The next two months are absolutely filled with great games to play, with LittleBigPlanet Karting, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter near the top of the pile. All three of them have been rated by the ESRB, with their full summaries and descriptions below:
*There are some mild spoilers ahead.
Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS3, PS Vita) – E10+
Descriptors: Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Violence
Summary: This is an arcade-style racing game in which players compete in underground street races with real-world cars. As players speed through a fictional city and perform various stunts (e.g., jumping off ramps, drifting around corners, driving into oncoming traffic), they are sometimes rewarded for forcing other vehicles—including police cruisers—to crash. Collisions are sometimes accompanied by slow-motion effects; vehicle damage is indicated by crashing sounds, visible dents, cracked windshields, and/or flying debris. Some racing areas contain signs that depict fictional business names and/or catchphrases with humorous innuendo (e.g., a massage parlor called Roman Hands; a cargo company named GoodsEx); a couple of these signs advertise a distillery and winery.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter (PS3) – M
Descriptors: Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Summary: This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of elite soldiers tasked with combating terrorist threats around the world. Players complete military mission objectives set in modern-day international locations (e.g., Somalia, the Philippines). Players use pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, explosives, and melee attacks to kill human enemies in frenetic combat. Battles are highlighted by realistic gunfire, explosions, and screams of pain; enemies emit large splashes of blood when shot, and some attacks are accompanied by slow-motion effects. Additional blood stains are depicted around corpses and in the surrounding environment. One interrogation scene includes more intense portrayals of violence: a bound prisoner getting shot in the back of the head by a terrorist—splattering blood across a table. During another interactive sequence, players’ character smashes an enemy’s face against a car hood, resulting in similar blood effects. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” can be heard in the dialogue.
LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3) – E
Descriptors: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief
Summary: In this kart racing game, players control a small doll (Sackboy) that attempts to save his world from an enemy called the Greedy, Grabby Hoard. As players speed through each themed track, they can smack/bump into other racers and use a variety of “cartoony” power-ups (e.g., electrical blasts, oversized rockets, giant boxing gloves) to impede opponents’ progress; miniature explosions cause racers to spin out or temporarily disappear. In some boss-battle sequences, players must repeatedly damage larger enemies to defeat them. One customization option allows players to assign realistic burping, retching, and flatulence sound effects to various objects.
