Hey guys-
I got my son a blazing fast new computer for Xmas. The thing is probably faster than mine; Skyrim on Ultra settings fast.
Right now all he has is Minecraft on it. I'd like to cherry pick some games from the Steam sale for him, but I don't know what is age appropriate for an 11-year old. For example, I was looking at Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II but that's rated Teen. Teen is a pretty wide grouping, though.
Anyway, any suggestions you guys have are appreciated. I'm thinking of at least picking up Shogun 2 and maybe M2TW for him. Really, I'm at a loss, though.
Thematically, what does he like?
The legos games if you have a controller are good, clean fun. Torchlight 2 is good fun (there is a blood option you can turn off, but it really not too bad even when on), Magic the Gathering 2012 if he likes collectible card games (it also has blood I guess from the attack animation. I looks like a cut I guess in a weird sort of way.) Warlock is pretty clean and a good strategy game. I guess the question is how much supervision will he have when he plays.
If you pick up Shogun 2 for him, you might want to make sure it doesn't include the Blood Pack.
is he up to managing the wide range of stuff in the Civ games? Thematically, there are no issues, but they can be a little complex in all the options you need to juggle.
I think Knights of the Old Republic II would be okay. It's pretty much PG. No nudity, no really graphic violence. I don't recall there being any foul language (maybe a damn or hell). The theme of the story is a little dark though. I guess that would be main concern. I'd probably let my kids play it if either of them were 11.
I'd check compatibility issues though with the old bioware star wars games. There are some issues with the first one and win7.
How about Wargame: European Escalation? The Amazing Spider-man? (happens to be on sale right now) or the Portal games by Valve?
Civ V... Xcom..
Quote from: Bison on December 26, 2012, 08:19:28 AM
I'd check compatibility issues though with the old bioware star wars games. There are some issues with the first one and win7.
Good point. I'm still running XP, so I wasn't thinking about that.
Plants vs Zombies is a good kids strategy title, introduces many concepts used in war games.
Fallen Echantress if he likes Civ type games with magic thrown in.
It's pretty accessible.
Pokemon games (but probably better to play this on a handheld)
The Sims (3) series
Trackmania series (very fun!)
Psychonauts
Rayman series
Age of Empires
Dungeons of Dredmor (?) (might be too graphic eventhough its cartoon?)
Awesomenauts (brawler)
Worms
Sports & Racing games!
Hey guys, I appreciate the suggestions. We've actually played through most of the legos stuff on Wii already. I think Civ games might be too complicated for him.
I don't know what genres of games he's into actually. He's not too helpful on the subject. He used to be really into Star Wars but I'm not sure if he's moved on or what. Dungeons and Dragons stuff never really goes out of style so I am leaning towards some of that stuff. Torchlight 2 might be a nice choice, I'll have to check some gameplay videos of it.
Torchlight 2 is a fun action rpg. It's all about loot, stats, and skills. Not a deep storyline but it's not the focus of the game either. Unfortunately there is very little in the way for Dungeons and Dragons on Steam atm. You can no longer get NWN2 or any of the titles offered on gog. However I doubt your son would be into the retro look as much as some of the older guys, so a good alternative would be Dragon Age.
I got my nephew Mark of the Ninja (http://store.steampowered.com/app/214560/) since I've read some good things about it's Action-Stealth gameplay.
Was debating tryin' it out myself, sometime, but I've already got far more than I can handle right now. It was even on a daily special, and I resisted. :'(
Eyebiter suggested Plants vs Zombies, and I'll second that. Should be easy for him to master and it is tons of fun.
Many tower defense games will provide reasonably simple gameplay with a fun overlay. Defense Grid should work for him, too, though the later levels can be a challenging nut to crack. The early ones are simple and easy and fun and it should be fairly cheap to pick up.
Mark of the Ninja is a great choice if a little violence isn't a problem. Costume Quest is actually a really good adventure game that's got a pretty good sense of humor. Cargo Commander is best described as a dungeon crawler where you call the dungeon to you that manages to be quick and always bringing new stuff to the table.
What about Kerbal Space Program? With an adult's help to ease the learning curve for the first few launches it could be a hit.
Quote from: Bison on December 26, 2012, 03:38:15 PM
...so a good alternative would be Dragon Age.
I have Dragon Age Origins for my XBOX 360. It's my understanding that you can make the appropriate responses to one of the female party members and get at least a little kissing action going if not more.
My 11-year-old (who also likes Minecraft) really likes Roller Coaster Tycoon.
How about Toy Soldiers? I know it made Gus sad, but it's a solid tower defense game with historical flavor. And it's only 5 bucks on Steam.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/98300/
How about Spore? My son loved that when he was 11(only two years ago!).
Ok guys, thanks for the inputs. So far we've picked up the Portal bundle and Little Inferno. I'm going to pull this up with him tomorrow and we'll check out a few other ideas you guys passed around.
What about Darkstar One on GOG...easy to play and nice story
Quote from: MetalDog on December 26, 2012, 07:31:46 PM
Quote from: Bison on December 26, 2012, 03:38:15 PM
...so a good alternative would be Dragon Age.
I have Dragon Age Origins for my XBOX 360. It's my understanding that you can make the appropriate responses to one of the female party members and get at least a little kissing action going if not more.
Dragon Age origins might be too bloody for an 11 year old.
There is a video game rating E10+ that should be suitable for his age level.
I've looked at my entire Steam catalogue.
King's Bounty
Amazing Spider Man (Need Controller)
Batman Arkham Asylum (yeah it says teen, but it's Batman. Come On! Who doesn't like Batman?)
Drakensang games (The German RPG D&D style)
Elven Legacy (Good Strategy games can be hard but it's pretty fun)
Galactic Civilization 2 (Civ in space)
Magic the Gathering
Titan Quest
Plants vs Zombies
Sins of the Solar Empire Rebellion
Torchlight 2 (I have an extra copy of Torchlight let me know it's not Torchlight 2 but still good fun)
Trine
Warlock
World of Goo
There's more but not sure what limits you have of course there are several more with MTW2 levels of stuff.
uhm he is 11 right.
He do know the different between games and reality.
I guess I dont want to show what my son plays at age 9 now