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Think of the Children

Think of the Children

Written by Dan Keener on 5/23/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  
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We are a bit late this week, as the newest ESRB ratings didn’t post to their web site until Wednesday 5/21. Regardless, we weren’t disappointed as 40 titles appeared on the list. The PC, Wii and DS platforms represented on 34 of the titles, and had some decent selections instead of all the usual throw stuff at the wall titles (well, quite a few of those to). It was a bad week for Sony nation, as they combined for the same amount of rated titles (4) across all three of their platforms as Mac and Linux combined. Yikes! As for the weekly title of shame, I bestow the honor on two corporate behemoths that are the leaders in their respective industries….

Each week I usually trash PC, Wii and DS for the amount of junk that gets rated. In all honesty, this week isn’t that much different, but there are a few of the more anticipated titles that were rated. These included Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobos' Dungeon (Wii), NCAA Football 09 (Wii), Penny Arcade Adventures (PC), Deca Sports (Wii), Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor (DS) and Carnival Games (DS). Not a great list by any means, but it is better than more Paws and Claws, Sims 2 Add ons, Cake Mania sequels and ….. Oh well, maybe next week.

Last week I trashed Nintendo’s rated titles for not having any freshness to them. This week, I am going to look down my nose at Sony and try to figure out why the PS3, PS2 and PSP had a lousy four titles rated, the same as what the Mac and Linux systems saw? On top of that, the games aren’t anything special with the exception of 1942: Joint Strike for the PSN on PS3. Pipe Mania (PSP, PS2) and Summer Athletics (PS2) for some reason don’t inspire me to spend my cash on the weekly rated titles for these platforms.

I previously mentioned the Playstation 3’s lone title as that of 1942: Joint Strike. This arcade remake also appeared on the Xbox 360 list, as well as Zoids Assault, Puzzle Arcade, Summer Athletics and the overpriced Penny Arcade title. While the 360 didn’t fare much better than the PS3, the volume of titles for the platform has at least been consistent week in and week out. Overall, the Next-Gen platforms were kinda sucky with the exception of 1942: Joint Strike.

Another easy choice for the Title of shame this week, as The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff was my runaway winner. While those crazy pet based games were prolific again, having the world’s largest furniture maker partner up with the world’s all-time best selling PC franchise seems like a natural corporate money grab IMO. For your $20, you get to pick and choose from your choice of flat-packed furniture to deck out your Sims 2 cribs. Yup, virtual furniture from the world’s #1 brand sounds like something to definitely spend that money on. I bet this will be a hot seller in Sweden….

Title Publisher Rating Platforms
Penny Arcade Adventures Hothead Games Mature Mac, PC, 360, Linux
Puzzle Arcade Eidos Everyone PC, 360
Pipe Mania Empire Interactive Everyone PC, PS2, PSP
Rollin' Rascals Majesco Entertainment Everyone DS
Yamaha Supercross Destination Software, Inc. Everyone DS
Zoids Assault Atlus USA Teen 360
Home Sweet Home Big Blue Bubble Inc. Everyone Wii
Little League World Series Baseball 2008 Activision Value Everyone Wii
NCAA Football 09 Electronic Arts Everyone Wii
1942: Joint Strike Capcom Everyone 10+ 360, PS3
Brain Games Puzzles On Hand Software, Inc. Everyone PC
SimCity Societies Destinations Electronic Arts Everyone 10+ Mac, PC
Pony Luv Aspyr Media, Inc. Everyone DS
The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Electronic Arts Teen PC
Wacky Races: Crash & Dash Eidos Everyone DS
We Love Golf! Capcom Everyone 10+ Wii
Word Riot™ Deluxe Electronic Arts Everyone 10+ PC
Carnival Games Take-Two Interactive (2K Play) Everyone DS
ASH - Archaic Sealed Heat Nintendo Everyone 10+ DS
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard Atlus USA, Inc. Everyone 10+ DS
Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor Eidos Everyone DS
FINAL FANTASY FABLES: Chocobos' Dungeon Square Enix, Inc Everyone 10+ Wii
Go Go Gourmet Elephant Entertainment Everyone PC
Helix Ghostfire Games Everyone Wii
Magic Match Adventures Elephant Entertainment Everyone PC
Nancy Drew®: The Phantom of Venice Her Interactive Everyone PC
City Connection Jaleco Everyone Wii
Biomiracle Bokutte Upa Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Everyone Wii
Zenses - Ocean The Game Factory ApS Everyone DS
Summer Athletics dtp entertainment AG Everyone PC, PS2, 360, Wii
Deca Sports Hudson Entertainment Everyone Wii
CLUE Classic RealNetworks Everyone 10+ Mac, PC
Cake Mania 2 Majesco Entertainment Everyone DS
Alex Kidd In Miracle World SEGA of America Everyone Wii
Gley Lancer SEGA of America Everyone 10+ Wii
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns Atlus USA Teen DS
Lego Land THQ Inc Everyone PC
The Game of Life: Path to Success Encore, Inc. Everyone PC
Paws & Claws: Pet Vet Australian Adventures THQ Inc Everyone PC
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (DS) Vivendi Games Teen DS

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last week. There were 40 rated titles on nine platforms. PC (15), DS (12), Wii (12), and 360 (5) had the most games rated. There were 35 of the 40 titles rated at E10+ or lower, four rated at T for Teen and just one (Penny Arcade Adventures with the Obnoxiously Long Name) 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 Title of Shame (and any game that is tossed in that paragraph) is done so based on several factors, including which games were rated that week, how does the game concept stack up, is it a re-hashed sequel, lame movie tie-in, rip off of another game, etc…

* 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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