Howdy folks, this one could be long, so I'll get the fun stuff out of the way, then grab the soapbox and rant for awhile, so sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Am I the only one that has different moods for his games? Maybe mood is the wrong word here, but I do know that every once in a while, I feel that I need to play a certain type of game. Sometimes I feel like playing wrestling games almost exclusively. Other times it's platformers, or RPGS. Rarely it's shooters, but that's happened too.
This week, it's been oldies week. I picked up the Namco Museum game, and I've been playing that pretty much non-stop since getting it. Already beat 2 out of the 21 games on it (bringing my total games beaten up to two hundred! Also my total games to over Eight Hundred, so I still got an insurmountable mountain of games to get through). I've also got an itch to play some old Mario on my Wii's Virtual Console, I just don't know if it's a Karting, or RPG mood. Could just flat out be Mario 3 like I've been trying to get into for ages.
That being said, I also went and beat Assassins Creed Altair's Chronicles on DS. It's a fun little platformer that has a tendency to hold your hand just a little bit too much. There wasn't really too many times where you're thinking to yourself 'where do I go now?'. It even tells you which button to push in case you might have forgotten. It's almost like a quick time event, except it's always the same buttons.
It also doesn't feel much like an Assassins Creed game. It took out most of the stealth and climbing tall buildings ala spiderman, and replaced it with a pretty by the books platformer. It is still fun, but I'm glad I got it dirt cheap.
Now that the fun stuff is out of the way, there was a piece of news that piqued my interest. The state of California is trying to pass a law banning the sale of violent video games to children. Government legislature replacing parenting: What is the point?
First of all, the stores that sell these games should be following the ESRB guidelines. It's pretty simple, if someone looks under 17, card them. If they can't show any ID whatsoever, then it's an immediate no-sale. Hell, when I worked at EB I carded just about everybody, even people who were almost into their thirties, just because I wanted to make doubly sure they were actually 17.
If they aren't 17, you should need a parent, but it shouldn't be watch-dogged by the government. This should all be the responsibility of the parent. When the hell did parents get so lazy that they don't want to know exactly what their kids are doing? I remember one time I rented GTA 3. For a while, I would just grab a baseball bat and just beat the living tar out of civilians. My mother was there, and I think I can quote what she said: "Chris, if you don't go and do a mission right now, you're changing games". That was it, no discussion, no arguing, nothing.
Parents of the world, you shouldn't need the government to make decisions for you. You should know what your kids are doing, what they're playing, and if it's something you don't like, take it away or just flat out never buy it. Period!
"Oh, but if I don't buy it for him, he's going to whine about it." So? Sooner or later, they're going to get over it, and be better off for it than if you just give them everything. YOU are the decision maker, not them. Any time you say no, and the kid manages to change YOUR mind, you have failed as a parent.
"Oh but you don't understand, you aren't a parent, it's a lot harder than that". No, it isn't. You say no, they listen. They aren't old enough to know better, but you should be, and if you aren't, you shouldn't be a parent.
Sorry, didn't mean to make this so long and confrontational, but sometimes things just piss me off, and lazy parenting (and the legislature that is born because of it) is one of those things. Sermon over, next time it'll be a happier post.
Also, this may be edited later for making things clearer / more cohesive, which I guess means clearer. Sayanora, mama cita!
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