birthday present for 13 year old

my nephews birthday is in march and im looking to get him a few games but have no idea what to get! can anyone recommend a few that would be suitable for his age? thanks

What system does he have?

@oliviarose: I'd say it depends on what system he has and if the parents care about the rating or anything like that. I'd say star wars battlefront is a pretty good game. Maybe COD. But again it depends on how the parents feel about the rating.

@nifty_kangaroo: Are you insane...

Anyway, we really can't reply until you tell us his systems.

@employee427: Why do you say I'm insane? I personally started playing Halo and COD when I was 12-13 (22 now). Although I'd say Black Ops 3 is the most brutal one I've played in a while.

@nifty_kangaroo: Yes, and its stupid. We aren't going to clean up the gaming community until we start keeping kids out of games they arent supposed to be playing.

@employee427: Keeping one kid out isn't going to stop the other 8, 9, and 10 year olds out. And chances are this kid already has it or played them in the past. Unless he is super sheltered.

@nifty_kangaroo: No, chances are not in favor of that. A single step is the begging of a thousand journeys.

@employee427: How can you say that though? Most people on COD are kids whether we like it or not. In this day and age it's almost impossible to keep kids away from those kinds of games. They have access to any information at their fingertips.

@nifty_kangaroo: No, it isnt. By being a responsible parent and/or employee.

@employee427: Speaking from experience (myself and friends in the past) kids will find a way to do something they enjoy even if they aren't supposed to. My question to you is..would you rather have a 13 year old playing some call of duty or out on the streets getting into trouble and/or getting into drugs? Like I understand there should be some limitations. That's why I said in my original comment..it depends on the parents discretion.

@nifty_kangaroo: I get sick of people buying their 10 year olds those games then acting like there's nothing wrong with it.

@employee427: I believe it depends on the game. But yes 10 is a young age for M rated games.

I don't believe in sheltering children from games like CoD and GTA. If you've done your job as a parent then they already know the difference between a game and the real world, right and wrong. They're going to experience these games whether you like it or not, so why not make sure they experience it on your terms in your house, not at their friends house.

@suicidesn0wman: True. Very true.

@suicidesn0wman: If you've done your job right you will judge the game on its individual merits, not its rating. For instance, ZombiU is rated M but I would give it to a 12 year old, yet GTA is the same rating and I wouldnt give it to a 17 year old.

Get him Doa 5.

And that's where you fail, because that 17 year old is playing GTA whether you like it or not, and so is the 12 year old.

@suicidesn0wman: Failure is certain if you do not try.

Minecraft or Lego anything.

13 is almost a high school kid. Games with E/T ratings are fine. There are also games with light M ratings in the sense that it's just for guns/violence and mild language. I really don't think CoD is a bad game ratings wise, the campaign has some cursing but who plays the campaign anyway. A kid his age is going to want popular games his friends are playing. There's a huge difference between CoD M rating and a GTA M rating. Look into why games are rated what they are since popular games tend to have M ratings more often than not. Not all of these games are a big deal for high school aged kids to play. Find out what ratings his parents would allow though. For safe bets, I think Lego games, Sports games (if he's into this), really any mario games, pokemon, Little Big Planet, racings games, Destiny Taken King edition (rated T and probably most of his friends are playing it). I mean there are tons. Would need more info about his tastes and what not but these are the games I played or would have liked to at his age

Depends on the kids. My nephews played "Diablo" when they were 6.

Minecraft

sorry forgot to put what system he has!

he has a ps4 that he got for christmas, he already has minecraft as that is an all time favorite of mine so was one of his christmas presents off me. his parents arent too strict but obviously dont want anything thats majorly violent or inappropriate.

what are peoples thoughts on need for speed? is it any good? and would a boy of his age understand and find it fun?

Well you do have the following that is suited for someone that's 13 years old

Lego Marvels Avengers

Tearaway Unfolded

Rocket League

Armello

Need for speed

Fifa 16

Yeah look, get him LEGO games. Those are actually legit fun and not violent. I play them with my gf sometimes and we are in our 20's.

Need for speed is good, IIRC there is no violence, it's just car racing. You can get NFS Rivals pretty cheap, though you might wanna get him the newest one it's ~60 bucks.

Rocket League is good, it's soccer with cars. If he likes soccer, FIFA 16.

Tearaway unfolded is nice, jump n run. Also Little Big Planet 3, also play it with my gf sometimes, it's very fun, kinda like Mario, sidescrolling Jump n Run. If he likes those kinds of games, you can also get him Rayman Legends, it's one of the best in that genre.

Another good option would be to limit his access on the PS4 to his age, then get him a gift card for the store, this way he can choose what he wants but he can't choose any violent games.

Lots of games are violent nowadays, but it depends to which extent, you should inform yourself. As user khatibi22 said, Diablo for example has you killing loads of enemies, you can also see blood, but they are all monsters and you are not brutally executing them, just hitting them with a laser beam or that kind of stuff. Other games like GTA V have you torture people with a blowtorch, definitely not recommended.

To the original question, it depends on his interests. If he's interested in sports or racing games, maybe get him a sports game (FIFA, Madden NFL, etc.), or maybe Driveclub or Project Cars. Maybe the newer Need For Speed game. Not many racing games available on the PS4 to be honest. If you think he's mature enough for a game like Call of Duty or Battlefield, I'd say go for it. Maybe Black Ops 3. I would probably say, in the end, Star Wars Battlefront or Need For Speed would be your best bets. Maybe Black Ops 3 too.

Now to this. Not trying to start any fights or argument here, just stating my piece. But you seriously want all kids out of the T and M rated games? Really? Are you that stereotypical? First off, not every kid under the age of, lets say 17, is some screaming, racist, reporting you when you kill them player. To judge all kids playing a game like that is just absurd. If a kid is mature enough, and has a grasp on the kinds of things you would here or see in a, lets say, M rated game, let them play. My God, let them play. The ratings are suggestions, not laws/rules. It's up to a parent or guardian to decide whether the kid can play said game. You can't just lock kids out of anything to do with guns or violence.

And are these multiplayer modes in games really that bad? No. Not at all. In most of these multiplayer game modes, you hardly come across much blood, let alone cursing or anything along those lines in the gameplay. And is it really that much of a hassle to just turn your headset off. Or just don't use one. Or how about making a private chat with your friends or whoever. No on is forcing you to listen to those kids.

@battlestreak: Thank you.

@battlestreak: I didn't say anything of the sort. I said, in fact, exactly what you said, which is we should keep kids who aren't mature enough out of them. I actually find it offensive you assume I'm biased because I don't like those people in the game. I genuinely care about them and have seen the fucked up little shits GTA/CoD makes when they play it too early.

@employee427: I apologize if I offended you. Again, like I said in my earlier post, just stating my piece. Friendly discussion. No fights or arguments.

But you can't really blame me for having the response I did. When you see a comment like you made, not necessarily a bad one, you can see how someone could have a wrong impression. I still stand by my post, but I do apologize if I offended you.

I think it all depends on the maturity of the kid, not the age. I have seen and have known many kids aged 12-14 that could easily handle M rated games. Easily, no problem. In fact, when I was 13 or 14, I played every M rated game I wanted to. I was mature enough, and so our many other kids. Not all of course. And of course there is a point where you have to draw the line. You aren't going to let a 8 or 9 year old play an M rated game. That's stretching it. But it does depend on the maturity of the kid or person playing the game, not the age. There are plenty of grown ass adults that act like some of the presumably 11 year olds we may see. It just depends on the maturity. Not age.

I think he could probably play something a little more mature than animal crossing or minecraft if he wanted to. It depends on the maturity level of the kid maybe. I mostly played T-rated games, and still probably would if they made a lot of good ones these days.

The vast majority of racing and/or sports games are age appropriate and should certainly be something a boy that age can wrap their heads around. Whether they are good suggestions or not just depend on whether or not he's into each of those genres (for instance I like racing games but not everyone does).

-Byshop

@isaacfalls: thanks for that, really helpful:)

Depending on how cool you are and your wallet, you could give him a 2ds. They are pretty cheap (refurbish one are $60 and new ones are $80) and play DS and 3DS games. Meaning you have a lot of great games to choose from and a huge back catalog if he doesnt already have DS. Supposedly they are really sturdy too.

PS4 and GTA 5

Why does everyone think it's so funny to recommend brutal games to an unknowing person who is just asking a question on a video games forum >.<

I completely agree with you that depending on the mindset of the child, they should be allowed to play some M-Rated games.

Some games are also rated too harshly IMO, Diablo 3 is the perfect example for this. The game has you shooting lasers at small monsters, the most violent scene is maybe a guy getting lifted into the air and thrown off a castle by a winged beast. This game could be rated teen IMO. Also games like God of War, I played that shit when I was 14, yeah you kill monsters but so what.

Other games on the other hand definitely deserve their M-Rating and parents should be careful about their kids playing these games. GTA V is an example for this. The game has you torture a guy with a weapon of your choice (blowtorch included) while the man cries for his family and claims his innocence - all this in very realistic graphics. I would not want my kid to play that.

It's always hard to rate a game because all people are different. I know some 13 year olds that are more sheltered than others, they would probably shit their pants at diablo 3 or throw up when they see you tear apart a monster in God of War. Other kids watch horror movies when they're 12 and lose their virginity when they're 14. Better rate a game M and make sure the parents check it, than rating a game T and having folks complain about traumatized children.

Buy him his favorite sport video game.

Unless he doesn't like sports.

@isaacfalls: Agreed. I played pretty much every game when I was a teenager (13-16). Didn't have to wait until I was 17 or 18 to play M rated games, like some other people would. Some are mature enough to handle the higher rated games, some aren't.