Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Alright, Lets Start Off With a Broad Topic

Alrighty then, let's start off with a broad topic.

Video games-
There are many wonderful video games out there (Nintendo Wii anyone?) yet there are also many bad games (Halo 3... I'll get more in-depth later in my post about specific "bad" games). There are also many educational games for youngsters and many educational games for older kids and adults.

To be frank, I like the Wii. I try not to be biased, but it is a lot fun while it is also active and very social. I'm sure you all know about the Wii's groundbreaking control system but if you don't, I'll tell you a little bit. Many people see video games as zombie-like kids staring at a TV screen while their thumbs move at the speed of light. Yet with the Wii, when you play a game, you move around, wave your arms, get exercise... It's like playing a sport but you're watching a TV.

But don't get me wrong here, it is still not to be played in excess. One of my favorite features is how it sends you a message everyday (It will show up in your on-screen Wii message inbox) that states exactly how much time was spent playing that day. You can use this feature to monitor your child's playing time. Overall, the Wii makes video games more fun and well... a little less video gamey. It makes video games seem more social and less brain-melting.

Some good games for the Wii: Wii Sports (Included when you buy any Wii), Animal Crossing: City Folk, and the ever-popular Mario Kart Wii (Racing with a handheld steering wheel, very entertaining even though it isn't as active as other Wii games).

Bye all! I'll work on the PS3 tomorrow and the Xbox 360 after that. This weekend I will post a review of supposedly educational V-cast and Leapfrog game systems. Next week I will go much more in depth about what the "bad" games are and that will wrap up our video games unit.

See ya next time!

5 comments:

  1. Cool! A real time information source for the parents.

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  2. You forgot to mention that while most people see zombie-like children when they think of video games, this assumption is wrong. Many gamers- not just those with wiis- HAVE lives, and game for fun. You also seemed to stress sociability in what you look for in a game system. Some kids, however, do not enjoy social interaction. They are called introverts. Some people I know play by themselves to avoid having to do it with other people. Also,there is little, if any, actual physical exertion that comes into play with the wii. the only difference is you are standing up and twitch your arms every once in a while. Also, why are you hating on halo 3? That game is much deeper and less gory than most other games on the market. I personally feel that is does not deserve its M rating (Though I couldn't care less about ratings).

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  3. You're looking at video games the wrong way. Games aren't sports. The Wii is repetitive and mind-numbing, and all the critically acclaimed games developed for it are remakes of previous Nintendo games, including all the "good games" you listed.

    As far as social interaction goes, Halo 3, and for that matter any Xbox 360 game, has the potential for a hundred times more social interaction through Xbox live, an online community that no other console company has been able to match.

    You also point out that the Wii logs your playing time. It isn't the first system or game to do that. The problem is, you think that seeing how much time you spend playing games is a deterrent to continue playing, when in reality, play time is a (useless) point of pride for a lot of gamers, and leads to more gaming.

    You're really not qualified to review games or gaming consoles, this blog is doomed to failure. The fact that you're a kid doesn't mean you have some incredible insight as to what makes a game good or bad. The fact is that the average gamer is 10-20 years older than you, and the games that you are criticizing (without any real reason) are developed for them, and being sold to them. You may think you're doing someone a service by telling people what games are appropriate for their kids, but the fact is there's already a rating system in place that does that, and it's much more deeply researched than what you've written.

    If you think I'm being too hard on you because you're 13, now is a good time to learn that when you post your opinion on the internet, people will know when you're full of shit.

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