i'm in trouble

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

my 8 year old wants call of duty   thus far i've avoided the sirens call of all the games.  i have a kid i know that talking about going pro. i didn't even know such things existed! what do i need to do?  or be scared of?  besides her kicking her old mans butt

[brimic]

Doesn't COD have a 'Mature' rating?

I've been playing MOH Spearhead for years- it gives me a big adrenalin dump, I finally kicked the habit a few weeks ago. I'm not sure that sort of thing is good for kids.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

thanks  that was the kinda info i need. i am clueless.  how old should a kid be you think?

[brimic]

One of the side problems is that there are a lot of punks in any multiplayer games who have nothing better to do than spam foul language over the player chat.



For age, I'm not sure. My kids are too young. I let my son watch me play once in awhile (he's 7), and he has a lot of questions about good guys and bad guys, etc. I let him play with it a bit on an empty server, but I feel he's too young to get too involved with it. I played with Clans that had ages range from 14 to 60, and everyone handled themselves very well, even the younger players, but playing on a carefully moderated server helps a lot.

[Regolith]

thanks  that was the kinda info i need. i am clueless.  how old should a kid be you think?

M rated games like Call of Duty are intended for people above the age of 17.  Basically it's like an R rated film.  So, if your kid is as mature as a typical 17 year old, go for it, even if they aren't 17.  If they aren't that mature yet, you should probably wait on it for a few more years.

[Nitrogen]

Anything that connects to the internet is a "NO" for any child under the age of 13, no matter what it's rating is.
And I'm somewhat of a liberal.
Considering what i've seen lately on XBOX live, any child i'm even remotely responsble for can play videogames when they can buy their own videogame console and net access.

Yes, it's that bad.

Google "xbox live trash talk" into youtube for an example of what i'm talking about.  The results are not 10-year old daughter safe.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

oh i had no intention of her going on the net with it  but i suspect i might relegate it to a play it with daddy at home once in a while thing.  thanks one and all for the input.  now that we're done with my kid.... how at risk am i?  i've seen what happened to some of the kids i work with and i'm scared for me too

[Nitrogen]

oh i had no intention of her going on the net with it  but i suspect i might relegate it to a play it with daddy at home once in a while thing.  thanks one and all for the input.  now that we're done with my kid.... how at risk am i?  i've seen what happened to some of the kids i work with and i'm scared for me too

I used to be a video game addict when I was about 12-15.  I burned out after then.

These days, I'll get addicted to maybe 2 games a year, and that addiction will last for about a month.
There's a few arcade style games (Super Stardust HD for PS3 for instance) that I will play for hours if I can, but I don't get enough uninterrupted time to really do it.

Being an adult with responsibilities will keep you from getting too addicted to any of these games.

[brimic]

Being an adult with responsibilities will keep you from getting too addicted to any of these games.

I agree with everything you said up until this point.

Being at home and having nothing  better to do between 8pm and midnight most nights can lead to a strong addiction. The only upside is that I'm very very good at the game I've been playing, and played with the same crowd every night. I often got bored if I couldn't find a server with skilled players or simply logged off since my 'friends' observed their bed times better than me....

That darned Tribal Wars game really disrupted my life- I was making a habit of setting my alarm for odd hours of the morning to send out attacks.

[seeker_two]

my 8 year old wants call of duty   

That's kinda mature for an 8 y.o.......maybe keep her on GTA for another couple of years and then decide.....

[Hawkmoon]

thanks  that was the kinda info i need. i am clueless.  how old should a kid be you think?

25 ... minimum

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

That's kinda mature for an 8 y.o.......maybe keep her on GTA for another couple of years and then decide.....

so far all shes ever played was the kiddie games  she went to a friends house and got her hot lil hands on cod and came home and hit me up.  i told her i needed to check.   am very glad i did.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

M rated games like Call of Duty are intended for people above the age of 17.  Basically it's like an R rated film.  So, if your kid is as mature as a typical 17 year old, go for it, even if they aren't 17.  If they aren't that mature yet, you should probably wait on it for a few more years.

I'd say it's closer to a PG-13 film - for COD, anyhow. Leisure Suit Larry, maybe not.

[Nitrogen]

I agree with everything you said up until this point.

Being at home and having nothing  better to do between 8pm and midnight most nights can lead to a strong addiction. The only upside is that I'm very very good at the game I've been playing, and played with the same crowd every night. I often got bored if I couldn't find a server with skilled players or simply logged off since my 'friends' observed their bed times better than me....

That darned Tribal Wars game really disrupted my life- I was making a habit of setting my alarm for odd hours of the morning to send out attacks.

Fair enough.  Maybe it's my ADHD/short attention span that kills anything other than arcade games for me now.

[MicroBalrog]

I'd say it's closer to a PG-13 film - for COD, anyhow. Leisure Suit Larry, maybe not.

This. You want to evaluate the game for yourself before you make an informed decision... or you want to err on the side of caution. Either is good in this case.

[brimic]

Fair enough.  Maybe it's my ADHD/short attention span that kills anything other than arcade games for me now.

I dunno. I get all twitchy-like if I sit in front of a TV for more than 5 minutes, but a good first person shooter against live human opponents is ADHD nirvana.

[BridgeRunner]

I dunno. I get all twitchy-like if I sit in front of a TV for more than 5 minutes, but a good first person shooter against live human opponents is ADHD nirvana.

See, that's why when you sit down to watch a TV show, you need a computer, an ipod touch, a four year old, and some laundry to fold.  Seems to work for me.

[brimic]

 
My TV really doesn't go on until the kids are in bed and the chores are pretty much done. Then its the wife watching reality/vampire/Lifetime shows. Maybe that's why I get twitchy.

[HankB]

The BIG pitfalls are with on-line gaming . . . if I had a kid that age, I'd be pretty lenient with single-player games (I don't put much stock in ratings by strangers) or games over a LAN with people I know & trust.

But an 8-year old has no business playing online games & chatting with strangers that may be 2, 3, or more times their age; the potential pitfalls go WAY beyond trash talk.

[Cromlech]

No online Call of Duty gaming for an 8 year old unless you want them to hear the following non stop:

F****T
C**T
P***K
M**********R
B***H

That, and every other swear word known to man. Coupled with any of the following

I'm gonna *BLEEP* kill you, *BLEEP*

Yeah, I *BLEEPING* raped your *BLEEP* mother, *BLEEP*!

That's aside from the singleplayer campaigns that feature murder, civilians being executed (both Modern Warfare games), Weapons of Mass Destruction being unleashed, and all around mayhem.

This is coming from a guy that spends MANY hours on violent video games, and has done for many years. 

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Little Kids Swearing...WHAT A SHOCK!! p
Pissed off kid on Modern Warfare 2
Kids shouldn't be allowed to play XBL

[seeker_two]

No online Call of Duty gaming for an 8 year old unless you want them to hear the following non stop:

F****T
C**T
P***K
M**********R
B***H

That, and every other swear word known to man. Coupled with any of the following

I'm gonna *BLEEP* kill you, *BLEEP*

Yeah, I *BLEEPING* raped your *BLEEP* mother, *BLEEP*!

Actually, it seems like COD may prepare them for public school junior high.....  

[SteveS]

Go to youtube or gametrailers.com and you should be able to watch game footage and decide if it is ok.  Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with young teens playing that game, but this is coming from a person that saw R-rated movies a great deal in junior high.

[RevDisk]

Single player, you should be fine.  As everyone else under the sun says, stay away from online play.

If you think COD is too much, go pick up "Naughty Bear".  It's about teddy bears.   

[seeker_two]

If you think COD is too much, go pick up "Naughty Bear".  It's about teddy bears.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQWAxgPR0yU

Now that's twisted even for me..... 

[MicroBalrog]

No online gaming for an 8 year old unless you want them to hear the following non stop:

FTFY.