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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Yesterday I received an envelope in the mail. (See picture at the left.) It contained a long-awaited demo version of the new PSP title God of War: Chains of Olympus. The cover states that an ESRB rating has yet to be assigned (”RP”). However, I can virtually guarantee after playing it through that it will be a mature title. This is not incongruous with the two previous God of War games released on the PlayStation 2.

First, allow me to say that this is not a game for children. Having said that, young adults may find this a truly entertaining title. It’s an action adventure that puts the player in the shoes (sandals?) of a spartan warrior with unearthly power who has been charged by the gods (polytheistic  intended - think ancient Greece) to wreak vengeance on their behalf. The graphics are truly impressive for a handheld gaming system. Although, I believe that the PlayStation Portable has continued to shine in this area. Sadly, it is usually at the expense of loading times.

With that aside, the only minor disappointment with the gaming experience was the occasional slow-down. I don’t know if this will be corrected in the final release or if this is just the best that the system can handle. Either way, it isn’t a deal-breaker. The fact is that Chains of Olympus looks extraordinary. The environments are rich and vivid and the battlefield gives you a real sense of enormity. Though it’s definitely a more mature title, I’d heartily recommend this for the older members of your family. The developer, Ready at Dawn, appears to have truly captured what the console originals offered in a portable form.

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The Scooby Game, Part 1:
My son loves Scooby Doo. I can’t blame him. I loved Scooby Doo when I was a kid. And honestly, looking at some of the kids shows these days, it holds up pretty well. The Mystery Gang cares about others and they don’t use weapons. They just use their minds. Granted, each episode usually has at least one plot hole big enough to accommodate a decent sized planet, but I still give ‘em an “A” for effort. With this in mind, last year I decided to introduce him to a fairly current Scooby game. (Keep in mind that I have systems that are 30 years old, so the fact that this title was available for the Xbox, PS2, and GameCube puts it only one generation behind and, therefore, fairly current in this context.)

For those of you who may grow weary of my assorted analogies and meandering prose, I’ll give you the quick up front. It was a BAD idea. My son was just three at the time and he was at too early an age to appropriately relate to a more engaging and immersive title such as this one. I would seriously advise against such exposure at this age based on this experience. Now, for those of you still interested in the details and willing to navigate the twisted thought patterns of my mind, read on…

The game is called Scooby Doo! Night of 100 Frights. It’s actually a pretty good game. I’d rate it a 7.5 out of 10. The ESRB grants it an “E” for everyone with a caveat of “comic mischief.” The game is essentially a 3D platformer in which you have to solve a rather complicated mystery. It appears Professor Alexander Graham has mysteriously disappeared and the gang sets out to find him. However, before they get far, they all get kidnapped and it’s up to Scooby to find everyone and solve the mystery. This title is hub-based and requires multiple re-visits to stages to get all of the “Scooby Snacks” and “monster tokens.” The former are required to open additional areas while the latter are not required to complete the story. However, it was the monster tokens that became my son’s obsession.

Acquiring a monster token unlocked a 3D version of that monster in the monster gallery. In many cases, you’ll see a monster token when you enter an area, but you will have no way to reach it. Most of these require special inventions made by Professor Alexander Graham. And the inventions required to access many of these tokens are not available until the later parts of the game. I can’t tell you how many times we’d spend time in the same room or on a particular section of docks trying to figure out how to get a monster token. And it wouldn’t matter if I told him that we needed to come back later, he wouldn’t hear of it.

That was just one of the issues. Another was the difficulty curve for this title. Even though it’s listed as an “E” title, that’s just content. Nothing offensive in there. However, I cannot imagine anyone under seven or eight years having the patience and the hand-eye coordination to handle many of the tricky maneuvers. Especially one sequence that required the player to jump from ship to ship as they were sinking and if you made one mistake, you had to start all over again. There were a number of these sequences throughout the game and after my son failed repeatedly, he’d hand me the controller dejectedly and say, “I can’t do it Daddy. You do it for me.”

As you may have already guessed, I had enough warning flags to try to stop this, but he was obsessed. I tried to tell him that we could play it when he was a little older. That really depressed him. It was like I had opened Pandora’s box and it was too late for me to ask everything to get back in so I could close it up and pretend that it didn’t happen. Nope. My son begged to play, “The Scooby Game,” as he called it, all day long.

My wife, God bless her, played dumb. She has never been a big fan of videogames anyway so it wasn’t really a lie when she told him that he’d have to wait for Daddy to come home from work because she didn’t know how to work the system. We had him play in the evening after his younger sister had gone to bed. We didn’t want her to want to play the game at this point (and she was only one). But this time of day was a problem too. Be aware that some forms of entertainment can wind us down whereas other can do the opposite. In this case, the attention required for the platforming elements and the puzzle-solving components was enough to have his brain in high gear. Not only did he hate stopping the game at the one-hour limit, but he had a harder time winding down and going to sleep. My wife and I discussed this at length after the first week and we resolved to get through this title, but as soon as it was done, we would not introduce another game to him that would require this level of involvement and attachment. I’ll pick this up next week and give you the details of what transpired over the following month or so that it took us to survive our first immersive title with our son. In the meantime, if you have specific questions, observations, or relevant experiences of your own, I invite you to click the link below and share your comments.

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This past Saturday (October 20th), Fox News program Cashin’ In provided yet another opportunity for Jack Thompson to vilify the gaming industry. Click here to view this YouTube clip posted by News Hounds. Perhaps what was most disturbing about this broadcast was the fact that the counter to his view, Jonathan Hoenig, was truly obnoxious and unable to properly address Thompson’s assertions point-for-point. Add to this the fact that the moderator (for lack of a better term) did nothing to balance the discussion and, eventually, joined Thompson by criticizing Hoenig’s stance by shouting over him and saying that a parent can’t prevent what their child sees at their friend’s house. Honestly, it felt like the whole thing was staged to make Thompson look good and to take an already sensationalized subject and push it further over the top.

The fact is that I am no fan of Mr. Thompson’s approach nor do I appreciate the way he spouts factiods¹ at the drop of a hat. However, he represents a voice and an opinion regarding gaming and children. Further, I believe that if we were to tear away the layers of misinformation, blatant attacks on the gaming industry, and myriad insults that he casts at gamers in general, we may find something of value. Somewhere underneath it all is an agenda. The questions is, “What is his agenda?” I believe that this is either: 1) to protect children from inappropriate content, or 2) to make a name for himself by highlighting controversial issues and appeal to the tabloid mentality.

If I proceed under the assumption that the first agenda is Thompson’s motivation, he would have a valid reason for bringing public attention to particular issues. In fact, I’d go so far to say that Thompson might be right regarding the gaming industry. He could be spot on in recognizing that an ESRB rating of “M” makes kids want the game more, just as much as an “R” film tempts them. He may also be correct when he says that the gaming industry relies on this and expects these “M” rated games to be purchased by teens under 17 and that, in fact, the industry fears that if it enforces the “M” rating through retailers that it will drastically reduce their profits. Honestly, this wouldn’t be the first time that a business put it’s own profits ahead of public interest, would it?

However, if I were to grant Mr. Thompson all of these points, it wouldn’t change the fact that he cannot argue his way out of a paper bag. He is supposed to be a lawyer, right? The weakest member of my high school debate team could make mincemeat out of him. I can’t help but think that if his agenda is in the public interest, that he could approach this in a much more productive manner. Instead, all he does is offend people who play games and try to stir up controversey. His actions seem synchronous with agenda #2.

As for this particular appearance, Thompson was speaking out to have Manhunt 2² banned in the United States. I will take this as an opportunity to strongly encourage all parents to keep this title off your under-17-year-old’s Christmas list this year. I don’t think that it should be banned any more than the movies Seven or Saw. But it is not meant for children or those with a weak stomach.

Thanks to GamePolitics for giving us the heads up on this one!

¹Factoids are not facts. Merriam-Webster defines them as, “an invented fact believed to be true because of its appearance in print.” For further clarification, see the WikiPedia entry here.

² Manhunt 2 is an extremely violent title in which the protagonist is a doctor who volunteers as a guinea pig for a neurological weapons project when funding is pulled. The result puts him in an asylum where he stays for 6 years trying to determine if his life with a wife and two children was a real memory or a fabrication. The game begins on a fateful night when the asylum loses power and our (anti-) hero escapes. In order to find out the truth about his life and those who destroyed it, he must travel a very dark path.

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