Unreal Tournament for 8?
BURRIS ASKS: “I’m a big fan of the original Unreal Tournament game and the modifications that were created for it. I have twin 8 yr old boys and would love to play it with them, but I feel that it’s still quite a bit too gruesome for them. Do you know of any mutators to tone down or eliminate the blood? I’ve been looking around, but the ones I found want to take it in the other direction. Any thoughts?
Hey there,
Sorry to say so but I wouldn’t hold out much hope for this. Unreal Tournament had a lot of fans making all kinds of new content for the game (that’s what “mutators” are – a note to everyone else) and the vast bulk of them were teens or folks in their 20’s. One day we’ll see more parental involvement but not today, so if you can’t find one by hitting up the websites, communities and message boards – I think you’re um Goo-Gunned here.
I feel the game is way too gory for 8, I wouldn’t let my kids play it, but there are very few games that provide the thrill and competition of a good FPS shooting game and finding one that is okay for 8 is going to be a tough chore. Also, I really admire and like the idea of playing WITH your kids – even if it’s bloody and, er, killy. You know the game inside and out by now, so you’re best equipped to make that choice and your involvement should lessen any shock value.
You might be better off with a newer game, something with a content filter, but one for twin 8-year olds doesn’t immediately spring to mind. Keep me posted regarding your search though, sounds interesting and what you choose to do will probably lead to some interesting discussions over here.
Best,
GamerDad
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
You might try Halo: Combat Evolved. It’s kind of old, but you can turn off the particle effects, which make up a large portion of the blood. Also, you can turn off the textures which means, not blood on the ground.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:22 pm
How about some of the older medal of honors without blood?
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:47 pm
I second cross_breed on Halo. Honestly though, I’d be amazed if no one has ever made any sort of no-blood mod for UT.
June 4th, 2010 at 10:51 am
UT2K4 has options to turn off mature taunts and gore — for what it is worth. My almost 13 year old and I enjoy playing this one (usually on the same team). (Comment applies to the PC / Mac version of the game — never been able to really play an FPS with a controller as well as the mouse and keyboard.)
June 5th, 2010 at 11:35 am
On the topic of Halo CE, one of the best times I’ve ever had playing a game was a soccer match we set up on blood gulch. This is perfect for kids.
-Set weapons to rocket launchers and unlimited grenades (especially plasma)
-Set it to a team match
-Hide all but one warthog and place it in the center of the map
The object of the game is to touch the warthog to the opposite team’s base, that equals a goal. This is a gentleman’s game so you’ll have to keep track of your own score. You move the warthog by shooting it with rockets and sticking plasma grenades to it. In combination they can have a crazy effect on the physics engine.
The idea of the game is to “kick” the “ball”, shooting other people is an acceptable by product of the chaos of the game. But intentional shooting of the other team to stop them from scoring is considered dirty pool.
My friends and I have played, literally, dozens of hours of this game type. It’s a particular thorn in our sides that none of the other halo games have allowed this game (no appropriate maps, forced vehicle damage), thought I did set up a pretty good “hockey” arena and game type for H3 but it’s not the same as soccer.
Enjoy.