It hasn't happened once or twice. Mothers and fathers who go to the video game store, because their offspring have asked them, to buy the fashion game. They don't look at the age rating . Not even if they handle weapons. Or if the purpose of the game is to commit as many crimes as possible.
In the market there are thousands of video games and among these we can find stories of authentic violence . Shooting, blood, games of chance, explicit sex and a long list of scenes and actions that are not recommended for the little ones.
Today we have compiled a series of video games that you can usually find on the market and that are not, at all, child's play. Do any of these titles sound familiar to you?
A scene from GTA V
GTA is not a game for children
His birth was surrounded by controversy. It was not for less. Officially released in October 1997, Grand Theft Auto is a series that is commonly known under the acronym GTA and is not suitable for children under 18 years of age. The series, created by Dave Jones, is an open sandbox that combines different elements: action, adventure and driving.
It includes different elements that make it a violent proposal, only suitable for adults . In it, its characters have to survive in a criminal world. The more serious the offenses that players commit, the more points they get.
The PEGI rating for this game is called 18. What does this mean? Well, in no case is it a game suitable for children. This label tells us that the game includes a high level of violence, foul language, fear, drugs, sex, discrimination and gambling. As you can see, a jewel with all of the law that should not be available to any minor.
Mortal Kombat, another hyperviolent game
Mortal Kombat, another adult title
It will also sound to you. Mortal Kombat is a fighting game franchise that was born in 1992. At first they were available for Arcade machines, but soon they reached home consoles. The latest installment, dubbed Mortal Kombat X, was published in April 2015 .
If we had to summarize these games in two words we are sure that we would choose blood and brutality . What you see in these games are fights with a rugged level of violence. So much so that we wouldn't even recommend it to sensitive adults.
The game has generated a lot of controversy during its history. Some people think that this type of content should be prohibited , because its viewing can have dire consequences on people's behavior. Either way, Mortal Kombat has been hugely successful, with millions and millions of copies sold around the world. How many children have seen such macabre scenes?
Call of Duty is a classic. Violent, but a classic.
Call of Duty, an unfit classic
It has been another of the great legendary video games, but it contains scenes of absolute violence. Its PEGI rating is for those over 18 years of age, but some versions are from 16. But, what kind of proposal are we talking about? Call of Duty is another violent war game , which we should not buy for our children. Absolutely.
It was born in 2003 and is one of the great war series of all time. While for many fans Call of Duty is on the cusp of video games of war , it contains legendary scenes of world battles.
In the first series, for example, we find the Normandy Landing or the battles of the Red Army defending Russian territory . Later it focuses on other fictional battles, but the level of blood, destruction and violent language is simply unacceptable for a child.
Castlevania, bloody vampires. No less waiting.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadows
If your eleven-year-old son asks you to play Castlevania, your answer should be clear and forceful: NO. Although each family does what it wants when it comes to educating children, it must be remembered that Castlevania: Lord of Shadows is a game with a PEGI 16 rating .
According to this label and the information provided by PEGI, the level of violence (or sexual activity) is what we could find in real life. If we start from the life experience of a normal child in a normal environment, the scenes that appear in this game (a dagger stuck in the stomach of a maiden that is bleeding little by little, for example) will have little or nothing to do with your everyday and real life .
Castlevania is based on the legend of Bram Stoker's Dracula and in this, the player has to step into the shoes of a warrior from the Belmont family. With a whip you have to fight against different monsters or ghosts. The images of violence continue non-stop , so no: this would not be a recommended game for children either.
And what can my children play?
If your children have a game console and you have no idea what titles should be strictly prohibited by their label, we will give you a few that you should write down. They are all about popular proposals that (apart from the ones we have already mentioned) should not be on your bookshelf ( or on that of your children's friends, but that is already a separate story).
They are : Dead Space, Medal of Honor, Fallout: New Vegas, Castlevania: Lords of Shadows, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Deadrising, Halo: Reach, Naughty Bear, Mafia, or Kane & Lynch.
But since there are not all the titles here that we would NOT recommend to your children, we want to remind you that when buying a video game you have to especially take into account the PEGI label .
The numbers, logically, indicate the recommended minimum age to play that game . This means that the first thing you have to do before buying a game is to look at the ranking. If your eleven-year-old asks you for a PEGI 18-rated game, you should definitely not buy it. In fact, all games that you are going to provide should have, at most, the PEGI 7 label.
The PEGI 3 label is what classifies a game as suitable for almost all audiences . It may contain scenes of violence, but always within a comic context, which is what we would find in animated films. The level increases up to PEGI 7, a level where we can find scenes that can be scary.
The level increases until 12, 16 and 18 years old. The indicator is also in the colors, which go from green, for the most suitable games, to orange and red, for the most violent video games.