Good family games?

[XMan]

I've got a XBox 360 wireless controller for Windows, I thought about getting another one and trying to track down a few family friendly games . . . for Christmas.

Something that can be run at widescreen resolutions would be a plus (Madden fails badly at this), and if it's GFW stamped that's even more a plus.

Current Ideas:

Sega Rally Revo
Guitar Hero 3

 

[Ruptga]

Family friendly as in not shooting up ho's for fun, or family friendly as in a seven year old can play with you? And what kinds of games do you like? RTS, racing, TPS, FPS, RPG?

 

[manimal]

If you like soccer go with Pro evolution soccer, we play it in my living room on a 42 LCD and it looks amazing. It plays well on a 4300 at 3.2 with a 7800gtx in my htpc.


Another game I installed in the living room was DiRT. Looks great and the buggy races are lots of run, single player only tho. Hmm what else, Lego star wars? fun for the nephews and nieces when they visit. Since we got the wii tho the kids dont turn on the htpc to game, only movies.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

i never really understood what the fuck family friendly means.

 

[450R]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
i never really understood what the fuck family friendly means.

Content suitable for all age groups. Although, now with EA Sports' latest terminology for Wii games, it also means simplified play.

 

[samduhman]

Im racking my brain here. I don't know if there are that many family friendly games that you can play together on one screen for the pc. Harry Potter games maybe. Quidditch world cup. MAME would be great if you can get the games for it. I haven't dabbled in MAME in years so don't know anymore.

XMan, if you can clerify the age group your looking for that would help. IMHO a lot of games rated 10+ or Teen can be played by younger kids you just have to do a little research of the actual content of the game. A perfect example is a game like Star Wars Battlefront II which is rated Teen. IMHO is ok for 9 year olds and up. As long as they are mentally stable. Even so that brings me back to my original comment that Im 98% sure you can't play more than one person onscreen with this game. You would need 2 separate computers in a lan environment.

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: samduhman

Im racking my brain here. I don't know if there are that many family friendly games that you can play together on one screen for the pc. Harry Potter games maybe. Quidditch world cup. MAME would be great if you can get the games for it. I haven't dabbled in MAME in years so don't know anymore.

XMan, if you can clerify the age group your looking for that would help. IMHO a lot of games rated 10+ or Teen can be played by younger kids you just have to do a little research of the actual content of the game. A perfect example is a game like Star Wars Battlefront II which is rated Teen. IMHO is ok for 9 year olds and up. As long as they are mentally stable. Even so that brings me back to my original comment that Im 98% sure you can't play more than one person onscreen with this game. You would need 2 separate computers in a lan environment.

Age-wise, the youngest that will probably be playing is my 6-year old nephew. He isn't the most common six year old, his favorite game is Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

Mostly I'm probably looking for non-shooters cause my wife can't stand the blood and guts . . . though I may try to get Gears of War and see what she thinks.

She likes racing games, I like sports games, and we both like strategy/puzzle games.

I have a LAN, but again, that kind of defeats the purpose of playing in the living room.

I'm sure somebody will somehting like, "Just buy an XBox!" Well, I don't need to, I've an HTPC with way more horsepower already in place . . .

 

[QueBert]

Viva Pinata, no multi player but it's great for all ages. Kids love it, chicks love it, and I find myself enjoying it a lot.

 

[shrumpage]

nm

 

[Czar]

Lego starwars

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

I suggest DLing emulators of classic gaming consoles (ie. SNES, Genesis) and some ROMs. Worked for my HTPC.

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
i never really understood what the fuck family friendly means.

Agreed. Maybe OPie should head over to xiangames.net?

 

[evolvedbullet]

Mario!

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: homercles337

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
i never really understood what the fuck family friendly means.

Agreed. Maybe OPie should head over to xiangames.net?

:roll:

Family friendly = games that don't involve exploding guts so as not to gross out my wife and scare small children.

Thanks for your post though, very helpful.

 

[KlokWyze]

Definitely just get the console classics runnin on an emu. Which of us didn't love Mario 1-4, contra, zelda etc!?!?!

 

[1Brett]

Atomic Bomberman is our all-time favorite family game on HTPC. Yes, it's old, but it runs perfectly on XP and it's downright mayhem from start to finish - every time we play. Up to 10 players simultaneous, if you get that many controllers going. We play 5-6 players, and we have yet to come across a PC game more fun than this. Any time we ask my wife to play, she's in, even though she is not a gamer. Our 5yo daughter can compete "enough" to have a good time, which is a big plus. We started playing this networked many years ago, and it transitioned flawlessly to the living room. There is a level of "cartoon" violence, along the the lines of Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry.

Trackmania United has fast-paced "hot-seat" arcade racing that our boys (6yo-13yo-15yo) and I enjoy a good bit. Once in a while, we'll even get my wife to jump in. Our 5yo daughter does not compete (obviously), but I give her a year or so to start kicking my rear in it. Yes, our 13- and 15-year-olds usually dominate, but it's still fun for all of us. Because we play a timed knock-out mode, the best players get the least play time -- perfect for our broad age range.

Micro Machines v4 is another arcade racing title, up to 4 players simultaneous. We have tons of fun with that -- arcade racing with weapons and powerups.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: 1Brett
Atomic Bomberman is our all-time favorite family game on HTPC. Yes, it's old, but it runs perfectly on XP and it's downright mayhem from start to finish - every time we play. Up to 10 players simultaneous, if you get that many controllers going. We play 5-6 players, and we have yet to come across a PC game more fun than this. Any time we ask my wife to play, she's in, even though she is not a gamer. Our 5yo daughter can compete "enough" to have a good time, which is a big plus. We started playing this networked many years ago, and it transitioned flawlessly to the living room. There is a level of "cartoon" violence, along the the lines of Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry.

Trackmania United has fast-paced "hot-seat" arcade racing that our boys (6yo-13yo-15yo) and I enjoy a good bit. Once in a while, we'll even get my wife to jump in. Our 5yo daughter does not compete (obviously), but I give her a year or so to start kicking my rear in it. Yes, our 13- and 15-year-olds usually dominate, but it's still fun for all of us. Because we play a timed knock-out mode, the best players get the least play time -- perfect for our broad age range.

Micro Machines v4 is another arcade racing title, up to 4 players simultaneous. We have tons of fun with that -- arcade racing with weapons and powerups.

Some great recommendations here. There's nothing quite like Bomberman for multiplayer mayhem

 

[Fadardo]

So you wnt a game the whole family can play together?
How about Scrabble Deluxe Edition, Found it in the discount bin for $4

Really though if you have kids under 12, get them a Wii and play Wii Sports and MarioParty together with them and your wife.