Hi there,
Any suggestions for a non violent game for my 6 year old son? I was thinking maybe an XBox 360 game that is controller (not Kinect) based. We have both Kinect Sports already. I was thinking maybe a platformer of some kind, but it doesn’t have to be. His hand eye coordination isn’t the best, so it can’t be too difficult. I tend to be conservative with what I let him play and watch. I hoping to find something fun, not violent, but not too babyish. Thanks!
Lego games, whichever movie/brand he likes the most
Rayman Origins, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and maaaaaybe Pac-Man Championship Edition DX.
Rayman Origins has local co-op, if you’d be playing stuff with him.
He hasn’t seen many movies yet. He has seen some of the Pixar ones, like Toy Story and Cars - but not any of the ones there are Lego games for. He has started watching the old Amazing Friends of Spiderman on Netflix with Spiderman, Ice Man, and Fire Star. I was thinking maybe the Batman one since he has heard of him. I was thinking he could watch Star Wars soon, but I don’t even think he would stay interested in it.
Hmm, I’ve got Rayman Origins on the PC, along with Sonic Racing. He has watched me play Rayman. Those seem like good ideas. Sadly Rayman may be too challenging for him. I think I may have let him try it. Maybe with some practice. Since I’ve already got those on the PC do you have any others that I can get on the XBox?
The Rayman games (Origin/Legends) are great for adult/child co-op. The lego games (at least the older ones, I haven’t played any of the recent ones) force all the characters to be on the screen at the same time. So maybe you have to go right, but your kid keeps going left, and you can’t make any progress. You end up grabbing the kid’s controller, or at least pushing his fingers.
In the Rayman games, if a character falls too far behind, they just die. But when you die, you turn into a bubble, and you can still move your character around the screen (in a ghost-like fashion) and the other characters can bring them back to life by touching them. Sometimes the kids like being a bubble, because nothing bad can happen to you and you can go wherever you want. And there are bits where it helps to have your kid stay behind while you navigate a tricky area, so if you blow it you can fly back and they can resurrect you (and then you can resurrect them on the other side if they can’t make it). Also, when you go through a door, all the other characters automatically follow you.
It isn’t entirely non-violent, unfortunately. It is cartoony, of course, but you are hitting people. And some of the monsters can be a bit scary.
Six years old is borderline, I think, whether he’ll be able to play it with any proficiency, it just depends on how much experience he has with this kind of thing and how patient you are helping him out. But I will say that my younger daughter (about to turn 5) did an unassisted wall jump today, and I almost exploded with pride.
Minecraft is popular with my 4 and 6 year olds. I made them play Survival but they’d scream whenever a skeleton or zombie got close. Now it’s usually Creative.
The game is easier on the 360. Fewer items and menu-based creation go a long way. Bonus points for same-screen co-op.
There is an XBox indie arcade download called Miner Dig Deep…it’s pretty cheap, and it’s actually quite fun and should be about the right level of complexity I would imagine. I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit playing it, as it’s pretty basic, but it may be good to check out for cheap. There are no monsters/killing etc, it’s just digging and getting enough cash to buy better gear to dig deeper.
My kids haven’t seen any of the movies either, but they love the Marvel Heroes Lego game. Go figure…
Viva Pinata
Disney infinity? (I haven’t played it)
Rock Band?
Madden?
Feeding frenzy
Feeding frenzy 2
There isacoolspeed boat game called lightning thunder
There isa very good coop disney game… search “disney” to find it
Doritos crash course1 and 2
Sonic games
Plants vs zombies
Hmm…how complicated is viva pinata anyway?
Hotline Miami. Hemmingway would have approved. ( :P )
Oh god. That is the worst game I have played in years.
Once you get past a certain point, Viva becomes very hectic and the relationships between the species of Pinatas can get complicated to manage even for an adult. This was one of the common criticisms of the game. It appeared to be a kiddie game, but in reality could be quite hard.
I believe Viva Pinata 2 added better sharing controls for kids and parents to play together.
My son was 7 on Friday, we have played all the lego stuff, mostly together. He liked the Batman ones the best especially number 2. He hasn’t seen any of the films. He also liked the Star Wars ones and has seen the films and I think that helped. He didn’t like the LOTR lego game but it is a bit older, darker and scarier
Lego marvel is on to play list as well
He really likes Fifa Soccer, Forza 4 (which is great with steering help and auto brakes on, I have a wireless wheel which makes it nice and easy for him. He also like Trials and Joe Danger.
Pool Nation he likes but he is waiting for the Snooker add on for it.
Sonic Racing was popular for a while but does become more difficult for the unlocks.
To add the newer Lego games allow the screen to split when you separate and it works really well.
Beat Hazard is also popular not sure if you can get it on Xbox we do PC and ipad
I decided to get the first Lego Batman game. I wish they has a spiderman game since that is the show he likes watching right now. I’ve got some platformers on the PC I can introduce him too if we play something together - Rayman, Bit Trip Runner 2. I don;t remember if they have difficulty settings to make it easier for him. Thanks for the suggestions!
Good call on LEGO. LEGO Star Wars was the game that got my kid into gaming, because he could just run around in the “hub” areas and learn to use the controller. If I remember right, you have to do the first mission before the Batcave is unlocked, so you might want to let him watch you play that, and then let him join in once you have the hub area open. Running around in a hub area learning to move, jump, and smash things is a great way to get comfortable with the controller, kids really enjoy it, and there’s no pressure to beat bad guys or complete a mission.
Also, if he likes Spider-Man, LEGO Marvel Super-Heroes has Spidey. There’s a free demo on Xbox LIVE.
I’d actually suggest picking up LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, though. As an earlier LEGO game, the missions are a bit easier to get through, though the split-screen technique is more frustrating. Also, he’s six, it’s time to show him Star Wars: Episode IV. :)
My 6 year old LOVES NFS: Rivals. He mostly plays as a Cop busting racers. There’s a bit of violence in crashing but no blood.