Peliraati - game reviewes for parents

Elder Scrolls Online:
It's MMO that dresses like Skyrim or it's Skyrim that dresses like MMO. With the free to play boom ongoing it's refreshing to see game that has a bit more stabile funing base. But what is it like? Well one can play the game 'through' alone so the design guidelines are more like ones used in SW:TOR. The counterweight for one player plot is fight for Cryodil – this step can be avoided at large and one can get there at the level of ten so the 'new guy' dilemma isn't that bad. For the morality part (that's what peliraati is here anway) the game is high fantasy gaming with character going between Tamriel and realm of Oblivion. The goal is good and that is to fight demon Molag Bal back to the his dimension.

King Duckling (iOS, 2013)
Cute as pie the King Duckling is a trip to kids imigination world. Of course one would live in his dreams as duck king. Now the ducks have escaped to other planes and king has to go and gather them back. Actual challenge of the game is attributed to level design and dynamic. Ducks do change their places and nasty trolls and centipedes roam around so one needs to plan their advance. While static would not be sexy it might be a bi more suitable for young kid - the one the overall game idea and graphics are aimed for. One could pass hard level with in app purchase but as far as kids are concerned the in app purchases are limited by parents for obivous reasons. So about apparent suitability I’m a bit torn up between first grades and pre-school. There's no content that would trigger age ratings so one could as well experiement to find just the right target audience for the game.

Damned: Damned is early access game that drops players to the shoes of B-horror movie teens. Group of players are stranded in the haunted house and they need to work together for getting out. One player plays the role of monster determined to give other players hard time. The actual demand of co-operation implies it's best with friends – there's no actual real cohesion when playing with strangers. In a way lizard brains don't get away with strategy thinking – game is mildy horrific because it's just a game. It's not an interactive story but rather a competitive scenario. The player needs actually listen sound cues, communicate and co-operate – these elements are elements for teamwork-inspiring game. Honing these strenghts might make it great one day. On the plus side game is actually rather bloodless - violence is implied not graphically shown. Well obivously I can't recommend supernatural horror to anybody.

Near Orbit (apple 12+) Games with newtonian mechanics are rare. New Orbit puts player in the shoes of young engineer that is sole survivour of his mothership destruction. The ship was in secret mission so the story has many questions that are left largely unanswered because upcoming sequels. The first part of game is gritty story of survival in asteroid belt. The forbidden zone is full of nasty people. Despite game's simplistic looks the story is believable. I did find it however lacking of interaction between engineer and the mother and the story is indeed too much male centered. However as peliraati is parent-child site the game is example of game that doesn't have any dubious content but it's still written for grownups. Hence kids might not find the black humor and fight for survival interesting. Still the game isn't bad at all for someone who likes a bit arcade gaming with his or her phone or iPad.

Rogue's Tale: Rogue genre didn't die out so Rogue's Tale is here to do the dying part. The game is nicely done and modern (example monsters attack each other and can fall to traps as well as player). We tested the game with two 12-year old boys and they were thrilled about the game. However the difficulty the game offers is rather heavy handed so boys weren't really accustomed that they could die often - or begin game next of two enemies. This isn't fault of game which offers old fashioned rogue gaming in random dungeons. The goal of the game is to become the king of the dungeon. I guess he has pissed to someone's coffee. The plot isn't that clear but game does offer some interaction with NPCs that can be found from the dungeon. So the shopkeeper isn't only NPC in this game. Overall the game is highly recommendable for old players and the violence isn't graphical so game is safe to play when kids are present.

Euro Truck Simulator: Ever wanted to be truck driver? In Euro Truck Simulator 2 you can!
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is nice trucking from A to B, in virtual (Central) Europe. Watching game is suitable for everyone, but because player should know how to handle trucks, should player probably be at least 10 years old. Game support multiple languages, ther is no violence, gambling or any other unetical elements.
Someone could get bored for "just trucking", but there is lots of people who just want to drive. There is small management element in game too. You can own your own trucking company with drivers and cars. (Sami Hallikas)