@sukraj:

Uh...people....I dont let him play. That was the point of the post. I have let him play the driving a little (while I was watching him, between missions where there is no story and very little speech from the driver). I play the game mostly at night or early morning when hes not around. He hasnt seen the meat of the game....but saw the driving and running around and fighting cops..much like playing infamous.

Thanks guys...

He's played some of the lego games, Ratchet and Clank. and has the last Spiderman game too... no, he just likes the sandbox type of running and driving around, getting in high-speed wrecks and fighting people thing.... He's played many games that dont have driving involved, too... I wasnt looking for a game suitable for an 11 yr old.... Unrealistically, I think I was hoping there might be a (mostly) "clean" version of GTA5 (where your can run around and get in trouble, then jut hop into the nearest car and drive like a bat out of hell...

I finished SC Blacklist a week or so ago -- not just story, but all side missions, etc -- and I think it was the best. Can't wait for the next one...but assume it will probably be on PS4, so that will be a while.. :(

My son is 11...he loves the driving and open world parts of games like Far Cry 3 and GTA 5. But... and I know I'm probably strange in this regard these days... I dont let him play these games other than in the small doses of driving because of the rest of the content. A little bad language is OK and violence doesnt bother me (I let him play T games and violent M games like AC), but when GTA 5 kicks in full gear ghetto mode, even I cringe... LOL.

That said, he's not a 'racing' fan...so any recommendations for PS3 games with similar open world driving to games like these, but that's not 100% focused on racing -- and not a kiddie-game like Mario Kart -- but also is rated T or better (or even M, but with limited language and no major sexual content)? Does that even exist?

thanks

I love Splinter Cell Blacklist...in fact I love the stealth genre in general and am exploring as many as possible... I finally finished the Grim side missions so I could get the best stealth gear, and am trying to do other side missions like Korbin's to earn more money to upgrade the Paladin and upgrade my gear to have the best for the remaining campaign missions. I'm finding that the side missions seem to be exponentially harder (for me anyway) than the main campaign missions, mainly because checkpointing and saving is different. I dont exactly breeze through them in 2 or 3 tries, so you have to do the entire thing over and over again every time, and if you shut down the game after a checkpoint, you can't save it like it does during the regular campaign missions, so you go back to the beginning when you start again. It's frustrating, but I do enjoy the gameplay, so it's not making me mad the way, say, an all combat mission would eventually.

Anyone else feel the side missions are worse in this manner...or have any tips for trying a different approach to playing...??

Thanks!!!!

This is an interesting point. I am a 40 yr old parent, pro-gaming, play games myself, and I have 2 kids aged 11 and 13. I had an intellivision, and a commodore64 as a kid, and spent a lot of time on them. My parents never understood the video game thing, being born in 1922 and 1930 (so how could they?), but they didnt argue it either much...just went with the flow and wrote it off as "kids these days..." LOL.

My son spends a lot of time playing video games -- and like most kids today, plays console games (we have a PS3 now and we've had a Wii and WiiU) as well as a 3DS and sometimes mobile apps on an ipod touch or android tablet. I can see how as a parent I am allowing it, and encouraging, because I play games with him too sometimes (or we'll sit and watch each other sometimes if it's a campaign mode game we both enjoyed) -- it is bonding as some of you have said. He has seen me sit for a few hrs at a time playing myself. However, it IS also a social thing because sometimes he has friends over, or goes to their house and plays. Not ONLINE... that's not 'social' at all. But since he doesnt have an abundance of friends yet (he is a bit immature for his age of 11 and has a learning disability), I sometimes worry that he may not have enough alternative social activity too. Games definitely arent the only possible detraction, but probably the most detracting, and really most all consumer electronics pose a problem for true social interaction. That, IMO, is another primary reason why parents like the OP's can get that instinctive response. It's just that some of us are much worse than others because of a lack of experience with games.

Regardless, even assuming you have set appropriate and fair limits for your kids video game usage, parents always have to be aware of the content of the games. Parents are much more aware now that that this is no longer the age of Donkey Kong and PacMan, and that the "rating" on a game is important if they do no know a game. We're much more liberal these days with what we allow our kids to see and listen to, because of what's already out there on regular primetime TV, PG and PG-13 movies, let alone youtube content or the internet in general, but giving your 10 yr old GTA5 is the equivalent of putting a porno in front of your him/her and encouraging them to watch it.

Thanks all for the replies. Much appreciated.

I am going to check out Dishonored -- hadnt seen much about it, but since it had 2 recommendations here, I'll give it a look. So far I am thrilled with SC Blacklist, and will complete this one now. Hitman is out the window as far as I'm concerned...if Gamestop gives me 50 cents for it I'll be happy.

I had just gotten the Last of Us as well, but havent played yet. After finishing SC Blacklist I plan to take a break from the stealth games and The Last of Us or GTA 5 are next on my list.

On a quick side note... if anyone still follows this thread... do any of you agree with the recommendation of getting the older Splinter Cells or the PS3 remastered trilogy? I keep reading Chaos Theory is the ultimate....

THanks again

Thanks... I dont think I'll pick up Hitman again. Tried one more time after 'cooling off'...just to see if a fresh re-try would yield better results., but it didnt... :( Unless someone convinces me the previous titles were better than Absolution... or maybe a future release makes great changes, I'll trade it back and forget they ever existed. lol

I dont have a PS4 yet, but I got the PS3 charging station for the dualshock3 controllers, and that makes it simple to charge, plus no hassles with plugging in the fragile micro-usb cord because their adapter stays plugged in 24/7, and you just click it in the charging cradle. I assume the ds4 controllers will have the same charging station for them.

I like the option of the AAs - work well with the wii remotes.... but much prefer the charging station option for the ds3 controllers.