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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

black ops?

90 replies

controlfreakery · 01/12/2010 20:01

my 13(and a half) year old son only wants one thing for xmas... cod black ops (18 cert). I am 99% sure that I don't want to buy him this. he thinks i am mrs meany mcmean from meantown. is he right??please let me have your views...

OP posts:
fizzfiend · 05/12/2010 23:06

I am shocked...I only heard of this recently (have a small dd so not an issue for me). But have friends with 11 year olds who are getting it for xmas....God! Am just shocked...they're nice boys too!!!

TottWriter · 05/12/2010 23:38

fizz, do your friends actually know what the content of this game is like?

The problem with my brother was that he asked for the games and my mum bought them without really knowing what they were like - she gets motion sick watching the screen so didn't see what he was playing until much later. And by then he and his friend pretty much had all the then available games. It's less of a problem now, but there are still a lot of people who just read an item off a list and buy it (my nan for one; when my mum stopped buying him the games, he'd ask my nan to get them for his birthday instead Hmm)

Playing a video game is not going to inflict a sudden personality change on a child. But over a sustained period, it can have a more lasting effect. Saying that, my brother is beginning to come round and realise that there are thing in life outside a world of first person shooters. It's not the absolute end of the world, but once you've seen something like that you can't unsee it.

Patsy has it right, too, there's a big difference between the games that showcase violence and those in which it is toned down and just part of the "you versus an alien army" mechanic.

pinkhyena · 06/12/2010 09:40

My hubby's boss lets his 11 year old play this and I really think its wrong. It's 18 for a reason! There's a lovely bit where the main person is made to play russian roulette while his mate is clubbed to death. Oh and you kill the boss by choking him underwater. Definately not suitable for kids.

I don't understand why (some)parents get their kids 18 rated games when they wouldn't let them watch an 18 rated film. Whats the difference? Agree with tottwriter I think people tend to get them wwithout realising the contents.

MrsHarry · 06/12/2010 09:50

Is there a good reason why it has 18 cert?

Not playing devil's advocate - I have no idea about this game so asking this question quite honestly.

I could possibly understand a 16/17 yr old being ok to play an 18, but surely, like films, if it's an 18 it's just not suitable for much younger....isn't that the point of certs?

If not, what is the point of them?

maryz · 06/12/2010 10:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

chickensaresafehere · 06/12/2010 12:06

My SS's,9 & 11,want it for xmas & I think it is totally inappropriate for them,but my dh says 'if I don't buy it for them,she(his ex)will'.Shock
I agree with Tott,I think it desensitises young children to violence.

NetworkGuy · 06/12/2010 12:09

BelligerentGhoul and others have made valid points, about access to play such games.

I was (quite a while ago) a teenager, when the games were on the old Atari console and nothing close to modern multi-player internet-linked shoot everything in sight, but were definitely addictive, and could waste hours on them. Late nights were normal for me and that was the case for years.

Nowadays I might not fit in (30+ years their senior) with the people playing some of these high speed games (perhaps also, if I am honest, too sore a loser if I kept being shot to pieces, esp given the high retail prices of these consoles and games) but if games are played in a family room rather than hidden away in a bedroom all the time, the number of hours becoming a couch potato can at least be limited.

No, I don't subscribe to the 'hazards of war games' that some might, and do think older teens and young adults who have a few drinks and then start fights are likely to be drink (or even escapist film) fuelled rather than game-violence fuelled because they cannot get their hands on RPGs, ground-to-air or nuclear missiles!

The age restrictions are there for a purpose. I doubt any parents would try to justify a 14 yo having vodka, or playing online poker and losing hundreds of pounds, so how (apart from peer pressure) do any of you justify a really young teen having access to games which have been deliberately restricted ?

You would be angry if they were given access to 18R rated porn DVDs or violent films, or do many other things when they are years away from being old enough, so should 'peer pressure' be enough to cause you to consider these games acceptable for someone aged 14 ?

One poster has strict rules covering DS1 and DS2 where there are 6 years difference i age, and I can understand that at (say) 11 or 12, FaceBook is also an issue for many parents, but when something has an 18 rating, I should hope any parents consider very carefully before letting anyone under 16 get access.

MrsHamdon · 06/12/2010 14:10

"If civilians can be killed by accident (or mistaken for enemy, for example), it is 15s. If civilians can be killed on purpose, or if there is lots of graphic blood, then it's 18s. If you can kill children at all it is 18s."

are you serious? Hmm

snowedinthesticks · 06/12/2010 14:41

I think the earlier COD games were 15 rated. That's why I originally agreed to let DS1 buy one (he was 14 at the time/ the game was a 15).

I have talked to him about this thread. He says the worst violence is in the actual game rather than the on-line stuff. He hasn't actally ever bothered to play the game itself as he likes to play alongside his friends on line.

RocketSalad · 06/12/2010 15:04

I haven't purchased Black Ops yet but will be doing for my (eldest) son's 17th birthday. He and his younger brothers play COD together most frequently out of all their games and whilst they are playing they are laughing like drains. As someone else said they don't take it as seriously as adults, it is not real, they know it is not real and it is probably a good let out for teenage angst. It certainly doesn't seem to make them wide eyed and shirty.

However, my youngest is 12 and I am not sure I will be letting him loose on Black Ops immediately until I have seen why it is certified 18.

maryz · 06/12/2010 16:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

penguin59 · 07/01/2011 14:50

My 14 yr old got COD-BO for Xmas being a COD internet team player. Strangely - he says the zombie game is hilarious and I do hear a lot of laughing now when he plays!

I feel as if my ethics have been compromised since COD came into our lives - as now I am fighting time spent playing rather than the content - you can only fight one battle.

As he plays on PC he is counting the weeks to end of March when the new Assassins Creed Brotherhood for PC is out - which weirdly has taught him history, Italian, architecture, history... watching a TV programme he started spouting about places in Rome! He claims AC is more stylish!

My next book is going to be the one they just had on Radio 4 "The Winter of Our Disconnect" by Maushart - hilarious but informative about effects of digital age on kids.

controlfreakyhohohohohohoho · 07/01/2011 20:14

update: happy ending in our house. ds and i compromised on ps3 and assasins creed (15) game for christmas. pleased i held firm and pleased he was able to compromise. phew.

lifeinagoldfishbowl · 07/01/2011 20:34

I have recently heard some teenagers on the bus discussing this game and felt disgusted at some of their comments.

As someone who has links with the military including having friends and friends partners out in Afghanistan - it really saddens me at the thought of 13 year olds thinking this is a normal and fun way to pass the time :( Angry

MrsGrowbag · 17/01/2011 11:59

I am having a similar debate with my DS2 aged 12, where apparently he is the only boy in Year 08 with a hard-hearted mother who won't let him have 15 games (yeah, right). He wants Call of Duty 4, which I gather is a 15 not one of the 18 ones, but my feeling is that he is still too young - the certificates are there for a reason! However, his older brother (aged 15)says he might buy it, which leaves me in a real dilemma as DS1 will let DS2 play it (not out of brotherly love, you understand, just to wind me up). Am I being unreasonable in sticking to my principles? I just hate the idea that at not-quite-13 he will be playing a "shoot and kill" game. Although to be honest, since the age of 2 he has been "shooting" anyone in sight with anything vaguely stick-shaped, despite our ban on toy guns in the house. Does anybody know how bad Call of Duty 4 really is?

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