What Video Games to Avoid This Christmas

If you are out buying video games for your children or teenagers, it can be hard to know which ones are age-appropriate.  Ratings are a good way to judge video games, but many parents feel that their children can handle some supposedly ‘mature’ games, as all their children’s friends play these games. 

But there is always a line and only you know your child well enough to know which games may cross it.  If you are looking to avoid the truly violent video games, this list will help you know what not to buy this holiday season.

For starters, the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series should definitely be avoided.  While the series caught a great deal of media attention for a glitch that allowed players to simulate sex, it is also incredibly violent and allows players to kill women, policemen, and random passersby.  Not the kind of message you want to give to your little one!

‘Naughty Bear’ is one of the most popular video games of the year.  The protagonist is a cute teddy bear, but don’t let the cuteness fool you.  This is an exceptionally violent game that is geared specifically toward adults. 

The ‘Call of Duty’ series of video games is highly popular for adults and older teens, but should be avoided by kids and young or sensitive teens.  This war simulation game puts kids in the role of soldiers who run around killing anyone that moves using a whole arsenal of weapons from rocket launchers, grenades, machine guns and knives.  There is a lot of blood in this game and due to it’s ultra-realistic graphics and the lifelike responses of the ‘targets’, it’s certainly not something you’d want any child playing.

‘Resident Evil’ is a zombie fighting horror video game that pits your kids against a never ending team of the undead.  With extreme graphics and bloody violence, it should be avoided.

‘Halo Reach,’ while the most popular video game of the year, is incredibly graphic and violent, and another one to avoid for young children.