When you think of electronic entertainment chances are that you have an image of young people sat in front of a screen. However, there are a number of new games that get children up and moving. Beyond the usual, go-to games on the Wii some novel titles coming up for PlayStation 3 offer a gaming experience that doesn’t require a screen at all.

We talked to Stephen Morris, of Greenfly Studios, who was recently supported by UKIE to bring one of these screen-less games to the Houses of Parliament to show what modern games have to offer. Morris spoke highly of UKIE’s regular developer meet ups that are well supported by the established industry developers.

One of his games, Quickdraw, that we played at a recent video-game conference in California provides each player with a PlayStation Move controller. They each have to holster the controller by their side and listen for sound instructions on whether to take a pace forward or draw and shoot their “gun”. The controllers then glow a particular colour to show who has won and lost.

Another game at the event was called Johan Sebastian Joust. The goal here is to be the last player standing by keeping your controller still. Players soon realise that they can influence the outcome by trying to knock other people’s Move controllers. Furthermore, when the music — selections from J.S. Bach’s ‌‌Brandenburg Concertos — plays in slow-motion, the controllers are extremely sensitive to movement. When the music speeds up in Joust, this threshold becomes less strict, giving the players a small window to dash at their opponents. If your controller is ever moved beyond the allowable threshold, you’re out.

PlayStation Move Controllers

As you can see in the video, it soon becomes a playfully physical and can be experiences in a environments where screens are not suitable. Additionally, because these games don’t rely on the same set of motor skills and senses as other video-games they are accessible by a much wider set of players.

Quickdraw includes a variety of modes (Mexican Standoff, Gentleman’s Walk, Outlaws vs. Sheriff) and is planned for release on PC, Mac and PlayStation 3 around October.

Johan Sebastian Joust is planned for release as part of the Sports Friends collection on PlayStation 3 this Autumn.

Skylanders Swap Force is up first. As we have mentioned previously this is a new game in the toy-meets-video-game genre. Together with titles like Disney Infinity and App Mates, it enables you to access in game characters by placing a toy figure on a USB device that plugs into your console.

Each year there is much interest around the new characters that will be added. This year, Swap Force adds new figures than can be separated in the middle and mix and matched. Although these figures are likely to cost a little more, it means that with just a few characters families can access a number of different combinations in game.

Along with the usual advice that you only need to purchase a few figures in addition to the Swap Force Starter Pack, this means that with the couple of Swap Force characters provided in the new pack families can access the majority of the levels. Additional toy figures can then be seen as an optional extra rather than necessity.

Swap Force will provide the following new figures this year:

• Swap Force: Night Shift, Stink Bomb, Wash Buckler, Freeze Blade,Rattle Shake, Free Ranger, Hoot Loop, Blast Zone, Magna Charge.
• Regular Skylanders: Grim Creaper, Star Strike, Count Down, Fryno, Roller Brawl.
• Light-Core: Grim Creaper, Star Strike
• Series 3 Reposed: Terrafin, Eruptor, Stealth Elf

Another fact for families to remember for the new Skylanders game is that it supports all the old figures from Giants and Spyro’s Adventures. Again this provides another way to reduce the number of new characters that children purchase, and extends the value of their existing figures.

Some research is also useful before choosing which figures to obtain. It is advisable to avoid doubling up characters in the same element. Additionally you can check the different character stats by placing them on the in-store demo pods and viewing them in the menu, something I recently tried with the new figures at a preview of the game: Count Down, Star Strike, Wash Buckler, Stealth Elf Series 3, Freeze Blade, Magna Zone, Night Shift, Blast Charge, Spyro Series 3, Free Ranger, Grim Creeper.

It is also worth having a close look at what the new game offers in terms of game-play. Each of the different versions of Skylanders provides a slightly different experience. Spyro’s Adventure was the start of the story for instance, while Giants enabled you to adjust the difficulty level for beginner players and Swap Force introduces more puzzles and the ability of characters to jump.

This year, with a wider variety of games to choose between it is also worth spending some time comparing the different experiences. A comparison of the Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures, reveals varying approaches to how the figures work in the game. These differences also extend to the game-play offered by Skylanders and Disney Infinity.

The final question I wanted to cover here are the limited edition figures. These are rare toys that have been manufactured in limited numbers. These figures often go for many times their retail price second hand. Although there is much novelty and enjoyment in collecting rare toys like this, a little caution is advised as in the game they usually function identically to the standard, much cheaper and more common, variants.

Skylanders Swap Force is scheduled for a release on 18 October and will cost around £64.99 for the starter pack.

Backwards Compatibility

One important issue for a new console is backwards compatibility: how well it supports your previous machine. When consoles first launch there are fewer games available on them, so being able to access games from the previous generation is a bonus.

Also, if they support the old games with the new hardware this not only means you need fewer boxes under the TV but that you can pass the old machine on to friends and family.

Although both 360 and PS3 supported running many old games (Xbox and PS2 respectively) the Xbox One and PS4 are both not providing this functionality. This comes down to a combination of economics and hardware design.

Firstly, it costs more money to support old platforms, and increases the price that the console costs to buy. Secondly, to provide the best visuals and audio often results in new hardware design that is incompatible with older software.

Microsoft’s statement around the Xbox One helps clarify things here: “Xbox One is not compatible with Xbox 360 games. We designed Xbox One to play an entirely new generation of games-games that are architected to take full advantage of state-of-the-art processors and the infinite power of the cloud. We care very much about the investment people have made in Xbox 360 and will continue to support it with a pipeline of new games and new apps well into the future.”

Similarly, Sony have considered backwards compatibility carefully and come to a similar conclusion. PS4 system architect Mark Cerny talked to AV Watch about it. “We decided to focus on the ‘positive aspects’ of switching to X86 [new chip design]. If a different architecture had been selected, it probably would have been even more problematic. The X86 architecture is well known and development is relatively easy.”

Second Hand Games

Another hot topic is whether the new consoles will limit consumer’s ability to resale old games. With new titles costing around £40 and dropping in value quite fast after purchase a nice way to recoup some costs after finishing a game was to sell it second hand.

For some time game publishers have included elements of the experience that cannot be resold. This is often a download feature that requires a particular code to access. While you can still play the rest of the game second hand, to access these features you need a new code that can usually be purchased for a few pounds.

Again Microsoft looked to clarify things for the Xbox One in their statement about pre-owned games. “We have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail. Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios. Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house – should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.”

Conclusion

The key thing to remember with these new consoles is that a bit of research and reading before ordering enables you to ensure you are making the right value choices for your family.

A good example here are video-games that offer an experience that evolve over time. These attract players by offering a constantly changing world that is different each time you visit it. Sim City is a popular game in this genre where players take charge of the running of a simulated city. Because the city develops each time they play it offers fresh game-play and challenges in an ongoing fashion.

Other games use a real time clock that elapses during play at effects the environment. Fuel, for example, is a racing game on the Xbox 360 where players could explore the world in real time. The cycle of the sun (and moon) was used so that the game-world was experience at different times of the day. Then there is Ridiculous Fishing Smartphone game that only lets you catch certain fish at certain times of day.

Rediculous Fishing (iPhone)

Animal Crossing is a franchise that brings these elements together, and is another popular example for families. It is a simulated island experienced in relation to real-world time, date and season. This means that Animal Crossing is different depending on the time of day you play it. The game uses this to restrict access to special items you are collecting that can only be found at certain times. It does the same thing with the date and seasons, so that you can only find certain wild/insect-life in your island at certain times of the year (in the real world).

Playing a game like this in a family soon becomes the subject of breakfast table speculation as different family members discuss how their experiences differ of the same game. This works well in Animal Crossing as multiple members of a family can live in the same island and work with the same set of resources. Should they decide to set-up a separate island to play in, the family can then pay a visit to each others worlds.

With Animal Crossing New Leaf (PEGI 3) soon to be released on the 3DS  I was interested to discover how this new game would fare in a family setting. To that end I’ve been tracking one family’s experience with the game, which has been an intriguing and eye opening experiment:

What has been most interesting here is to see how different families (and family members) play games in different ways. While the mum from the videos is more intent on progressing the town, the daughter seems happy to spend time enriching the fabric of her town and the son is eager to meet as many inhabitants as possible.

Even with these different experience though, they are all playing in the same town. What they want to get from the game, combined with the time of day they play and the other players from the family, results in a play-time unique to them.

These types of simulation games can be a good way to start gaming, as well as inject a bit of an educational and conversational element into your family’s gaming diet.

You can follow how the family got on in their Animal Crossing New Leaf video series.

The PEGI 3+ chart is unchanged this week. In the PEGI 7+ list Nintendo holds the top two spots again while LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES takes third. PERSONA 4 ARENA (PQube) comes in at number one in the PEGI 12+ age group and WWE ’13 comes in at number three in the PEGI 16+ chart. PEGI 18+ sees the re-entry of CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II at number two.

This grouping represents appropriateness of content rather than the ability or age required to enjoy the game. The Family Gamer TV Awards offer a list of games grouped by player ability in each of these PEGI age groups.

FIFA 13 (Electronic Arts)

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013 (Sega)

JUST DANCE 4 (Ubisoft)

LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS (Nintendo)

LUIGI’S MANSION 2 (Nintendo)

LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES (Warner Bros Interactive)

PERSONA 4 ARENA (PQube)

LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Warner Bros Interactive)

THE SIMS 3 (Electronic Arts)

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (Warner Bros. Interactive)

STAR TREK (Namco Bandai Games)

WWE ’13 (THQ)

DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE (Koch Media)

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II (Activision Blizzard)

TOMB RAIDER (Square Enix Europe)

The data is taken from the Ukie Games Charts ©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track. BBFC games included as indicated.

The PEGI 3+ chart see FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013 re-enter at number two. In the PEGI 7+ list Nintendo holds the top two spots while NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED knocks SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED off. PEGI 12+ has LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS and FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING trading places this week. PEGI 16+ chart remains unchanged while TOMB RAIDER and DRAGON’S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN swap places in the PEGI 18+ games chart.

This grouping represents appropriateness of content rather than the ability or age required to enjoy the game. The Family Gamer TV Awards offer a list of games grouped by player ability in each of these PEGI age groups.

FIFA 13 (Electronic Arts)

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013 (Sega)

JUST DANCE 4 (Ubisoft)

LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS (Nintendo)

LUIGI’S MANSION 2 (Nintendo)

NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED (Electronic Arts)

LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Warner Bros Interactive)

FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING (Nintendo)

THE SIMS 3 (Electronic Arts)

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (Warner Bros. Interactive)

STAR TREK (Namco Bandai Games)

[BBFC 15] THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (Bethesda Softworks)

DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE (Koch Media)

TOMB RAIDER (Square Enix Europe)

DRAGON’S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN (Warner Bros Interactive)

The data is taken from the Ukie Games Charts ©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track. BBFC games included as indicated.

Question: Can you trade in games that have a higher age rating than your actual age?

Answer: Retailers have a responsibility to not provide games to customers younger than the specific PEGI 12, 16 or 18 rating. They can receive games in for trade regardless of the PEGI rating, although this is at their discretion.

Question: Will Skylanders Giants play on the Spyro Starter Pack?

Answer: Skylanders Giants will not work with Spyro’s Adventure because the characters did not exist in the original game. The same is true for the standard Skylanders introduced for Giants. However, you can use Lightcore and Series 2 versions of original characters — although they will not receive any additional benefits in Spyro’s Adventure.

Question: My 12 year old son wants to buy The PS Vita that comes with CoD Black Ops 2 declassified and according to Amazon this product is a BBFC 12 rating. However PEGI seem to have put the game at 16. What is the real age for this product?

Answer: BBFC and PEGI rate games on different criteria, hence the discrepancy. PEGI is now the single body that rates video-games in the UK and I would suggest is the most up to date rating to adhere to. You can check on the back of the box, and here, for more details on why Black Ops Declassified on Vita is rated PEGI 16.

Check back next month for more great questions from readers, and our best attempts to answer. If we’ve missed anything in our responses this month, why not fill in the gaps in the comments. Also, you can ask your questions here.

[Image Credit: flickr/mathrock]

The PEGI 3+ chart is unchanged this week, with Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins grabbing the top spot in the PEGI 7+ list. PEGI 12+ charts are unchanged as well, with Fire Emblem retaining the top spot there. Star Trek enters at number two in the PEGI 16+ charts with Dragon’s Dogma and Dead Island taking the top two places for PEGI 18+ games.

This grouping represents appropriateness of content rather than the ability or age required to enjoy the game. The Family Gamer TV Awards offer a list of games grouped by player ability in each of these PEGI age groups.

FIFA 13 (Electronic Arts)

TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 14 (Electronic Arts)

JUST DANCE 4 (Ubisoft)

LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS (Nintendo)

LUIGI’S MANSION 2 (Nintendo)

SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED (Sega)

FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING (Nintendo)

LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Warner Bros Interactive)

THE SIMS 3 (Electronic Arts)

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (Warner Bros. Interactive)

STAR TREK (Namco Bandai Games)

[BBFC 15] THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (Bethesda Softworks)

DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE (Koch Media)

DRAGON’S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN (Warner Bros Interactive)

TOMB RAIDER (Square Enix Europe)

The data is taken from the Ukie Games Charts ©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track. BBFC games included as indicated.

This grouping represents appropriateness of content rather than the ability or age required to enjoy the game. The Family Gamer TV Awards offer a list of games grouped by player ability in each of these PEGI age groups.

FIFA 13 (Electronic Arts)

TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 14 (Electronic Arts)

JUST DANCE 4 (Ubisoft)

LUIGI’S MANSION 2 (Nintendo)

LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES (Warner Bros. Interactive)

SKYLANDERS GIANTS (Activision Blizzard)

FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING (Nintendo)

LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Warner Bros Interactive)

THE SIMS 3 (Electronic Arts)

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (Warner Bros. Interactive)

[BBFC 15] THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (Bethesda Softworks)

Halo 4 (Microsoft)

BIOSHOCK INFINITE (Take 2)

TOMB RAIDER (Square Enix Europe)

DEFIANCE (Trion Worlds)

The data is taken from the Ukie Games Charts ©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track. BBFC games included as indicated.

Question: I was told that if you’re playing Skylanders on your PS3, if you were to bring your portal lets say to a friends house and try to play on another PS3 the portal won’t work and will only work on the PS3 it was first used on.  Is this true?

Answer: The Skylanders portal for the PS3 is not specific to a particular console even after use. You can’t, however, use a PS3 portal on a 360 or Wii or Wii U console.

Question: How come all the other assassins creeds have been and 15 and now assassins creed 3 is an 18? Have they changed the rating to an 18 so that people 14 years of age don’t go and buy it because they are a year younger?

Answer: Each game receives an age rating based on the content it contains. In addition the ratings have changed from BBFC to PEGI which apply a slightly different criteria. Check the back of the box for more details about why a game has a particular PEGI rating.

Question: I have 2 sons with 2 different 3ds systems, can they share one Skylanders Starter Pack that only contains one portal?

Answer: Yes the portal can be used on both systems, and they can use a different save slot on the Skylanders cartridge. However they will not both be able to play the game at the same time.

Question: Hi, I have a question regarding Skylanders.  I have the opportunity to buy Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and 12 figures – however, I understand that the figures retain all the information they have been played with so far on the actual figures.  Therefore is it possible to clear the information on the figure so that my son can start playing the game himself?

Answer: Yes you can reset each Skylanders figure so it is as if it was new. This enables you to start upgrading and developing the different characters from scratch and is designed for a scenario just like this.

Check back next month for more great questions from readers, and our best attempts to answer. If we’ve missed anything in our responses this month, why not fill in the gaps in the comments. Also, you can ask your questions here.

[Image Credit: flickr/mathrock]