Think of the Children for November 26th

Written by Dan Keener on 11/26/2008 for DS   PC   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  

Twas the week before Thanksgiving and all through the house, not a single ESRB rater was stirring not even a mouse. After alternating big and little weeks for some time, we finally hit the wall with two small weeks in a row. After last week’s 24 titles, we follow up with a not so large list of 31 titles this week. If you were expecting some surprises or top of the line games to be included, keep holding your breath. We have officially reached the “dead zone” that is Holiday Season. The lost was completely dominated by the PC, Wii and DS titles that we expect, while the Next0gen consoles had little to offer. In fact, its bad when the PSP and web browser games have almost as many rated titles as the 360 and PS3.

Despite the Wii, DS and PC contributing 29 rated titles to the list, there simply isn’t much substance there. Some of the games that may garner some buzz are Monster Band (DS), Paint by DS (DS), Bejeweled Twist (PC) and Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (VC for Wii). There are many others, but movie tie-in, spin offs and flat-out sequels on these three platforms have become the norm, not the exception.

The titles rated for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are about as exciting as watching a drooling match between two people in a nursing home. Together they had Codemaster’s Damnation and Disney Interactive’s Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year rated. Individually, the Xbox 360 had the movie tie in game Le Conte de Despereaux rated. Only three titles the week before Thanksgiving? I’ll leave it at that…

Remember that last weeks Intriguing Title was the new ratings summary that the ESRB started? Well, for whatever reason not a single summary was included in the titles that were released since then. I’m not sure if they are reevaluating the system after the barrage of feedback from the media or if they had a quirk in the system. Regardless, it wasn’t there and it will be interesting to see when, or if, it comes back.

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for last week. There were 31 rated titles on eight platforms. PC (10), DS (10) and Wii (9) had the most games rated. There were 24 of the 31 titles rated at E10+ or lower, four rated at T for Teen and three (Penumbra Requiem, Penumbra: Overture and Damnation) 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.