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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Regarding neary 12 yr old and Borderlands

23 replies

Bambambini · 16/06/2014 00:08

Really just want to know about Borderlands game. My son is desperate to play it. Seems nearly all his friends/classmates at school play it. We don't allow 18 rated games bt have found ourselves relaxing to 15/16 yr games after much pressure.

Just looking for some feed back about this game and how adult or violent etc it is.

Hate being the strict mum and seeing my chid so unhappy and feeling left out and isolated when everyone else seems to be playing these games.

OP posts:

FlimFlamFloo · 16/06/2014 00:43

No.

Have played both and they are gruesome, violent and sweary which is fine for older kids but not a 12 yearold. Personally I love them!

The violence is cartoony but it is a bit cruel.

BadLad · 16/06/2014 08:05

I love the Borderlands games, but I don't think they are suitable for a 12-year-old.

BabeRuthless · 16/06/2014 08:09

I love Borderlands but it might be a bit much for a 12 year old. Can you find a compromise? Halo should be ok for him.

DoomDeer · 16/06/2014 09:26

Borderlands is not suitable for anyone under 16, in my opinion. The violence in it can be quite gruesome despite it's cartoony style. There is quite alot of swearing involved in it.

Something like Fable or Skyrim might be better. Far less bad language in both of them, not really/ hardly any sexual scenes and most of the violence is towards creatures and isn't in too much detail.

Original poster

Bambambini · 16/06/2014 17:55

So he won't be happy at not getting it. Posters on mumsnet always seem to be the only ones who don't let their young kids play these 18 games. In real life unfortunately it's a different story and the peer pressure and being left out is huge.

OP posts:

iamdivergent · 16/06/2014 18:50

DH sys no way. He says there is a lot of very adult themes in the game

HTH

jendot2 · 16/06/2014 18:56

This is the 1 aged 18 game I let my 10 and 13yr old play. There is swearing (but less than on the mine craft things they watch on you tube). We have turned the 'gore' to minimum. The violence in It is cartoony and un realistic and the adult themes i feel are not too bad....they hear FAR worse in the school playground!! There is a real strategic element to it... It's not just shoot and kill as in some games. I am amazed and horrified at some of the games they get to play at their friends houses though!!!
At the end of the day it's not about what your ds wants... It's about what you think is appropriate.

FlyntCoal · 16/06/2014 22:06

Best way of judging any game is to search YouTube for let's plays or other gameplay videos. I do that before buying a game, as I'm just not into fps games. I've never played borderlands, but I've seen a let's play and didn't like it. Violent, language, and jump scares.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 17/06/2014 07:59

Yes, search you tube clips and look on common sense website so you can form a proper opinion. Hard isn't it?

CrayolaCocaColaRocknRolla · 17/06/2014 09:40

I've only played the first one and it's brilliant. Probably wait till he is 14. They'll still be good then. I can't really say anything as I was playing 18 rated games at that age. (Much to the despair of my mother, as I've just learned!) But they didn't harm me. Films are much more violent than games. You can turn the gore to minimum I think. As Jendot2 said, it's strategic, as are most games I play. You need to stop and look at your situation and decide how to do it without dying. Like most games, even cod. It improves reaction time as pretty much all video games do.

Idontseeanyicegiants · 17/06/2014 09:46

I let my 13 year old play it, he tends to have a do for half an hour or so then come off, it gets a bit 'samey' for him.
A pp mentioned Skyrim which is a great game and as far as I can see has roughly the same amount of gore and violence in it - just in a dungeons an dragons type setting. Be warned though, it's worth getting but it's a glitchy game, the forums are full of complaints about it.

CrayolaCocaColaRocknRolla · 17/06/2014 09:49

I say yes to fable & skyrim! two of my favorite games and I can (and have) sat and played them for hours. They are excellent role playing games with breathtaking graphics. There is a little blood.
Fable: swearing limited to "Bloody", "balls", "arse". That's really it in Fable. 3 is crap but better graphics, better to watch, and easier to play. 2 is more strategic as you have to search for your abilities, instead of being handed to you in a wooden box on a road. I still loved it.
Skyrim: Not really any swearing, as far as I know. You're the dragonborn and have to kill dragons (as well as vampires and other humans but they are bad guys. You can kill civilians but you will be sent to jail and money taken off you. Money takes a long while to accumulate and is easy to throw away. Teach your kid not to kill! (sometimes it's hard not to...) You have magical powers as in Fable, you can summon and shout dragons out of the sky and steal their souls to become powerful. The graphics are seriously beautiful, The Elder Scrolls is an amazing franchise.
I say yes to either of these. I mean, I play allsorts, I still play Pokémon and really enjoy every minute of it. I got borderlands as it's a two player that me and DP can play as we're both gamers.

BertieBotts · 17/06/2014 09:49

I don't find that common sense media website to be very helpful, it's just full of people saying every game is fine.

There are lots of other games, Skyrim as mentioned, Fable etc. Are they not all mad into FIFA at the minute?

BertieBotts · 17/06/2014 09:51

And Portal! It's probably old hat now but that's an awesome game.

Idontseeanyicegiants · 17/06/2014 09:53

DS is in the process of adopting a child in Skyrim
It's a beautifully designed game too.

PrincessBabyCat · 17/06/2014 09:57

Honestly I got bored with it, and was a bit disappointed since it was given so much hype. It's sort of an open ended game like fallout and skyrim. But it is fun to play multi player with friends, which is probably the point.

I didn't notice anything too bad when playing it, nothing worse than any other shooter, but I wasn't really on the look out for inappropriate things either.

Depends on your 12 year old. If he's not naturally aggressive then I think he's probably fine.

CrayolaCocaColaRocknRolla · 17/06/2014 10:17

I finished Portal in two hours! It was great and the children in skyrim are so annoying. I could be all up in my dragonbone armour which i've SLAVED AWAY to make and one annoying brat will come up to me and say "aren't adventurers supposed to look tough?!" It's like, ere, little idiot, I could shout you into Oblivion and you wouldn't know whats coming to you! (TES fans will get my reference!) And me and dp don't play borderlands anymore. I'm too tired after work to game, now. I just do handheld and I'm fine. I prefer single player anyway! But I do really want to finish it.... Going to have to sort out a game-day for us!

CrayolaCocaColaRocknRolla · 17/06/2014 10:19

pp said it won't really harm your son, I don't think video games harm anyone, at all. I played Resident Evil from 6 years old, Silent Hill from 7, I absolutely love horror games and they have not harmed me at all. DP's brother has autism , or rather, traits of it, they're still finding out, and he's played games all his life. He isn't worse off from it. I believe it really helps with cognitive development. And reaction time as I said!

midnightagents · 17/06/2014 10:23

It is completely down to the individual in these instances, do you think he would be upset or disturbed by the content? If so perhaps not, if he doesnt seem overly phased or drawn in by these things then it should be fine. I think it is very subjective, i wouldnt ban something just because it is rated a certain age, they are a guideline imo. OTOH the peer pressure is obviously a factor too, its hard for kids being left out, i remeber it wel but in other scenerios.

Original poster

Bambambini · 17/06/2014 11:12

Thanks folks, interesting viewpoints. Anyone know if things can be toned down on Borderlands - language, gore, violence etc?

He has Skyrim, Mass effect 3, COD World At War and Ghosts, Batman Arkam City, Assasins Creed Brotherhood - all of these 15/16 which we felt pressurised into. 18 's have been a no go so far.

Also has a younger sibling which is another factor as they would be watching even if not playing.

OP posts:

BadLad · 17/06/2014 11:14

And me and dp don't play borderlands anymore. I'm too tired after work to game, now. I just do handheld and I'm fine.

Borderlands 2 is now portable. It's on Vita.

Idontseeanyicegiants · 17/06/2014 11:19

I think games like these actually encourage less aggression than games like FIFA, which has been confiscated more than once in this house due to meltdowns over various things - he's not getting the next one!
The storyline games make them think more and there's definitely more to discover. All of the hidden extras even in GTA type games make them more exciting.
DS has played GTA, he borrowed the disc off a friend with our permission to see what it was all about.
Apparently you can play tennis, which was a bit of a surprise but he got bored with it and gave it back early.

CrayolaCocaColaRocknRolla · 17/06/2014 11:55

badLad Wish I could afford it! I'm trying to save up for a 3DS so I can play Pokémon X and the new Alpha Sapphire. Gonna cost a bomb. DP's getting Y and Omega Ruby.

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