintendo DS. He had never seen one in person, but thanks to the ever-so-helpful Saturday morning brainwashing, I heard the following comment erupt from his mouth, “Wow, that’s Pokemon! Pokemon is so cool! I love Pokemon!”

As it turned out, the child was, indeed, playing the current Pokemon title on the DS (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time). It’s not that I have a problem with my children enjoying games. I don’t even mind them begging for them. I understand. Granted, it can be a bit trying at times, but it’s part of life. However, my son had never played a Pokemon game. He has never played a handheld game. He has never seen the Pokemon television series. Yet, thanks to the wonders of targeted marketing, he knows that he loves Pokemon and that it is cool.

Honestly, the Pokemon titles are a good choice for kids. They involve a sense of justice and fair play and provide opportunities to develop good problem-solving skills. I don’t have reservations about the franchise. But it is a bit unsettling to witness the power of the Saturday morning commercial in effect. As with all things, this provides an opportunity for discussion. I wish you all the best with this and I recommend practicing the fine art of diversion. I believe that my response yesterday was, “That’s pretty cool, son, and - HEY there goes the ball!”

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For those of you with a PlayStation 3, I have a wonderful recommendation. The PlayStation Network has a downloadable game entitled flOw and it is really quite pleasant. (For more information and to view some in-game footage, visit Sony’s site.) For those of you with a PSP, I have a similar recommendation. flOw for the PSP was released last week and it is every bit as beautiful as its PS3 cousin. However, there are some differences worth noting. Let’s begin with the PS3 version…

My son and I played flOw on the PS3 about a month ago and he really seemed to enjoy it. We can both play simultaneously so I can help him in some of the more overwhelming situations without him having to surrender his controller. The game takes advantage of the PS3’s six-axis controller to move your onscreen character. All you need to do is tilt the controller to determine the direction that you want to move. If you want to dart in a given direction, just press any button on the controller. That’s all there is to it!

The simplicity of the interface is really what made this accessible to my son. Combine that with the stunning visuals which he seems to think look like “skeleton-fish-bug-things” (a big plus for him on all accounts) and it’s hard not to have fun. But what is flOw?

It’s hard to describe but as an avid gamer I have found it a rather relaxing experience. There are occasional conflicts, but essentially you are an organism that is seemingly swimming around eating other organisms. As you eat more, you grow. Your shape evolves as you play through the game. After you go through all the levels, you return to the beginning and have the opportunity to grow a different organism through the same trials. Though similar, the experience offers enough variety in the gameplay that it is no chore to experience this growth process repeatedly. The visuals, the sound, and the simplicity of the interface makes it a very pleasant experience and one that I can highly recommend for a younger (or older) audience.

As for the recently released PSP version, there are two major differences that I have noted so far. First, since the PSP does not incorporate six-axis control, the player moves his/her creature around using the analog nub. This is fairly intuitive for the average PSP owner, but it does not convey the subtle nuances afforded to those who play the game on the PS3. Most moves on the PSP are more abrupt and less flowing. (Yes, I chose that word intentionally.) The second issue that I observed on the PSP version was that when you proceed from level to level, there seems to be a slight pause or stutter in between levels. This too detracts from the flowing experience.

All in all, each version of the game is under $10 and well worth it. I look forward to more games that seem so simple, yet convey such a deep sensory experience. I recall that someone on the PlayStation forums commented shortly after the original PS3 version of the game was released that it was the most cost effective therapy session money could buy.

For those interested in viewing the original Flash version of the game, you can check it out here.

Enjoy!

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I saw a fascinating episode of Frontline on our local PBS affiliate last night. It was entitled, “Inside the Teenage Brain.” In typical PBS fashion, you can find a tremendous amount of related information at their site including a viewable version of the entire episode!

One insight that I learned from this broadcast was that the average teenager gets only 7.5 hours sleep and they need 9.25 hours. This “sleep debt” makes focusing and studying even more difficult. Another observation that came out of research referenced in this program was teenagers’ misinterpretation of facial expressions. It appears that the adolescent brain interprets visual displays of emotion in different areas than the adult brain. Because of this, it processes the visual stimuli differently and reaches conclusions which are inconsistent with what adult brains understand.

There is some wonderful information in this program and one of the final messages that they share with the viewer is that in spite of teenagers’ erratic emotions and potentially abrasive behavior, they really want contact with their parents. Sometimes they don’t know how to say this and their desire for independence makes it difficult for them to express it.

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This Yahoo News article highlighted a recent Associated Press-AOL Games poll. Among other significant numbers, 43% of parents whose children play videogames do not play along. Of the remaining parents, 30% say that when they do, it’s less than an hour per week. I can’t help but think that this is a wasted opportunity. At the same time, recognizing how many hours many parents have to work, time can become an even more precious thing.

The perception that many people have is that videogames are a waste of time. Depending on what you need to do with your time, this could be a very valid argument. Some weeks I spend 60+ hours working. If I’m going to have some time with my kids, I’d rather be able to read to them and get some tickling time in or maybe a few rounds of hide-and-seek before we wind down for bed. We don’t need to spend precious shared time watching TV or playing a videogame. Yet, when I have a whole weekend of activities, I enjoy the variety and relief offered by watching a Scooby Doo episode or playing with a PS2 Eyetoy title. (I can’t tell you how often I hear the pleading for the “wishy washy game.”)

However, keep in mind that my kids are all under 5 at the moment. When my son is 14, kicking back with a videogame on the weekend might become quality time. I want to do what I can to find ways for our kids to want to spend time with us as well as their friends. Heck, maybe when they’re in high school they’ll have their friends over to play Halo 12 and I’ll be invited to join. (I can dream!)

I plan to find as many ways to relate to my children as I can because the more that we understand each other, the more we’ll appreciate and respect each other. That’s the only way that our kids will listen to us. And we need to return that favor. As parents, I hope that we all strive to find opportunities to build positive common experiences whenever possible. It’s too easy to lose one’s sense of priorities with other pressing time-lines. (Anyone care to guess what Harry Chapin song I heard earlier today?)

 Special thanks to our friend David Stoddard for passing us the link!

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Halloween is a special holiday for many and ideally it provides an opportunity to be scared without real fear of danger (i.e., those fangs were bought at the local drug store). For those that want to enjoy some halloween game choices, Game Apparent has a few suggestions for you ranging from the kid-friendly options to the more adult oriented fare.

First Up is a PlayStation 2 EyeToy title called Play. For the uninitiated, the EyeToy is a USB camera that hooks up the the PlayStation 2 and enables players to interact with the games without a controller. You can wave your hands or jump up and down and the software recognizes your actions and applies them onscreen. Play was the first release for the EyeToy and it includes a collection of mini-games. One of these is called, Ghost Eliminator. Essentially, this is a scene with a haunted house and ghosts and bats appear and you have to wave your hands over them to dispel them. It’s really simple and fun for young and old. This is a great family choice and these games get people off the couch and laughing. Good stuff!

One franchise that is virtually replete with options is Scooby Doo. You’ll find Scooby games for the GameBoy Color, Super Nintendo, Genesis, and all of the previous generation systems (GameCube, PS2, and Xbox). One that I personally reccommend is Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights. (However, don’t introduce it to a child under 6 without reflection. For more information, see this article on our site.) Having said that, Scooby is always fun - especially when you finally reach the end and the villian claims that he/she would have gotten away with it if, “it weren’t for those meddling kids.”

Though this is a fun title, I’d suggest that you consider this for your 6+ kids in spite of the “E” rating on it. There are a number of truly frustrating platforming sequences in this game that challenge veteran gamers and I’d hate for your family to get frustrated unnecessarily. This is also a fairly involved title that easily takes 15+ hours of gameplay to finish. But for the Scooby fans, it has cameos from many of the original monsters. It’s available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a modern classic stop animation marvel. It is a wonderful film for Halloween and for those who want to play within this ficticious world, there are a few options. The PlayStation 2 offers Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 which include Halloween Town and many of the cast members. There’s also a Kingdom Hearts on the GameBoy Advance entitled, Chain of Memories. The GBA also has a prequel game entitled, The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King.

Many have begged for a sequel for this cult classic over the years. Capcom granted us something close with, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas - Oogie’s Revenge. This is a 3D adventure platformer with some interesting play mechanics. I recommend it highly for fans of the original, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped. However, it was most certainly worth playing. The voice acting is credible, but the camera can be a bit frustrating at times. Of these games, Kingdom Hearts and KH: Chain of Memories are rated “E” and Kingdom Hearts 2, TNBC: The Pumpkin King and TNBC: Oogie’s Revenge are rated “E10+.” As endearing as the characters are, I would consider adhering closely to the 10+ for those titles. There is a bit of violence, but most importantly, Tim Burton has a rather twisted imagination and many of these creatures in this could give a smaller child real nightmares.

For the older teen in the household, or even the parents who are interested in gaming, there are a number of horror-based titles available and many of these (being older) are available used for a fraction of the orignal cost. Please be aware that these are “M” rated titles and, therefore, are not intended for children under 17 years of age.

The Resident Evil series and Silent Hill titles offer some partiuclarly dark imagery that will scare the most jaded horror film buff. There are a couple of Buffy the Vampire Slayer titles (one for the Xbox, and the second for Xbox, PS2, and GameCube). These are interesting 3D adventure platformers that include a number of familiar characters if you were a fan of the series. In addition to these, I’d like to recommend 3 other creepy options.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
This “M” title for the GameCube is a fascinating psychological thriller. It takes place over multiple time periods and in each of these, you control a different member of the Roivas family. As you play through the game you must remain aware of your character’s sanity through an onscreen bar. If you lose all of your sanity, the slightest scare begins to cause your character physical harm. The visuals are exceptional and the control scheme is very fluid. Be aware that in this game your character is expected to cast spells. Though this game mechanic is implimented well, it may not be appropriate entertainment for some families.

Call of the Cthulhu
This “M” title for the Xbox brings H.P. Lovecraft’s horror world to life in a first person adventure that will have you pausing the game and walking away at times. Similar to Eternal Darkness, you have to be concerned with your character’s sanity. If he sees too much that he cannot process properly, the screen will begin to blur and control will fail. It’s quite an impressive effect as well as being quite unnerving. I was a little disappointed with the overall graphics, but it was worthwhile to play a title based in a world envisioned by Lovecraft.

Fatal Frame
Though the first title is rated “T” I consider both titles ”M” rated. The second is more visually disturbing, but the sense of fear accomplished in the first title seems reason enough to save it for your teen. The series utilizes a rather unique play mechanic that has the player using a camera to see the ghosts (otherwise invisible) and trap them. There are plenty of moments in these titles when you suddenly feel all the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Nothing like coming around a corner and seeing something move in the distance. It’s not about the jumping out and scaring you moments as much as the frightening things that you see out of the corner of your eye. And nothing shocks you quite as much as thinking that you’re all alone and then when you look through the camera, you realize you’re not! Both titles are available for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. However, these have a bit of a cult following and might be harder to find.

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