Are these games appropriate for my child?

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

PilzFTW

Reputable
Nov 3, 2014
71
0
4,640
Hello, I was wondering if these games were appropriate for my child to play. He is 12 years old and frequently plays Call of Duty and Battlefield 4.
Would these games be appropriate?

Grand Theft Auto V
Far Cry 4
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Watch Dogs
Assassins Creed: Unity

Thanks!
Nick
 
Solution
jaguarskx


Go back to the 1st post in this thread. At end of the 1st post you should see "Stop tracking this thread" or something similar.

This thread will be locked tomorrow if the OP makes no other response.
Sort by date Sort by votes
if we lose track of ourselves then it is quite clear that the view on what could affect the child gets blurry.
sorry but i agree with toxic. there are boundaries to be set.
and games are developed by other humans, who don't just create them to make children grow into super better people. they do it for the money >> the solution to that is somehow addiction so that people keep buying their products.
now it doesn't mean games are bad and we should keep our kids away from them.
but take the content of the game into consideration. they may be virtual and not completely affect the child, but most of them easily lead to depression and agitation. explain everything to your child that affects the mentality and try to be positive all the time.
mature does not say much. extremely mature and intelligent people (even over 30 years old) can get affected by negativity if they encounter it way too much and do not have their guard up all the time.
and of course boys show the new discoveries they see to others as well. so the content may be already known to some kids. but if the parent just agrees and allows the kid to keep on stuffing himself with that kind of content, then the child might start to think it is normal. since his parent allow him....
and correction: we do not have so many normal people out there..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Define normal... It's different for everyone. Depression, agitation, and negativity affects everyone differently. There is no clear cut way to mold a child's beliefs or understanding of the world "they" experience. There are loads of examples out there of someone growing up in a good home away from all these so called "bad" influences like video games yet doing bad things when they get older. A good parent pays attention to a child's moods and attitudes and can hopefully see the subtle changes that can lead to bad decisions or behavior. Then they can take action to "hopefully" put the child back on the right track. But honestly, in my experience, there is no guarantee that anything will keep a child on the path to a good mature and positive life. I believe a child's reactions are based on how they see those of whom the child looks up to react. And that is something that starts as soon as the child is born. So there may be some children out there who can play games like the GTA series and not get affected by it. But this is just my humble opinion that is based on the things I have seen and experienced.

Edit: There is also the flip side where a child that grows up in a very dysfunctional environment with loads of bad and immature influences still turns into a very mature and productive adult that leads a very positive lifestyle.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Hello! Very honestly, those games should be fine, I was mature at his age as well and was playing games like that (back five years ago)! You may want to watch GTA V but honestly it should be fine. Dragon Age is great! ACU is good but a bit bloody. Far Cry 4 (I haven't played it) has a lot of blood and language and some deranging stuff in there as well. GTA V I'm pretty sure is the worse, with nudity, language, drugs, etc.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This all depends on the kid. I played very violent games /graphic games starting at age 8 or 9... my parents were fine with it because I was ( still am ) a nice kid with a giant heart who cried when watching sad dog commercials. My parents let me play and monitored my behavior, demeanor, and language. They saw no change for the worse, so they continued to let me play them.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
i can't deny that. you are right Madmaxneo.
but why the urge and wish to play a character with some messed up life? for their age why not have them play things that are oriented in construction, creativity, food, education, life day to day, history (oriented at logic and teachings), puzzles..
i am not saying those action games are bad, but why the shooters (main point and almost the only thing to do in the game: kill) and mafia style games. Of course they won't turn into that. Those that become like that have it in the blood, not just cause they played a game.
But one thing that i can say for certain is that negativity can affect everyone. No one is perfect. And believe me agitation strikes hard in many cases. One needs very good mental control to maintain himself.
More than that i can't say. I may be wrong since i based my answer on what i saw and my own experience.
oh and normal. meh i can't really define it to have it fit with everyone's point of view on it. But what i meant is that we do have a lot of people that have no mental control nowadays.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


I guess if you feel like your child is mature enough. However, in gta you can go to a strip club and rain money in a private room on a stripper and if you do it long enough her flirt meter goes up to the point that sexual favors are given. Once done you can pop her in the back of the head with whatever weapon you deem necessary (I usually use a baseball bat because it makes a nice thunk when it makes contact with the base of the skull). That's not even that bad of a thing in GTA either. It's full of drugs and sex and even advertising on their in game radio stations to kids. However, I probably started playing the gta games when I was around that age and I turned out fine so who knows. Dragon age is full of choices and your character can choose outcomes of the game based on their interactions. Some of the interactions include flirting with other characters until you coax them into bed with you where full nudity is shown in the cutscenes. It's up to you. It's not really for kids at all but at the end of the day it's up to you. Just remember video games turn children's brains to mush and they become serial killers. Especially gta. Hope this helped somewhat.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


In the UK the Social Services (S/S) can take your children off you and adopt them out if you give them games like that to play; as the government/police would Criminalise you.

Even if it educated them rather than more likely immunizing them (or encouraging them) to crime.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Actually it's because the US Government makes them, it's the law.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This post is rather ridiculous.
The main question states: "Are these games appropriate for my child?"
Then you get a negative answer and you defend the opposite. If you already have a fixed midset, why bother asking? To surrogate the responsibility away from yourself?
To re-affirm your position?

What good is asking a question if you ignore the answers that you dont like?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


He may be undercover filth; trying to honeytrap PC enthusiasts.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Well, cod isnt really a mature game. Last time i checked, the only ones who play cod are about 6-14. And cod is NOTHING compared to gta. I can promise you, that gta 5 will be so much worse than cod. Remember that the young brain is still learning, and letting him play gta will quiete possibly make him think that girls are objects. Im 14 years old, trust me, or don't. But please dont be "one of those" parents. At least you asked before.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If you do not mind animated nudity then I suppose Dragon Age: Inquisition.

GTA 5 is probably one of the more controversial game because there is a mission where the player must torture a human being to progress the storyline. If you have no problems with animated torture, then I suppose you can buy the game for him.

He is your kid, not mine so if you feel he can handle exposure to sexual conversations (straight, gay, lesbian), nudity, violence and drug use, then that is your call.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Far Cry 4 is probably not a suitable choice as there is a certain degree of nudity in it. You are taken to an arena where two topless women escort you around for awhile, and once the mission is passed you may revisit the arena where one of these topless women can be found near the entrance. There is also a section of the game where you are hallucinating about a women and she is showing some major cleavage.(This is coming from a 16 year old, so while I can relate to your son wanting them, I would also advise against getting them for him. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm allowed to own them.)There are many missions in the game where you smoke different forms of marijuana and inhale opium as well and have to work your way through the drug induced hallucinations. If you're fine with that, then Far Cry 4 is alright. As for Grand Theft Auto V, you can visit the strip clubs any time you want and see all the nudity your little heart desires. There is also a mission where you act as a film crew to catch a celebrity in the act of getting knocked up. Sorry for any spoilers, but you asked.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Can you be more specific about the content you're concerned about?

GTA V and Far Cry 4 both have nudity and swearing. I'm not familiar with any of the other games though.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Don't forget he is still a KID. It doesn't matter how mature he is. GTA 5 is not for him. Don't fill his mind with loads of violance, drugs and unappropriate content. I would suggest Far Cr 4 or Batman Arkam City. They still have violance but less compared to other games of their kind. Far Cry would be perfect for co-op with his friends. And also, don't look at other people's kids - the example with the 7year old playing cod or cs - .
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


In Europe it is the opposite. Nudity is not a big deal at all. However... violence is a totally different issue. No games have been banned for nudity in general within Europe to the best of my knowledge, but violent games have been.


I'll allow this thread to continue for a couple of days in case the OP hasn't had a chance to respond yet.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom