Gamers, please help dad with no idea

I have just ordered an Xbox one for the kids. No games included (as I used Tesco’s vouchers to get it for free). Its just the basic model i.e. no kinect.
So what games should I order to play on Christmas day? I have never been a gamer and have no idea.
I have girls 9&11 plus son 13 (its more for him really). Don’t want to ask him and spoil the surprise.

He likes a bit of fantasy adventure, shoot em up type thing (I think). Seems to play something a bit like old skool dungeons and dragons online.

First person shooter: looking at Halo and destiny.

Then there s the Middle Earth game that gets decent reviews.

Was also going to throw in Minecraft for the girls.

Irresponsible parenting like us. Cod!

I do feel like a a bit of a sheep, but at the same time secretly looking forward to finally having a go and most likely embarrassing myself after a glass of mulled wine.

Titanfall is a pretty fun shooter, just remember to get Xbox live or you’ll miss out on many of the features or even be unable to play some games.

You may enjoy World of Tanks, which is free to download and play online if you subscribe to X Box Live (think currently about £34 per year).

Big teams, 14 a side from memory, online play though the language, especially if connected to an American server, can be colourful.

What’s not to like about stalking a Churchill in a Tiger?

Call of Duty all the way. Irresponsible parenting it may be but my kids turned out ok 🙂

if you subscribe to X Box Live (think currently about £34 per year).

£24 at http://www.electronicfirst.com/cheap-xbox-live-codes/ – currently out of stock though. It’s where I get mine from, cheapest I’ve found.

Was also going to throw in Minecraft for the girls.

Minecraft is kind of great for everyone, and dads I’ve known playing it in survival mode with young kids have often had instinctual “must protect child” moments 🙂

It’s still early enough in the xbone’s life that there’s not a great deal around for it. What kind of games has your son enthused about for previous consoles? Building off that’s your best bet.

Oh, and don’t bother with anything for Kinect; even if you have a McMansion to run around in rather than a typically pokey British living room, it’s still such a load of bobbins that even Microsoft have pretty much killed it. Rumours are that the mood at Rare was “jubilant” after years having to crank out stuff for it 😀

Call of Duty all the way. Irresponsible parenting it may be but my kids turned out ok 🙂

I think it comes down to how well people can contextualise it. Obviously despite the games industry rating stuff there’s a lot of peer pressure at school to play the latest stuff. Probably the best approach I read of in dealing with it was a dad who gave his kid homework because they wanted to play Medal of Honor; it offset any glamorisation of war and his son ended up understanding a lot more about what kind of thing he was playing through.

Alternately, I’ve known some proper little sh*ts who turned out all “WAR! DEATH! GUNS! I HATE WOMEN! WAR! **** YEAH!”

Dark souls, beautiful game but can be difficult.
Grand theft auto 5, cause it’s fun.
Destiny, not sure about this but it is popular.
Minecraft, Great if you like being creative.

Just because female =/= interest in “serious*” games. Just saying.

If you want to go irresponsible you can’t get much more irresponsible than GTA V. Doubt that’ll score you many parent points though, especially with the girls 😛

Nah, Forza 5 (driving) and Lego Movie/Batman should be safe bets. Pier Solar looks like it could be worth a shot (Japanese RPG) but it is quite old school looking (Final Fantasy 7 kinda thing). Fable Legends might be worth a look later on if it turns out anything like the original. If you want a brief overview of most popular releases have a look at:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation

*as opposed to so-called casual games (Bejewelled, Candy Crush crap etc.)

Dragon Age Inquisition is a great new action/fantasy game. Well worth a look.

Grand theft auto 5, cause it’s fun.

I have girls 9&11 plus son 13

Erm, no.

Lego Movie/Batman should be safe bets.

All the Lego games are brilliant, and two-player co-op. Budget for a second pad. The LoTR / Hobbit ones and Pirates of the Carribean are particularly good.

This is harder than I thought. Thanks for the advice so far.

So Minecraft and Lego would be OK for starters. I’ll get another controller.

If I want a shooter/ role play for my son then Escapist slams Destiny as boring and repetitive.
Titanfall perhaps? Note you have to be online to play.

That Dragon Age looks interesting. Seems to compete with the Mordor game I was looking at. Which should I chose?

Dragon age is a bigger, more in depth game I think. Shadows of Mordor is probably a bit more action focused although I haven’t played it. I believe Dragon age gas the better reviews and it is the one I would (did) go for.
I love Destiny personally although I can see why it gets slated. If the online fantasy game your son is playing is World of Warcraft then he will probably like Destiny as they are oddly similar in ways.

Fantasy you say … Dragon Age: Inquisition. Great game.

If not Destiny then Halo in my opinion, it’s a classic and will outlast titan fall.

Minecraft plus a lego title
Then either /or
Halo – Master Chief Collection – has all the previous games, I think, so he can see what consituted a good first person shooter in 1997…
Destiny.

Better still, find out what his mates are playing.

Oh, +1 for the master chief collection, would be perfect.

If I want a shooter/ role play for my son then Escapist slams Destiny as boring and repetitive.

Look at Kingdoms of Amalur. I found that great fun. It’s rated 15, I’d proffer it’d be fine for a 13yo, I don’t recall much in the way of adult themes offhand. I think Fable is a 15 too.

Dragon’s Age is 18 isn’t it? Includes implied horatio and suchlike.

Dragon’s Age ESRB listing:

https://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=33723

Good point from Cougar.

Will look at Kingdoms. Funny one with the ages. I know he gets exposed to all sorts going off on tour playing sports but will avoid 18s for the time being. I think thats the other thing about being naive to gameplay: you sort of think that they are all going to be harmless.

When do I get to the sexual content in Dragon Age inquisition,25 hours in and only some flirty dialogue so far!

Halo master chief collection is a must. I’ve played all the Halo games and they are fantastic.

Always worth checking the ratings and reasons for such. But I think a big difference between fantasy violence or bang band you’re dead shooters and the very adult only content of GTA V. Shadow of Mordor of is pretty explicit btw, lots of graphic beheading of orcs. I don’t have kids though so a m in position to judge appropriateness.

Titan fall is fun online shooter that works well and massively reduced as a download this weekend. Destiny is fun but a bit soulless imo. DA Inquisition is really good, but I am a fantasy rpg nerd.

Destiny is poor IMHO – but the halo collection is great.

I’ve recently switched the 360 back on as the two COD games available for the xbone are style over substance.

Not much help with the rest of the games as it’s only recently there’s been much choice.

… I meant – I am not in a position to judge appropriateness of any games as I don’t have kids…

Absolutely not GTA V it’s a fantastic game but is not suitable for kids at all.

Drac.. Got three playstations in the house .Me and the kids have some proper laughs mountain biking and taking our camper vans down to the beach. Sometimes have to mute other players and always leave a sticky bomb outside anyshop we are in.. But we pretty much get left alone…. So it can be managed

But defo get minecraft. You can even create electric circuits and work together to create huge interactive landscapes

There’s no getting away from minecraft.
Minecraft the game, minecraft lego, minecraft tat etc.
It looks like crap to me, but it is what they want.

I’m also happy for the boy to get into it.
It is creative, he meets his school friends on there to build co-operatively, and I consider it as 21st century, online lego building.

Destiny is perfect for kids as its all about collecting and acquiring stuff which is addicting, my 11 year old is constantly talking about it

deserter – Member
Destiny is perfect for kids as its all about collecting and acquiring stuff which is addicting, my 11 year old is constantly talking about it

Did… did you just say “addicting”?!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!

*CHOJIN SMASH*

No I didnt, I typed and predictive text stepped in, who am I to argue……..

Went for Minecraft, Lego Hobbit, Halo MC and Dragon Age.

Thanks all. Christmas almost sorted. Just need to figure out what the wife would like. Time for a new thread perhaps.

Smudger666 – Member
I’ve recently switched the 360 back on as the two COD games available for the xbone are style over substance.

Welcome to COD!

Save a few quid over more recent stuff and get Skyrim. Even though it’s a couple of years old it’s still a great game. Relatively wholesome as far as I can recall, apart from the overall theme being loads of killing.

I thought about Skyrim. Personally I didn’t get on with it (I traded it for KoA); it’s very impressive but really, really dry.

Also, I don’t know about wholesome, it’s an 18 isn’t it?

https://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=31575

Rather than start another thread I hope it’s OK to jump on this one. Getting an Xbox 360 for the kids – age 5 and nearly 8. What recommended games for that age range? Definitely getting Minecraft, and looking at some sort of Lego game (probably Star Wars) and a dance game (getting a s/h Kinect – I know it’s supposed to be rubbish, but I’m sure the kids will have fun!)

Any driving games worth getting for kids that age – I’m sure 8yo would like one (preferably that I can play as well 😉 )? Also do I need to get a second controller?

OP: Trine 2?

bump – suggestions for 5 to 8yos?

Worth bearing in mind, the first two Lego Star Wars were the earliest in the series. As such, they’re somewhat clunkier than the later titles.