Today I was digging through digg. This rarely turns up anything useful, but there is the occasional link to an article on kotaku that doesn’t completely suck. Of course, the primary reason why this article doesn’t completely suck is because it’s not an article at all, it’s a video clip. The video clip isn’t even produced by kotaku, but was, in fact, aired on G4. News that comes from G4 is often interesting because it paints a picture on the video gaming industry and market that you do not see in the mainstream media. This clip is precisely one of these.
In this clip, Adam Sessler of XPlay interviews the authors of this book called “Grand Theft Childhood” in which they posit the theory that children who do not play video games are at a greater risk of being socially ostracized and of becoming more physically violent than their gamer peers.
This is something I’ve been advocating for years. If you’re kids are doing something, you’ve got to get involved so that you can understand it when they talk about it at dinner, and also to make yourself aware of the kinds of things that they are doing when your back is turned. With video games, you can’t know for sure what they’re playing until you’ve watched them do it. I’m not saying you have to pick up a controller and beat Final Fantasy XII. I am saying that you should spend some time watching your kid beat Final Fantasy XII and ask them questions about the game, find out why they think it’s fun and see the game in action to make sure that it meets your standards. That’s what the demo consoles in gamestop and best buy are for people!
After months of waging battle in Tartarus and waiting to max out all my levels and social links, I finally beat the game!
I’m so excited! Of course, that only removes one title from my fairly lengthy backlog. Especially since the hubby keeps adding things to the pile, but it feels good to have one out of the way. I can now pass this game on to the kids and start up the next great thing, which looks like it will probably be Xenosaga III.
The current video game pile is thus:
Xenosaga 3 (ps2)
.hack\\GU 4 (ps2)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations (DS)
Rogue Galaxy (ps2)
Final Fantasy XII (ps2)
Enchanted Arms (ps3)
Folklore (ps3)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma (ps3)
I still haven’t finished DDS, and may never get around to it. That last boss battle seriously keeps kicking my butt, thankfully it’s only the last boss battle that’s holding me back in DDS. Ninja Gaiden Sigma has me stalled at the FIRST boss battle. Geez that game is hard! Fun and oh so pretty, but hard.
I’ve taken a break from the other games that I am playing right now to turn my attentions to Okami. Okami is a gorgeous platformer with an RPG feel to it that is just… loads of fun. The game is amazing because I’ve never played a video game in a watercolor world before, nor have I ever used ink as a weapon. The game play is great and this is a welcome break from Kingdom Hearts II. It’s a great game. Enjoy the YouTube video!
It took me four years of whittling away at this game, but at long last I have finally beaten Kingdom Hearts. Yes, that does not have a “II” after it. I just finished the first one. I really wanted to beat that game before the summer was out. It took the whole summer after taking a year or so off from playing the game while I was sucked into the Xenosaga trilogy.
Currently on my plate for gaming nerdiness:
Kingdom Hearts II
Xenosaga III
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus
Digital Devil Saga I
Digital Devil Saga II
Drakengard
Dragengard 2
.hack//quarantine
That’s *counts on fingers* 8 games. I don’t think I will make it through them all before the summer is over. I suspect though, that I can probably beat down DDS 1 or .hack//quarantine because I am close to the end of both of those games, possibly both if I do nothing else in my free time for the next week.
It was worth it though, I really enjoyed the game even though it is a classic button masher and an example of major issues with camera angles in the early ps2 titles. Still, the scene at the very end made me cry. If you’ve beaten Kingdom Hearts, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, it wouldn’t make sense.
This is just one of many suchs laws that have been struck down due to their lack of constitutionality and I don’t blame the ESA for fighting them. The truth of the matter is, parents must check the rating on the box when they purchase a game for their kids.
It’s time for parents to start parenting again, and to stop expecting Wal-mart to do it for them. Go shopping with your kids, read reviews on the popular video game websites. If you’re not sure where to start, google or wiki the phrase “video games” and see what comes up. There’s no excuse for not knowing what your kids are playing, and there’s no excuse for sending them off to go shopping by themselves without knowing what they are planning to bring home before you let them go.
Video Games, Wierdness Du Jour | Random Gemini | 
April 19, 2008 1:12 pm | 
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