The National Media Institute or NMT, a watchdog group, monitors the content in the media like television and movies. Recently they reviewed the content of several newly released video games and put them on either a list of recommended games for younger kids or a blacklist of games parents should avoid this coming Christmas season.

Personally I don't put much stock in parent watchdog groups and their reviews... but I'm sure parents could get something out of it. I've written about adult content in video games before. I have said it before and I'll say it here again video games are not baby sitters, playmates, or parents. Parents are responsible for raising their own kids, and for monitoring the the things they watch, the websites they visit, the video games they play, but that doesn't mean that video game developers should aid parents in that endeavor. Violent video game content isn't illegal, but video game developers do carry the responsibility of informing parents of what kind of content is in their video games, but enough of my opinion lets get to the National Media Institute's Video Game Report Card.... and see how it matches to the IGN's ratings.


Animal Crossing: City Folk- is a life simulation game much like The Sims. Players live in a virtual town filled with thousands of things to do. On the surface this game doesn't look very fun, but don't let it fool you. It's very immersive and complex. Players can basically have a second life here... you can do anything from shopping, to gardening, or improving your house. Surprisingly, this game is pretty fun, proving that you don't need violence or nudity or adult themes to have a good video game. Animal Crossing is for the Nintendo Wii.

ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

National Media Institute: "Great Game for Kids?"- Yes

IGN Rating: 7.5- Good

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows- As you might expect this follows Spider-Man as he sets off to save New York City from Venom's attempt to clone his symbiote and infect ordinary people giving them similar powers to Spider-Man. This is a very original idea, unfortunately, according to IGN, this game is pretty repetitive, with every new move you learn you have to use the move over and over again to the superhero who taught it to you, and then do it a number of times to villains. While Spider-Man: Web of Shadows garners a "safe" rating for kids... to your everyday gamer this game sucks. Spider-Man: WoS is available for all current gen consoles.

ESRB Rating: T for Teen

National Media Institute: "Great Game for Kids?"- Yes

IGN Rating: 5.7- Mediocre

LittleBigPlanet- This is probably the only game on the NMT's Parent Approved list that I would play. What makes this game so great is its simplicity. Players take control of a small character called Sackboy (on account of its appearance). Players use this avatar to interact with in environments, I guess it doesn't sound fun on paper... you just have to play it. Also note worthy is the ability to create your own levels, and share them online. Sadly, LittleBigPlanet is only available for Playstation 3.

ESRB Rating: E

NMT: Yes

IGN Rating: 9.5

Blitz The League II- If GTA IV and Madden 09 had a retard child, it would be Blitz The League II. While the game is very entertaining the first few times it gets old. The gameplay is very unrealistic. But why this game is on the NMT's Blacklist is a different story. Players can take steroids, party with hookers in an after game party. The game also allows players to target opposing players in order to injure them. This game also encourages unsportsmanlike conduct like late hits. Blitz is available for PS3 and Xbox 360.

ESRB Rating: M for Mature

NMT: Parents, avoid this game like the Plague!

IGN Rating: 5.5, Gamers, avoid this game like the Plague!

Gears of War 2- Gears is a third person shooter that follows the exploits of delta squad in the Human-Locust War. This game was a lot of fun, the campaign had an amazing story, the visuals were nothing short of stunning, and lets just face it... chainsawing Locust in half is just plain fun. What makes this game fun for older gamers is also why it is not approved by the NMT. There's an intense amount of gore in this game. whenever you go for a close up kill blood splatters on the camera, and you can also execute wounded opponents.. so yeah this game is most definite not for little kids. GoW2 is available for Xbox 360. One of my favorite lines is when you shoot an enemy and the head and your character says, "'sup bitches", yeah so probably not kid friendly

ESRB Rating: M for Mature

NMT: Definitely not approved

IGN Rating: 9.5, Who doesn't like a chainsaw on the end of their rifle?

Legendary- When I first read the basic story, I thought it sounded great... it was a new fresh idea for a relatively predictable market. Players take on the role of a thief who is tricked into opening infamous Pandora's Box (for those who don't know Greek Mythology read the wikipedia article) releasing all kinds of monstrous creatures into the earth. The Player gets to battle with dragons, werewolves, gargoyles, griffins, and all other types of mythical creatures. One of its worst faults is gameplay, unresolved story, and general boring visuals.

ESRB Rating: M for Mature

NMT: Not Approved

IGN Rating: 2.2, premise sounds great, actually gameplay boring

Some other games that made the approved list were: Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band 2, and Shaun White Snowboarding

Games that weren't approved were: Dead Space, Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, and Resistance 2

The Bottom Line: So what does this tell us? This tells me that while the National Institute on Media and the Family picked out some fun games... but all in all in most popular video games among young adults, violence, gore, and language is kinda a staple.