Video, Computer Games Targeted, Some Unfairly

For the second year in a row, a media watchdog group is warning parents against video and computer games that fill kids’ minds with images of death and destruction. The worry: That children adept at scissor kicks on their Segas might try them out on the neighbor kid. Or worse.

The National Institute of Media and the Family last week released its list of 12 video games and 10 computer games that contain excessive violence or other material inappropriate for children. Some games on the lists are indeed no good for kids and the institute deserves credit for alerting parents.

But many games on the lists don’t deserve to be there. And many others that do are noticeably absent. Singling this assortment out seems unfair, particularly considering that each one bears a rating label that details content and suggests age ranges because of the video game industry’s voluntary labeling system.

The group took issue with Primal Rage, a fighting game that pits various dinosaurs and cavemen against one another in a battle for the domination of the future world Urth. The group complained about the game’s graphic gore and pointed out that fighters can finish off an opponent by urinating on him. (For the record, it’s an extremely tough move.)

Although gross, the game is designed for teenage boys, among whom excretory humor is considered high art. In addition, various characters can be commanded to perform a “Power Puke,” “Farts of Fury” or a “Flying Butt Slam” in battle. Tasteless? Yes, but right in line with the “Teen” rating on the back of the box.

Primal Rage also includes a switch that allows parents or players to toggle off the gore, which turns the game into little more than a reptilian wrestling match. Most of the bloodiest games have similar options.

Even the notorious Mortal Kombat series, a perpetual source of fodder for critics of video game violence, permits varying degrees of gore. Much ado is made about the game’s graphic finishing moves, which allow players to vaporize opponents or rip out their spinal columns. What’s never mentioned is that the finishing moves also permit players less gruesome options, such as turning opponents into cuddly kittens or simply congratulating them on a good fight.

Resident Evil also made the list, although it’s clearly marked as a game for mature players. Indeed, few kids are able to master or even appreciate the degree of skill the game demands. Not just a routine shoot-’em-up, Resident Evil takes players on an interactive, cinematic trip through a haunted mansion. Along the way, players blow away a few dozen zombies, giant spiders and the assorted hell hound. Resident Evil is inappropriate for kids because it was not designed for kids.

The same goes for Duke Nukem, a computer game that plops players down in a futuristic Los Angeles overrun by shotgun-toting wart hogs in LAPD jackets. Duke Nukem’s box strongly warns of what’s inside: violence, sex, nudity and foul language. A parent who buys Duke Nukem for a kid has about as much right to be shocked as one who takes a child into a Pussycat Theater and complains about the feature film.

Some games on the list deserve to be there. Fighting Vipers, for instance, is a little too realistic to be fun. It pits teenagers against each other in duels that involve smashing each other on the head with skateboards. Teens pummeling teens hits a little too close to home. Revolution X also deserves to be left hanging in the aisle, but not so much because it’s gory, which it certainly is. It’s just dull.

Three games that don’t deserve a place on the list: Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter 2 and Warcraft 2. Virtua Cop pits players against an army of bad guys. While the object is to shoot as many as possible, there is absolutely no gore--the bad guys just fall over and disappear like they would in a Saturday afternoon western serial. Virtua Fighter 2, likewise, is a martial arts contest in which no one gets killed, hurt or even bloodied. And Warcraft 2 is a simulation game that requires players to build an army from scratch and conquer new lands. All are rated for teens.

Absent from the list were a number of gruesome titles that make those mentioned seem downright cheery and life-affirming. In Project Overkill, players who tramp over the corpses of enemies leave bloody footprints behind. And in Loaded, enemies are not merely dispatched into the hereafter; they’re blown into countless pieces that stain the walls.

Given that video games owe much of their existence to the military--early computers calculated missile arcs--a certain degree of violence might be expected. Video games do offer a shocking array of violence. But those that do are the tiny minority.

Kids’ most popular games feature cheery characters such as the hedgehog Sonic. The game every kid wants this year: Super Mario 64, in which a short, fat plumber jumps, crawls and swims his way through a castle to find his princess. Sports games also score big as do driving and flying simulators.

In fact, market research shows that the biggest consumers of the most violent games are older players in their late teens or 20s, who buy the games for themselves on newer systems such as Sony PlayStation or Sega Saturn.

The big question is whether any of it even matters, whether violent video games have any effect on kids in the first place. Various studies have come to various conclusions with a close correlation between the findings and the funding source. But in 1994, a sixth-grader in Louisiana conducted his own research for a science project. He found that a majority of his classmates preferred nonviolent games and didn’t think the make-believe violence made them any more violent in real life.

In a world where kids are warned every day about the dangers of talking to strangers, running with gangs, doing drugs or even just walking to school, most have come to know the difference between the digital phantoms of their video games and the real monsters in their lives. Adults should learn the same.

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Tips for Parents: A Guide to Choosing Suitable Material

What’s a worried parent to do?

* Read and heed the ratings on the boxes. They’re generally in black and white on the back of a box and give an age range and a brief description of objectionable material. The wrestling game called In Your House, for instance, is rated “Kids to Adults: Realistic Violence” and the adventure game Gex is rated “Kids to Adults: Comic Mischief.”

* Look at the pictures on the box. Manufacturers put the flashiest scenes from the game on the box. For violent games, these will also be among the bloodiest. Duke Nukem displays scantily clad strippers on the box shots. If you don’t like what you see on the box, you won’t like what you see on the screen.

* Talk to your kids about the games they’re playing. Maybe even sit down and play with them.

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Suggested titles for all ages:

* Donkey Kong Country 3 for Super Nintendo

* Sonic 3D Blast for Sega Genesis and Saturn

* Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64

* Tetris Attack for Nintendo Game Boy

* Ridge Racer Revolution for Sony PlayStation

Aaron Curtiss regularly reviews video games for The Times’ Valley edition.