PS3 Games for Younger Kids

dfo

dfo

CAGiversary!
Feedback
4 (100%)
Sorry if there's an existing thread but I couldn't find one by searching ...

A friend of mine with young kids (4 and 6) just got a PS3. He's got Lego Starwars but wants help finding other good games for kids of that age. I figured a quick Google search would be helpful, but not so much there either. Any ideas?

One specific question: several sites recommend LBP for kids. Any thoughts on whether kids in the 4-6 range would get much out of it, and if there's any content in there (on the disc itself, not user created levels) that might be inappropriate?

Thanks for your help!
 
[quote name='Breakpoint']GTAIV is a kid friendly game[/quote]

Nice. I'm sure you'll make an excellent parent. :roll:
 
Im sorry, I just don't think 4 and 6 year olds should play video games because they usually suck.

I just saw a 5 and 3 year old play Guitar Hero and they failed on the NOOB setting. They were just horrible at the game and should not be allowed to play this.

Get them some legos and make them build things :)

/rant
 
there's always those sonic games that keep coming out every year. Also if they like sports such as basketball, nba2k would be pretty fun. Other than that i'm sure there's alot, just gotta keep looking. I think i saw crash bandicoot on the psn, might wanna check those out too.
 
Megaman 9. I played megaman as a kid. It made me into a man. Difficulty? HAH. CRY SOME MORE.
 
- ratchet and clank
- little big planet
- lego batman
- lego indiana jones
- wall-e
- sports games, if they are into that... but they may be more challenging.
 
[quote name='dfo']
One specific question: several sites recommend LBP for kids. Any thoughts on whether kids in the 4-6 range would get much out of it, and if there's any content in there (on the disc itself, not user created levels) that might be inappropriate?
[/quote]


My 10-year-old loves Little Big Planet! That means, of course, that my 4-year-old *must* play it, because she wants to do everything big brother does....:)

She actually does okay on LBP, and there's not really anything objectionable content-wise, although your character can 'die' in various non-graphic/cartoony ways. Still, it only holds her interest for a relatively short period of time, and then she's ready to play a Wii/Gamecube game -- like others have said, PS3 isn't the most kid-friendly console, tons more munchkin-appealing stuff via Nintendo.

The 4-year-old does, however, love Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones. Yikes, it's like pulling teeth to get her to stop!

She also likes playing the kid-friendly, user-created quizzes on "Buzz! Quiz TV" with help from Mommy.

She loves Rock Band 2, and it's much less frustrating to play with her in the new version versus the original, because of the 'no fail' mode. We just let her grab the microphone and wail away while big brother hits the drums and Mommy/Daddy handle bass/guitar. Family fun! :bouncy:

I also downloaded a couple of games through PSN for her, not sure of the names (rubber duckies in one?), but she wasn't crazy about them.

I hope this helps.

Now tell him to go get those kids a Wii! ;)
 
Can a 4 year old even hold a DS3 to make a game playable? I think most are looking at content to give you an answer. I'd wonder if they can even hold a DS3 in a remotely reasonable way.
 
[quote name='Breakpoint']Im sorry, I just don't think 4 and 6 year olds should play video games because they usually suck.

I just saw a 5 and 3 year old play Guitar Hero and they failed on the NOOB setting. They were just horrible at the game and should not be allowed to play this.
[/quote]
You're an idiot.

I second racing games; my 2 year old will bring me the controller just so he can watch me play Burnout Paradise. I think Pure would be good as well since it's a lot of action and racing.

LBP may be tough for them to actually "play", but it would make a great game for the parent to play while the kids watch. As dumb as it sounds, I picked up "Eye of Judgement" (strictly for the camera) and my kids love making movies with Eye Create ... in fact they probably spend more time with that than they do actually playing the PS3.

You may also want to check out John Davison's site What they Play for good family games for the system.
 
My 5 year old is a gaming genius, he can beat almost any kid game on NES, SNES, N64 and DS. He loves the Wii and has beaten Open Season and Ice Age countless times. He has played my PS3 a few times and prefers Sonic Unleashed, Burnout and Cars International. Also he loves the classics from PSN like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot etc...
 
If your PS3 has BC, try looking at some PS2 games with popular kids characters like Franklin, Dora or anything with Disney characters. Not only are they rated E, but they'll probably be pretty cheap used.

Also, not to judge, but maybe videogames for a 4 year old isn't a great idea. At 6, sure, but with a 4-year old they probably still lack the cognitive skills to accomplish some of the tasks necessary. I'd spare the younger one until they were at least 5 or 6. But to each his own...
 
Retail Games
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
LittleBigPlanet
Lego _______
Burnout Paradise (I prefer the PSN version because it's easier to access)

PSN games
Super Stardust HD
Mega Man 9 (8-bit games aren't hard to kids)
PixelJunk Monsters
PixelJunk Eden
 
my daughter just turned 5. she's an amazing ds and wii gamer, but she sometimes has problems with using a classic controller such as the xbox and dual shock controllers. that being said, she absolutely loves little big planet, she says "lbp is the greatest best game in the world." i would not let her play this game online though. my wife and her accidently did so and were just continuously slapped by people online. also, i wouldn't trust a lot of the user created levels. i mean, i let her play them,but i always pick safe ones. the paintball guns in the MGS pack are kind of hard for her to aim, but she loves it anyhow. it will require quite a bit of patience to play with a child though because some of the levels are difficult for them.

the only other ps games she plays is Rock Band (guitar a bit, drums a bit, she loves to sing and is very good at it), singstar and super rub a dub. Burnout is a blast, but this is not a game a little kid can play, it's just too complex. oh, she likes playing buzz too.. of course, she can't read, so i don't know why she enjoys it that much.

there are just more children-oriented games on the xbox (katamari, ddr, the movie-based game like kung-fu panda/shrek/cars/etc., viva pinata party animals).

nice advice on the eye create, i have the pseye but never checked it out. i'll have to get on that.
 
Hmm...

I'm thinking some old-skool ps1 games here that you could download from PSN (hey look, no CD to scratch/find/break/misplace), like the old Crash Bandicoot games, Spyro, and Rayman.

Also, how about Ratchet and Clank: ToD? It might be too much for the 4 year old, but the older one shouldn't have any problems with it... I think.

EDIT: I just remembered, there's this breakout-type game on the PSN called "Magic Ball". It's rated E (alcohol and mild cartoon violence, i think), and it looks like a barrel of fun. I remember that one of the first games I played was on an old Mac: Arkanoid
 
I'm going to recommend Marvel Ultimate Alliance. It's rated 10+, but my son and I have played through it and there's no foul language, just cartoon violence. And we all know there's a big difference between superhero/cartoon violence and gears of war violence. It's just as good as any of the three Lego games as far as action is concerned, and you can play co-op just like the lego games.

I think it was 2 years ago now we got the Madagascar game for PS2 and it was a decent platformer. The Madagascar 2 game just came out for PS3 and I'm guessing it's probably more of the same with better graphics.
 
Little Big Planet is fine content-wise (even online, in my experience), but I think it's a pretty unforgiving platformer at higher levels of play. Probably too difficult for 4-6 year olds. Or at least the 4y/o.

Of course, if it's a BC PS3, the world's their oyster.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Little Big Planet is fine content-wise (even online, in my experience), but I think it's a pretty unforgiving platformer at higher levels of play. Probably too difficult for 4-6 year olds. Or at least the 4y/o.

Of course, if it's a BC PS3, the world's their oyster.[/QUOTE]


My daughter is 4yrs old and is addicted to LBP(It's the only game that has really broken her Viva Pinata TIP addiction on my 360). Some of the levels are a challenge, but if we play together, I can often get to the next spawn point.

She likes to spend most of her time just playing in the level creation area.. I'm not saying her levels necessarily work well, but she loves to build stuff there..
 
My 3yr old is playing Magic Ball. Not very good at it yet, but getting there.
He kicks ass at Wii Sports tho!
 
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Batman
Wall-E
IronMan (Rated T, probably stands for Trash tho)
Hulk
LittleBigPlanet
Buzz Quiz
Hot Shots Golf
Cuboid
Mega Man 9 (it f'in rocks!)
Pixeljunk _______
Calling All Cars
Brain Challenge
Wipeout HD
Bejeweled
 
Okay, the guy who said kids between 4 and 6 suck at video games is a tremendous dumbass but even I think MM9 would be too hard for them.
 
Megaman 9 too hard? CRY SOME MORE. I played Megaman at around those ages. It's a character builder. It's a life encompassing lesson.
 
[quote name='Nohbdy']Okay, the guy who said kids between 4 and 6 suck at video games is a tremendous dumbass but even I think MM9 would be too hard for them.[/quote]

No one has proven me WRONG yet....

Most kids just run back and forth in games, they have no brain power to use menu systems or timing jumps that are required in most games.

If you can find a game where they just hit a button and get things right, no matter what button they hit. Then it will be a game for them. They don't make these games tho!

So like I said, wait til they are 8 years old before they get a game system to play on.

Riding a bike should be fun enough for them, or playing with legos.
 
Breakpoint - you could watch my 6 year-old play and it would prove you wrong. He's been playing GC games since he was 3 and from at least 4 on he has been pretty competant with them. He just turned 6 and he's pretty damn good now. And what the hell are you talking about with them not having the brain power for menus? The hell? The only issue is their ability to read, of course, which can vary wildly in that 4-6 age range. My daughter could read nearly anything at just over 4 but the boys tend to be a bit slower learners on that front. They can definitely navigate menus (you'd be surprised at how well they can memorize where to go even if they can't read it) and do timed jumps at 4 or 5 though.

[quote name='Dr. Strangepork']Can a 4 year old even hold a DS3 to make a game playable? I think most are looking at content to give you an answer. I'd wonder if they can even hold a DS3 in a remotely reasonable way.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely... Hell, even my 14 month old can hold the DS3 properly and make stuff happen on screen (as he will grab the controllers from the other kids in a heartbeat, turn to look at the TV, and move the character around). There's no way he'd be able to deal with all the different buttons, but the basic ability to hold the controller and move the analog sticks comes pretty damn early.

But my 6 year-old is the big PS3 player in our house. He doesn't even want to touch the 360 any more. He is absolutely obsessed with LBP, so that is definitely a good choice. However, the game is glitchy and I can't even play it any more myself (won't load my game - supposedly that will be fixed in a patch this month). He can make it through just about all the levels by himself and with just a bit of help from me has finished the game and the MGS content. He's even trying to do the original levels without dying now, though that is tough on some (and there are about 3 or 4 I can't do that on either!). He really likes going online and playing random levels though. This is why the free online access of the PS3 is so great - all 3 of my older kids can do this as they please instead of dealing with 48-hour codes like I have to for the 360 (since none of them play enough to warrant paying for Gold membership).

As for other games, I have sort of an unconventional choice: I just started playing Untold Legends with him and he really likes that, especially as it is 2-player coop. But you have to be careful there as it is a hack-n-slash. Really it's only a small step up from something like Lego Star Wars, but still not all kids can handle it or would like it. You gotta know the kid on that one.

I plan to get him Lego Indy when it gets cheap. I already beat it on the 360 on a rental. There really aren't a ton of pure kid games though - the 360 is actually way better for that (and of course the Wii though I'm having problems with that - corrupt memory issues :roll: - so it isn't being played).
 
My 2cents

My son just turned 4, and he's really good at racing games. His favorite right now is Hot Wheels Beat That on Wii. He also plays the Cars games on Wii and PS3 as well as Burnout Paradise.

On PS3 we find it a little easier sometimes to turn on the six axis control scheme so he can use the controller as a steering wheel. It is absolutely amazing how quickly he learns things.

(one drawback - after playing Burnout his hotwheels cars end up getting wrecked a lot in real life)

He also loves watching me play Little Big Planet. I'll have to let him play it to see how he does. He also likes to "play along" with Rockband and Guitar Hero WT.

Good thread idea!
Keith
ps - don't underestimate a 3 or 4 yr old - they can really play. It's gonna be scary when he's older...
 
My 10 year old never touches his Wii. But plays the heck out of the PS3. He loved Ratchet, and is currently in love with Little Big Planet. He started playing games fairly young.

My 6 year old has never had any interest in video games, until last year when she started to play some Wii Sports. But now she loves playing LBP in co-op with her brother, or with me.

So definitely little big planet.

~S
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top