Gaming: Parents, watch what your kids play

Our gaming expert Sameer Desai, editor of IndianVideoGamer.com, India's largest gaming community, explains why parents must watch what games their children play. He also recommends five games that are not only for kids but fun for even the grown-ups.

Last month, I was at PlayStation Experience, which was held at a popular family destination in south Mumbai. This was a chance for Sony to give everyone the opportunity to experience the best that PlayStation had to offer. There were a wide variety of games to try out across the three PlayStation consoles -- PS2, PSP, and PS3. Some were family games for all ages; others designed for a more mature audience.

There were quiz games, puzzle games, and racing games that could be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, but no one seemed interested in these. Instead, all the kids, accompanied by their parents, were lined up to play God of War 3. To those not familiar with it, God of War is a massively popular action game series, both in India and internationally. And as the name suggests, this is not a game for kids. Yet you had kids as young as 10 years-old playing and enjoying it, while their parents watched on.

Something wasn't right with that picture. These are the same parents who read misinformed newspapers articles on gaming and call for all games to be banned. And here they were, cheering their kids on as they played a game that is meant for an audience nearly twice their age.

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Next week: Sameer Desai's review of five fun games that kids must play.

There are ways for parents to tell if a particular game is suitable for their children.

The easiest of these is the age rating.

Most legitimately purchased games carry an age rating near the bottom on the front of the box.

The rating can either be a number, denoting the appropriate age for that game, or an alphabet, which serves a similar purpose.

For example: E is for Everyone, T rated games are suitable for teenagers, M stands for Mature, etc. A detailed explanation of the rating can also be found on the back of the box.

You can find out more about game age ratings here (http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33/) and here (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp).

Next week: Sameer Desai's review of five fun games that kids must play.

Since gaming is still a relatively small industry here, we don't have a censor board or a regulatory authority that enforces age ratings or prohibits the sale of mature games to kids.

So it's up to parents to make sure their kids play games that are suited for them.

The easiest way is to check the age rating on the box.

If there's a game your child would like you to buy, you can head over to the Web site of PEGI.

The Pan-European Game Information age rating system was established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games.

The organisation that rates games, and a simple search can tell you the age rating assigned to any game.

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Next week: Sameer Desai's review of five fun games that kids must play.

If your kids feel that it's only the mature and violent games that are fun, they're mistaken.

There are great games available for all ages, more so now than ever before thanks to the sudden rise in casual and family gaming.

Games are now being made to appeal to a broader audience, and while there will always be kid games and grown up games, there is a massive selection of games that just about anyone can pick up and enjoy.

Click NEXT to read Sameer's recommendations.

Next week: Sameer Desai's review of five fun games that kids must play.

Reviews for games, along with their age ratings, can easily be found on sites like IGN (http://www.ign.com/) and Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/), and it shouldn't be hard at all to find good games that are fun and challenging, and yet suitable for your kids. Video games are not to be treated differently from any other form of entertainment.

Just as there are certain movies you wouldn't let your children watch, or magazines you wouldn't want them reading, there are games that kids just should not be allowed to play.

Next week: Sameer Desai's review of five fun games that kids must play.

Sameer's recommendation:

LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3), age rating: 7 (Suitable for children aged 7 and above)

Mario Kart (Wii and DS), age rating: 3 (Suitable for children aged 3 and above)

Buzz! Junior (PS2, PSP), age rating: 3 (Suitable for children aged 3 and above)

FIFA (PC and consoles), age rating: 3 (Suitable for children aged 3 and above)