Is Halo appropriate for 10 year old boy? If not what xbox games are. Nephew wants xbox for christmas. Don´t know much about them, got PS2 myself but he wants an Xbox I´ll get one.

Generally, Xbox's games are more centered towards adults. A couple games that might be appropriate are:

The incredibles
Any sports game (traditional or action sports such as Tony Hawk)
Any racer (a good one is "Project Gotham Racing 2")
There are a couple cartoon games (Shrek 2 and Spongebob)

As far as "Halo", It depends on what is acceptable for a child, IN THE PARENTS OPINION. Halo is about a soldier who is in a war with the Covenant--a group of alien races. I suggest you play it first or have the parents give you the okay first, but it is a really good game. If he is ten, I would probably buy him one, because he is at the breakthrough age and in a couple years he is going to want a similar system anyway.

NOTE: Maybe you should try talking him into a Gamecube. They are much more centered towards kids, with classics like Mario, Zelda, and F-Zero. It may not play DVDs or save mp3s like Xbox, but the games are much better for kids.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: St. Mike,

Thanks for the advice Mike. Due to concerns I won´t go into I´ll have to decide. I think this is one time when he deseves to get what he wants for Christmas so I´ll just keep an eye out for the right games.

The ESRB ratings are generally pretty reliable, and Halo has an "M" (Mature) rating. Most retailers won't sell M-rated games to people under 18, if that helps.

Most First-Person Shooters get an "M" rating, by the way.

I'd say stick with the Xbox, as it has much more variety in terms of games than the Cube, but take a close look at our advanced search engine for games to narrow down some good choices for your kid.

I'd have to disagree. Halo doesn't have much in the way of exclusives. The Gamecube has all the staples for a balanced 10 year old gaming diet: Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, etc. The XBox has better graphics on the games that appear on every system, and it has more games in the shooting and racing departments, but as far as 10 year olds go, I don't think you can lose with the Gamecube.

Unless, of course, it is socially unacceptable for 10 years olds to be playing the "kiddie" games of the Gamecube, which is very possible, and makes me sad.

I would have to say the Xbox!!!

My 11 year old opted for the XBOX, and I wanted him to have the GameCube or PS2. He insisted, so I purchased the XBOX. Now he regrets his decision as I will not purchase another game system anytime soon. Take the advice of some of the people on this forum, and buy the GameCube. 10 year olds want to play with characters they see on tv and at the movies. Plus GameCube has more mature games as well.

With that said, I am excited about some of the "T" and "E" titles coming up for the XBOX. It has been a long time coming though (3 years)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dmoore:
"Plus GameCube has more mature games as well."
QUOTE] I don't understand? GameCube has more M games then PS2 and Xbox? I thought you wanted to stay away from M games because of your kid.

I believe what he's saying is that BESIDES having games geared toward Saturday morning/ Disney-type-movie characters, the GameCube ALSO has games aimed at a little-higher maturity level. The "mature" has nothing to do with being rated "Mature."

I think that Halo/Halo 2 is perfectly acceptable for a 10-yr. old. I just recently rented Halo 2 with my seven year-old, and regret it a bit. His acting out has maybe increased a tad. A tad to me is a tad too much! Alas, poor parent, raising hand.

I think in general (read: mostly), I wish I never got a game system -- it's both a distraction to me and my child. We've been regulating more and more play time though -- which I think is the real issue. After all, if you do have it, you may as well enjoy it; at least to a limit.

US$.02

Good luck.

It depends. I know many moms and dads who would never let their 13 yr old child buy halo 2. So, it really comes down to if you want your child "contaminated" or otherwise aware of the world around him. I mean halo is an awesome game, no doubt about it, but if you really stop and think about what you're doing while you're playing, kill brutally and having fun while you do it, is it really ok for a 10 year old? Peopel say its just a game, but if there is an irresponsible and absurdly stupid child, which some are, they may reinact a scene or think its cool. Or, just be miserable with life and murder people, because they think it is cool after playing halo 2 and how fun it could be.

So, overall, I think it really depends on how responsible the kid is or how you want the kid to grow up. For the average 10 year old boy, I think it would be fine.

Well, since Teeder hinted that the kid is getting an Xbox, I won't try talking him into a Cube.

As far as M rated games go, I think it really depends on the kid. I really don't think Halo deserved an M rating. It is a FPS (and after Columbine, its hard to not get an M in that), but its really sci fi based. There isn't tons of blood or gore. I have a 10 year old family friend (my fiance use to baby sit her) and if she wanted to play Halo, I'd have no issue letting her play.

It depends on the kid. I would recommend Panzer Dragoon Orta for the kid. Solid shooting game, there isn't any swearing in the game (that I can remember), and its fun. Plus, the graphics are good, which is important on the school yard.

Halo I would say it is not for a litle kid. But I think games like spoung bob or rugrats is like a game for kids, I think xbox is more of a system of mature games. If you want to play kids game go get a gamecube

You should get the xbox.
There are plenty of games for kids on xbox.
If your nephew wants to get Halo it would probably be ok if you played it with him.

By the way did you get the xbox?