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Devil May Cry 3 – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Parents are strongly cautioned. This game is one non-stop hyper-violent moment after another. The main character's lame "rock-and-roll" attitude, lack of wit and intelligence, foolish behavior, and sexist disposition is not something impressionable teens, or young adults, should be exposed to. The game tries its best to be nightmarish, but for the most part its all done in a cartoonish vein. There's a fair amount of blood and gore splashed about. (In one particularly disturbing moment, Dante bursts forth out of a dead monster's eyeball.)

Fans of action games should be right in their glory with Devil May Cry 3.

Fans of the series should be extremely pleased, since this disc actually brings some much needed dignity back to the franchise.

All cutscenes are subtitled, making the game playable for Deaf And Hard of Hearing gamers.

Scott Jones
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Burnout 3: Takedown – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

The crashes are certainly violent, but remain cartoonish enough to make younger children realize that this is all fictional. Parents are mildly cautioned. The lightning-quick reflexes required during the later races might be enough to turn off more casual gamers.

Automobile aficionados hoping to drive a 360 Spider will be disappointed to learn that the game features no licensed vehicles whatsoever. A solid online component means that the game has plenty of life beyond its meaty 173-event single-player mode.

Fans of first-person shooters might find the game appealing.

Fans of arcade-style racing games will absolutely be in heaven, as this game represents the apex of all arcade racing games. Fans of the Need for Speed and Midnight Club series will be right in their glory.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing fans should be fine, although in the Eliminator races a helpful audio cue lets racers know when they are in last place (and in danger of being eliminated).

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F-Zero GX – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Fantasy Violence

Parents beware: with its cartoon characters, F-Zero GX may look like kid's stuff, but it's anything but.

The overly harsh difficulty will likely alienate everyone except for the hardest of the hardcore gamers. The secret tracks are nearly impossibly to unlock, but gamers with access to an arcade should bring along their memory cards and plug them into an F-Zero AX machine. Any tracks unlocked on the F-Zero AX machine can be saved to the memory card, then brought home for use on the GameCube.

Fans of the F-Zero series, and racing games in general, may want to give it a try, but once again the difficulty will probably drive most gamers away.

Fans of the WipEout series will likely also be interested.

All dialogue is subtitled, so Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers should have no trouble following the action.

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Driv3r – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Language, Violence

Parents: the violence is generally of the car-on-car variety, so it's fairly impersonal. The on-foot segments are a little more visceral, but it's still basically bloodless. The language gets a little raw at moments (thus the game's Mature rating).

Younger gamers will likely be put off by the convoluted plot and brutal difficulty of the game.

Older gamers will likely be put off by these things as well.

Hardcore fans of the Driver series may want to start looking for a new franchise to pin their hopes and dreams on.

Fans of driving games like Need For Speed: Underground and Midnight Club 2 will probably appreciate Driv3r's marvelous physics engine.

Fans of Grand Theft Auto III might feel a gravitational pull towards the game, and consider Driv3r as something to hold them over until Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas ships later this year. My advice: save your cash.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers will miss out on certain audio cues, like the sound of the police sirens. Otherwise, all cut scenes are subtitled, which means no one will miss out on a single word of the game's phony tough-guy dialogue.

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Manhunt – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Manhunt is, at heart, an interactive snuff film. Without a doubt, it's among the most unapologetically violent videogames in history. Human heads explode like pumpkins. Machetes, axes, meat cleavers are all used to disembowel enemies. Sniper rifles, when carefully aimed, can blow holes clean through heads. Wounded gang members beg for mercy, and the game gives players but one choice: deliver the death blow (an act which always left me feeling vaguely saddened). If there was ever a game that deserved the ESRB's Adult rating, this is it. (For some curious reason, it got a Mature rating.) Violence serves no dramatic purpose whatsoever in Manhunt; it's violence for the sake of violence. Adults with a delicate sensibility should obviously steer clear of this game. Manhunt, not surprisingly, is also racist and sexist. The White Trash gang, whenever they caught a glimpse of me, referred to me as a "half-breed." Another gang member, while chasing me, said, "You run like a beat-up hooker." There's absolutely nothing playful or lighthearted about the game. The protagonist kills without remorse, which makes it difficult to sympathize with him (even Agent 47 of Hitman fame has his moments of remorse).

Fans of the Tenchu, Silent Hill, Resident Evil series, or any of the recent Grand Theft Auto games might find a pleasurable moment or two in the game.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers could have some trouble playing Manhunt. The cut-scene dialogue is adequately subtitled, but the in-game comments of the gang members and certain audio cues (like Pigsy's wailing chainsaw) are obviously not subtitled.

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Roadkill – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Intense Violence, Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language

Parents: keep your kids, and possibly yourselves, far away from RoadKill. It's violent, sexist, misogynistic, racist, homophobic-the list is endless. The game purports to be "adult," but it's actually anything but, filled with innuendoes and jokes that would fail to make any half-savvy teen groan. The game rewards players for striking pedestrians with their vehicles, and in general, causing as much mayhem as possible. The talk-radio portion of the game, while providing some of the most inspired moments in the game (particularly "Gear Talk" with Frank and Vinny), is also full of insidiously dangerous information. During one of the call-in shows, a listener asks the host if she can get pregnant if she has sex in a hot tub. The host tells her that she cannot get pregnant if she has sex in a hot tub. It's supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but it's not quite tongue-in-cheek enough, and more impressionable gamers might get the wrong idea.

Fans of Grand Theft Auto III and Twisted Metal: Black will likely enjoy the familiar mission structure and car-combat elements in the game.

Fans of heavy metal music will appreciate the soundtrack which features Judas Priest, Foreigner, Foghat, and Blue Oyster Cult.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers will have a difficult time with RoadKill since the cut-scenes feature no subtitles, and many of the in-game cues during missions are often spoken and only intermittently appear on-screen.

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Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Violence

Despite the gothic-horror content of the game, parents have little to be concerned about. Indeed, there are death-dealing weapons and herds of monsters, yet the game still manages to be a fairly lighthearted endeavor.

Younger gamers probably won't have the patience to explore the labyrinthine castle. Mature gamers will likely connect with the game on a nostalgic level, but long-time fans of the series might also find the aging gameplay tedious and stale.

Fans of 2D action games like Super Metroid and Mario should enjoy the game. RPG fans might also relish the prospect of gaining experience points and leveling up their character and fussing around with the various soul combinations.

Finally, Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers should have no trouble enjoying Aria Of Sorrow, since all of the game's dialogue appears on screen in text boxes.

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Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Violence

Parents may want to carefully consider the grim subject matter of the game-it's a war game at heart, though the cute graphics and music belie the cart's true nature. The game features what has to be the steepest learning curve of any GBA title currently available, so younger gamers will probably be immediately turned off.

Despite the cutesy behavior of the game's characters, the strategic gameplay is more likely to appeal to more mature gamers. Observation, careful planning, and brow-furrowing thinking are required, which will likely alienate gamers with shorter attention spans.

Anyone looking for a change of pace from the frantic button-pressing titles out there will no doubt appreciate the slower pace of Advance Wars 2.

Chess fans and military buffs will also likely enjoy the game.

Anyone weary of the GBAs current glut of Super Nintendo rehashes will find Advance Wars 2 fresh and engaging.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers should have no trouble enjoying the game with one obvious exception: whenever the CO power meter is filled, the game makes a distinctive "whooshing" sound. It's certainly easy enough to keep an eye on the power meter on screen, but I found myself relying on the audio cue to know exactly when the meter (and my opponent's meter) was full.

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Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb – Consumer Guide

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According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

Parents have little to worry about. The violence in the game is bloodless and mostly playful, and only occasionally do the proceedings turn grim. The narrative is probably too convoluted for most teens (and most adults too), and the light sexual innuendo will likely go over younger gamers' heads. A good rule of thumb for parents is, if the kids are old enough to watch the films, then they're likely old enough to play the game. The game features a compelling mix of combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving, and fans of third-person action games, especially those anxiously awaiting the latest installment in the Tomb Raider series, will want to check it out.

Obviously, anyone who has enjoyed the Indiana Jones trilogy of films will likely appreciate the chance to step into the scuffed shoes of their favorite whip-cracking archaeologist.

The game features a subtitle option, so Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers should have no trouble following the game's crude plot-it's basically a thin excuse to get you into caves and tombs-and enjoying all the rope-swinging, bare-knuckle action.

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