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Note: This topic is for discussing games and gaming.

Gaming

Would you buy an 18 game for a 14 year old

25 replies

ColumboOnTheCase · 06/10/2019 22:20

Hiya

My DS is desperate for Ghost Recon Break Point for his 14th birthday would you buy this?

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Nicola1892 · 27/10/2019 06:32

Personally yes, I’ve played this game and there isn’t anything super bad in it. I was playing grand theft auto at 10 and I turned out okay Smile

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oohnicevase · 27/10/2019 06:35

No ... my dh was playing it yesterday and it's an adult game .. gta has rape in it !!
Obvs your child and your choice though

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Spacerader · 27/10/2019 06:37

Personally yes, I buy 18 games for my son.

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Ohyesiam · 27/10/2019 06:40

This is outside my experience, but can you not find out what the 18 rating is about? Swearing is one thing( I think the word cunt makes a film18), but sexual violence is another.

I wouldn’t it it for a 14 year old, but that could be ignorance.

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TipseyTorvey · 27/10/2019 06:44

Check out the PEGI site for information on how they rate the games. Games publishers have to submit the game to them and it would have been scored against a check list. Usually there needs to be extreme violence with blood or obvious sex scenes for it to be an 18 (I forget the exact details now). I would proceed with caution unless you're very confident your DC can watch eg a rape or graphic murder scene and deal with it. Games are so realistic now but worse as you control the character to make them kill etc. Some kids don't care, some take it on board. You know your DC best.

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ZoyaDestroyer · 27/10/2019 06:46

Absolutely not. On these two points from Common Sense Media:

'Breakpoint doesn't shy away from violence. Players use realistic weapons against human opponents, including sneaking up on unsuspecting foes, executing them silently with a knife. Combat includes lots of blood spray and bodies, which stay behind for a short while after. Cutscenes occasionally show even more graphic depictions of violence, including torture, death.'
and
'No explicit sexual content. Some lines of dialogue, some sexual comments used in an insulting, demeaning manner.'

They rate it at 18+ and I find their guidelines reasonable.

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DM1209 · 27/10/2019 07:04

Why would ANYONE even contemplate a game rated an 18 for a 14 year old!? I despair. Some 'parents' astound me and furthermore anger me because these decisions that you take to expose your children to adult material are fine, your child, your rules. But when your child with that exposure in their head, is around my child, you're making a decision for me too!
Society picks up the crap from the 'it never did me any harm' brigade.

OP I know you've asked for opinions and not yet purchased, please think carefully before and if you do. What may seem ok in your eyes, wouldn't be in the eyes of a 14 year old who doesn't have the cognitive or emotional maturity to view and correctly process such content. It de-sensitises them and makes a lot of unacceptable real life behaviours, acceptable - because it's a 'game'.

In my work I come across a lot of dis-affected and disturbed youths and all of them have many emotional issues and are also gamers from a very young age where all have had access to adult material long before they should have done.

I also work very closely with a Consultant Psychiatrist who prepares our expert reports for submission in Court, we draft defences and part of our defence is the youth in question has not had a stable upbringing and therefore has been unable to make correct decisions for him/herself as they lack the mental capacity for this.

Let me as you this, would you buy him porn for his birthday? No, so why is this any different? Content is yes but the rating is in place for a reason!

Don't do it and teach him respect for societal boundaries, they are there for a reason and will be beneficial to us all in the wrong run.

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biglips · 31/10/2019 09:18

Nope... There's a reason why it is an 18 Yr old age rating.

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tornmum1 · 12/11/2019 15:50

Eh, my 12 year olds favourites are rainbow six siege and gta, and I assume he isn't fucked up.

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Pinkbonbon · 30/11/2019 05:25

Nah. A sixteen year old maybe. If it didn't contain violence against women ect...

That being said I wouldn't have a fit if they played an 18 rated game at a mates or something.

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Bootstrapp · 30/11/2019 05:27

Yea. My 14 year old has several.

I was playing 18 games at his age and watching 18 horror films and I've not killed anyone yet.

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JolieOBrien · 30/11/2019 05:31

@ColumboOnTheCase

My son has been playing 18 games on his playstation since he was 14 and he is now in his 20s. As long as your son is sensible and level headed I am sure it will cause him no harm. My sons friends also played over 18 games when they were 14 and it hasn't harmed them at all.

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ColumboOnTheCase · 30/11/2019 05:38

Hi all

Didn’t realise people had responded to this, the game was very new when he asked for it and there weren’t many reviews. Otherwise I usually have a look at Commomsense media as a pp had mentioned.

This is why I considered buying it - can you not find out what the 18 rating is about? Swearing is one thing( I think the word cunt makes a film18),

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Breastfeedingworries · 30/11/2019 05:41

My friends buying this game for her 9 year old son. Personally I think she’s being terrible and I’ve said so to her.

I think 15/16 is youngest id allow access to an 18. They change and mature so quickly in a year, but you know your own son.

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JolieOBrien · 30/11/2019 05:41

@ColumboOnTheCase

The one my son wanted was Grand Theft Auto which show prostitutes and some violence. I have played the game myself and enjoyed the car chases.

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ColumboOnTheCase · 30/11/2019 05:51

(Oops posted too soon)

The above as mentioned by @TipseyTorvey was why I considered buying it. But the stealth knifing and torture as mentioned by @ZoyaDestroyer is why I didn’t buy it for him in the end.

Thank you all for your responses.

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ColumboOnTheCase · 30/11/2019 05:58

Eek there is no way I would buy it for a 9 year old! My ds is a very mature 14 year old, I always carefully consider such requests and once I’ve looked into it and said ‘no’ that’s it. He knows not to ask again as I won’t change my mind. I looked at the trailer on YouTube for this once and it looked pretty awful.

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notthemum · 30/11/2019 06:00

Just seen this thread. I àm very pleased that you didn't buy it .

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christmasathome · 30/11/2019 07:13

Nope. Late 15/16 maybe but not 14.

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ShekelOfAkkad · 15/12/2019 21:30

This reply has been deleted

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GoodMother1 · 20/12/2019 07:37

I would get him that, who cares about classifications

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olivertwistwantsmore · 20/12/2019 08:18

Lol at @goodmother1's ironic username...

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I8toys · 21/12/2019 00:11

Yes

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MotherOfTFue · 24/12/2019 20:23

Jesus tf do all these fkn acronyms mean

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Nat6999 · 24/12/2019 20:32

My ds (15) has been playing some 18 games since he was 11, he is sensible enough to know that they are just a fantasy & not real life. He soon grew out of GTA, the only 18 games he plays now are either war games or things like Mirror's edge, he often prefers to still pay younger games like Lego or Minecraft.

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