What video games are worth playing?
It might have started out as a pastime for geeks, but video gaming today rival movies and TV as one of the chief sources of entertainment in American households—in fact, if your household doesn’t have an XBox, Playstation, or Nintendo console, you’re probably in the minority. So with hundreds of game releases each year vying for attention, how can parents (and gamers) discern which ones are worth the money and time?
Al Menconi Ministries has one of the most active game-review teams of any Christian ministry on the internet. They’ve reviewed hundreds of games for the PC and every major game console from the Playstation 1 to the XBox 360. Already this month they’ve reviewed Final Fantasy XI Online, Gears of War, Heavenly Sword, Assassin’s Creed, and many others. You can browse through their review archives to find the game review you’re looking for.
What makes AMM’s game review process unique is the effort they put into rating and commenting on the moral content—positive and negative—in the games they review. Each review contains a content scoresheet; the intent is not to tell you which games you should or shouldn’t play, but to educate you about game content so that you can decide for yourself whether it’s a game you feel comfortable playing (or letting your kids play). As with their reviews of movies and other entertainment media, AMM wants to help you cultivate Biblical discernment in yourself and your family, rather than just give you a list of things to embrace or avoid.
AMM doesn’t just review games, though—they’ve got a sizable archive of articles about video games and the moral issues connected to them. Notable articles include a recent guide to family-friendly games and an explanation of the video game industry’s rating system for parents. So if you or someone in your family is a gamer, bookmark the AMM site and check it next time you see a game that looks interesting.
