Top 10 Most Violent Games To Avoid This Christmas

By Max Brenn
20:20, December 5th 2007

The US National Institute for Media and Family has released its 2007 "Christmas-shopping guide", for parents preoccupied with their kids' virtual safety. According to data cited from MediaWise, 86% of the kids aged 8 to 16 (9 children out of 10) are constantly playing games, while their parents, who have grown up with Amiga, DreamCast or Atari consoles in their hands, are also prolonging the ludicrous pleasure well into their adulthood.

While there are certainly advantages to mention for this situation (better interaction with siblings through online gaming, interactivity and the improvement of eye-hand coordination) there are also aspects that are questionable and could pose a risk to the mental and physical health of children.

National Institute for Media and Family underlined in their study that "efforts to protect children from the now undeniable potential harms of excessively violent video games have not kept pace with industry growth. Some of this shortfall is due to a chronic phenomenon: as the industry and its influence continue to grow, video games present new challenges for families."

The study also invokes the case of famous developer Rockstar Games, which was at first forced to postpone the launch of the controversial sequel Manhunt 2 this July and only allowed to release the game after changes in the gameplay were operated. However, just as it happened in the summer of 2006, when Rockstar became involved in the GTA Hot Coffee scandal, the release of Manhunt 2 didn't stop inquisitive and mischievous hackers from activating the Mature (M) or Adults Only content on the PSP and PlayStation 2, thus further increasing concern among NIMF members.

"Complacency, especially on the part of retailers and parents, appears to have caused a backslide in ratings awareness and enforcement. And, at the same time, while the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has continued to educate the public about its video game rating system, several shocking incidents have inadvertently revealed dangerous loopholes in the ratings process. Simply put, some of the hard-won progress seen in previous years has been lost, and now, too many children are spending too much time playing inappropriate video games that can harm their health and development."

Here is the complete list compiled by the NIMF board, which should give parents an idea about what to buy for their children this Christmas: