Game for an 8 yr old - your suggestions?

My son might have fallen in love with my modern warfare 2 (oops). And while I am throughly impressed with this gaming abilities, my wife really really hates it. So I am trying to find something else that could help keep him entertained. He is a first person shooter fanatic, but I would like to see him try some other styles. Any suggestions? gameheist

sly cooper, jak & daxter and ratchet & clank :) all three are great.

by other styles did you mean different genres or a different syle FPS?

A good move is to try and get him into RPGs. Mainly Japanese ones, maybe Pokemon? My first RPG was Final Fantasy IV, but that would be way too hard by todays standards. Another good one with a fair difficulty is Chrono Trigger. MillenialFair99

Maybe he would be more comfortable with Oblivion because that game might as well be rated T and it is played mainly in first-person.

[QUOTE="MillenialFair99"]A good move is to try and get him into RPGs. Mainly Japanese ones, maybe Pokemon? My first RPG was Final Fantasy IV, but that would be way too hard by todays standards. Another good one with a fair difficulty is Chrono Trigger. metroidprime55

Maybe he would be more comfortable with Oblivion because that game might as well be rated T and it is played mainly in first-person.

I've played Video Games for longer than as far back as i can remember, so i'll tell you what games i really liked playing when i was 8 years old: If your son has a lot of friends (or at least one) that live(s) nearby, and you have a gamcube (with multiple controllers), i'd recommend Kirby Air Ride. GameSpot only rated it a 5.1, but they most likely didn't use the multiplayer features. Other great gamecube games are Parer Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Heck, you might even get a kick out of this, because there are four different files; the game is only single player, but it is a great game to start with if you want to get into RPG-styled games!) and Sonic Mega Collection (a real bargain, because it's a lot of games from the Sega Genesis and maybe a few others for a good price) I'm not sure what games are good for him for the Xboxes and the Playstation 3, because i never got those. But, then again, it'd probably keep the same problem, if not make it worse, because most of the games for those systems are either FPS or are very bloody. You could also try to pretend to get into the game he's playing. (assuming you're not already liking the game) That way, you can see what's actually in the game. If you see anything more than some blood (about the real-life equivelant of a handful or less; come on, we all see some blood as children, from cuts and bruises! Definately never the amount you'd see in some FPS games), you know you need to take some actions. (If not, then try to explain to your wife that it's not too much of a deal) First of all, if your wife's request isn't enough, think about this: at the rate he's playing FPS games, he's more likely to become a criminal later in life. (think about it: the boy gets the feeling that shooting random people is good. Later in life as an adult, he might remember that feeling, and actually do it. in real life. If that's not enough to make you want to get him to stop, then i just might report child neglect on you) Second, your son might not trust many people he doesn't know, because in his mind, he might think "i don't know if these people are good or bad. I'll just assume the worst." Chances are that you see this if your son generally avoids people he doesn't know. If all else fails, simply ban him from playing it, and move it somewhere he doesn't know and/or can't reach. He'll get very angry at you, but at least it solves the problem!Mariofire44

But your not shooting random people really in MW2, it is mainly enemy soldiers, and in No Russian you end up getting shot in the end, plus later in the game when you have to fight in the favila you are penilized for killing civilians.

sly cooper, jak & daxter and ratchet & clank :) all three are great.

PcGamingRig

[QUOTE="Mariofire44"]I've played Video Games for longer than as far back as i can remember, so i'll tell you what games i really liked playing when i was 8 years old: If your son has a lot of friends (or at least one) that live(s) nearby, and you have a gamcube (with multiple controllers), i'd recommend Kirby Air Ride. GameSpot only rated it a 5.1, but they most likely didn't use the multiplayer features. Other great gamecube games are Parer Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Heck, you might even get a kick out of this, because there are four different files; the game is only single player, but it is a great game to start with if you want to get into RPG-styled games!) and Sonic Mega Collection (a real bargain, because it's a lot of games from the Sega Genesis and maybe a few others for a good price) I'm not sure what games are good for him for the Xboxes and the Playstation 3, because i never got those. But, then again, it'd probably keep the same problem, if not make it worse, because most of the games for those systems are either FPS or are very bloody. You could also try to pretend to get into the game he's playing. (assuming you're not already liking the game) That way, you can see what's actually in the game. If you see anything more than some blood (about the real-life equivelant of a handful or less; come on, we all see some blood as children, from cuts and bruises! Definately never the amount you'd see in some FPS games), you know you need to take some actions. (If not, then try to explain to your wife that it's not too much of a deal) First of all, if your wife's request isn't enough, think about this: at the rate he's playing FPS games, he's more likely to become a criminal later in life. (think about it: the boy gets the feeling that shooting random people is good. Later in life as an adult, he might remember that feeling, and actually do it. in real life. If that's not enough to make you want to get him to stop, then i just might report child neglect on you) Second, your son might not trust many people he doesn't know, because in his mind, he might think "i don't know if these people are good or bad. I'll just assume the worst." Chances are that you see this if your son generally avoids people he doesn't know. If all else fails, simply ban him from playing it, and move it somewhere he doesn't know and/or can't reach. He'll get very angry at you, but at least it solves the problem!metroidprime55

But your not shooting random people really in MW2, it is mainly enemy soldiers, and in No Russian you end up getting shot in the end, plus later in the game when you have to fight in the favila you are penilized for killing civilians.

It's a tough one because he's so young yet he clearly enjoys games geared for an older audience. Weaning him onto something else just might not fly, but I think you're right to try to get him to try out other styles.

How about The Force Unleashed? It's a 12, not too violent, just plain fun really. I defy any child not to enjoy being Darth Vader and flinging wookies into trees!
Or fighting games? Street Fighter, Tekken. They're violent sure but they're a bit silly and most kids from my generation grew up with things like Street Fighter and we turned out fine.

If he really does want an FPS then I'd say Halo. I don't think it deserves a 15 certificate, it's guns and shooting I guess but it's almost cartoon violence. But maybe that's just to me.

Does he have a Wii? Because I'd also recommend Metroid.

I came in to suggest Modern Warfare 2... Damn :|

i would say let him try some rpgs if hes into the sort of thing. my little brothers favorite game is kotor (he is 8 ) . another good idea is action rpgs witch you can play coop. their great for family bonding i imagine.

If you don't mind T rated games involving violence:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• inFamous
• Final Fantasy 13
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

If you don't like him playing T rated games a majority of Wii and DS games are appropriate as well as Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Little Big Planet, and just about any racing game.

I came in to suggest Modern Warfare 2... Damn :|

joesh89

me 2! i love trolling

My son might have fallen in love with my modern warfare 2 (oops). And while I am throughly impressed with this gaming abilities, my wife really really hates it. So I am trying to find something else that could help keep him entertained. He is a first person shooter fanatic, but I would like to see him try some other styles. Any suggestions? gameheist

Why's she hate it? What's it going to do, turn him into a psychotic murderer who shoots up his school?

If you don't want him to see that sort of stuff just yet, grab a good game that doesn't have that sort of thing in it. I'm hard pressed to think of any, since my games tend to have all of the bad elements in them, but...

To be perfectly honest I'd grab an RTS for him. Sure, they may have violence, but they get him to think. Teaches him how to think outside of the box. Other than that, the only games I can think of that would be remotely child friendly would all be on the Wii.

[QUOTE="gameheist"]My son might have fallen in love with my modern warfare 2 (oops). And while I am throughly impressed with this gaming abilities, my wife really really hates it. So I am trying to find something else that could help keep him entertained. He is a first person shooter fanatic, but I would like to see him try some other styles. Any suggestions? DeanG642

We have enough little kids running around online Shooters. Thats why americas going to be so F***** in the future.

Because Parents feel theres nothing wrong with Children Playing GTA and Call of duty.

I suggest Lost planet 2 my little brother loves it even with the bad reviews I enjoy it myself.

Yoshi's Story on the N64

The PS2's Kingdom Hearts games

Toy Story 3, its a really good game.