How I Review Games
This page is about the method I use to write about games here on God Minded Gaming. If you're looking for the official rating system used in the United States, see the page entitled Explaining the ESRB's rating system.The General Idea
Part of the goal of this website is to help people know what they're getting into before they sit down to play a new game. This way, they can avoid titles that contain things they'd rather not see. To ensure everything is covered, I'll play through each game at least one, taking notes about the things I've found as I'm playing. To be more specific, I'm looking for anything that may bother parents or Christian players.
But, since non-Christians may also visit this website, I'll also include some more general information when reviewing a game, such as what the game's story is about, how well the mechanics work, and whether or not it's fun to play.
To keep things simple, each review is broken down into several sections, starting with the "At a Glance" section. This part of a review is fairly self-explanatory, as it's just a quick list of various things about the game, such as its ESRB rating, genre, release date, and so on. There is also a small box on the right of this section that summarizes any concerns about the game's content in just a few words. In short, this tells you everything you need to know without requiring that you read the rest of the page.
Following this is a small section entitled "Does this game pose issues for Christian players?". Any serious issues are summarized here, along with a short yes / no / maybe answer. The contents of this section are also shown on the review listings, under the heading "Brief thoughts".
The rest of the page focuses more on the secular side of things, discussing the game's story, mechanics, whether or not it was actually fun to play, and anything else of interest. The final part of each review - the "Concerns and Issues" section - features a fairly detailed list of any objectionable material present in the game.
But, since non-Christians may also visit this website, I'll also include some more general information when reviewing a game, such as what the game's story is about, how well the mechanics work, and whether or not it's fun to play.
To keep things simple, each review is broken down into several sections, starting with the "At a Glance" section. This part of a review is fairly self-explanatory, as it's just a quick list of various things about the game, such as its ESRB rating, genre, release date, and so on. There is also a small box on the right of this section that summarizes any concerns about the game's content in just a few words. In short, this tells you everything you need to know without requiring that you read the rest of the page.
Following this is a small section entitled "Does this game pose issues for Christian players?". Any serious issues are summarized here, along with a short yes / no / maybe answer. The contents of this section are also shown on the review listings, under the heading "Brief thoughts".
The rest of the page focuses more on the secular side of things, discussing the game's story, mechanics, whether or not it was actually fun to play, and anything else of interest. The final part of each review - the "Concerns and Issues" section - features a fairly detailed list of any objectionable material present in the game.
What I Consider Objectionable Content
Whether or not something is objectionable is a subjective thing. For example, there are a lot of people out there who don't see any issues with depicting graphic violence, just as there are a lot of people who don't see any issues with swearing.
So, since there may be some confusion over what I would consider objectionable, I've decided to let our Holy Scripture make the call rather than my own preferences.
It's no secret that this website has a Christian bias; it's literally right there in the name. Our Bible has more than a few passages where people are warned about behaving in certain ways, such as Proverbs 6:16-19
and Acts 15:29, so when I'm looking for objectionable content, I'll simply be looking for anything that goes against this advice.
In fact, I can break things down even further - when I initially started this website, I drew up a personal "rule book" outlining things that I should be sure to mention. The rules in this guide are divided into five categories: Violence, Magic, Sexual Content, Behavioral Concerns, and Other. Together, these five categories cover just about everything that someone may consider objectionable.
To give you an idea of how this works, I'll briefly cover each category, explain why it exists, and give some examples of the sorts of things it covers.
So, since there may be some confusion over what I would consider objectionable, I've decided to let our Holy Scripture make the call rather than my own preferences.
It's no secret that this website has a Christian bias; it's literally right there in the name. Our Bible has more than a few passages where people are warned about behaving in certain ways, such as Proverbs 6:16-19
and Acts 15:29, so when I'm looking for objectionable content, I'll simply be looking for anything that goes against this advice.In fact, I can break things down even further - when I initially started this website, I drew up a personal "rule book" outlining things that I should be sure to mention. The rules in this guide are divided into five categories: Violence, Magic, Sexual Content, Behavioral Concerns, and Other. Together, these five categories cover just about everything that someone may consider objectionable.
To give you an idea of how this works, I'll briefly cover each category, explain why it exists, and give some examples of the sorts of things it covers.
Violence
It's rare for a good story to exist without some form of conflict. While other forms of conflict exist, video games almost always build their narratives around conflicts between people or between someone and a hostile environment. This means that some degree of violence is the rule, and that can easily become an issue.
Often, games use family friendly methods of depicting violence, such as having the defeated character disappear into a puff of smoke or simply fall over, while the fighting itself is only depicted as having the combatant's graphics touch. Stuff like this is generally not much of an issue, but it'll still be mentioned.
On the other side of the scale are the games that gleefully depict blood and gore in vivid and often putrid detail. It's one thing to be realistic, but it can't be healthy to expose yourself to carnage like this on a regular basis.
Often, games use family friendly methods of depicting violence, such as having the defeated character disappear into a puff of smoke or simply fall over, while the fighting itself is only depicted as having the combatant's graphics touch. Stuff like this is generally not much of an issue, but it'll still be mentioned.
On the other side of the scale are the games that gleefully depict blood and gore in vivid and often putrid detail. It's one thing to be realistic, but it can't be healthy to expose yourself to carnage like this on a regular basis.
Magic
Much like violence, magic is very commonly seen in video games. More often than not, it's just a generic catch-all explanation that allows the game to ignore reality when it would get in the way of a fun adventure. The same goes for fantasy staples like magic potions, unicorns, and fantastic abilities. When magic is presented like this, it's not usually much of a concern, but the fact that it exists at all may be an issue for stricter Christians.
On the other hand, there are situations where the way magic is presented becomes a problem, such as when a game makes use of actual occult lore or objects, such as tarot cards. Some darker titles even have the player make virtual sacrifices to blatantly evil spirits or demons.
To be very blunt, the occult is not a toy - and it definitely isn't something you want to encourage people to play with.
On the other hand, there are situations where the way magic is presented becomes a problem, such as when a game makes use of actual occult lore or objects, such as tarot cards. Some darker titles even have the player make virtual sacrifices to blatantly evil spirits or demons.
To be very blunt, the occult is not a toy - and it definitely isn't something you want to encourage people to play with.
Sexual Content
Many people complain that Christians should stop policing what consenting adults do in their own bedroom and find something better to do with their time. But if we're being honest, a lot of what's being pushed by modern entertainment doesn't care about anyone's consent or keeping it in the privacy of the bedroom. Furthermore, saying that depictions of sexual behavior in media doesn't result in real life harm is just wishful thinking, at best.
On the plus side, the majority of video games out there don't have much to do with sex, and those that do rarely go beyond as a few colorful lines of dialogue or a skimpy outfit for the player character. There really isn't a good way to incorporate sex itself into the gameplay, so there's a limit on what can be done. This hasn't stopped developers from trying, unfortunately.
On the plus side, the majority of video games out there don't have much to do with sex, and those that do rarely go beyond as a few colorful lines of dialogue or a skimpy outfit for the player character. There really isn't a good way to incorporate sex itself into the gameplay, so there's a limit on what can be done. This hasn't stopped developers from trying, unfortunately.
Behavioral Concerns
Chances are, you've heard the phrase "monkey see, monkey do" at some point in your life. This phrase refers to how we tend to base our behavior on what we see as normal, and in turn, what we consider normal is shaped by the company we keep. As an example, if you were to hang around people who swear constantly, you're likely to be very comfortable with using profanity yourself, even in settings where it's seen as inappropriate.
Like it or not, the entertainment we consume also affects our behavior, and there are games that promote racism, sexism, or drug use. These problems should be pointed out, not glossed over.
Like it or not, the entertainment we consume also affects our behavior, and there are games that promote racism, sexism, or drug use. These problems should be pointed out, not glossed over.
Other
Lastly, this category is a catch-all for a number of possible issues that don't neatly fit into the other categories. Probably the most unexpected item in this category is the presence of holiday events or references. It's not common, but there are some Christian groups out there who find things like Christmas trees or the Easter Bunny to be a pagan intrusion on their religious holidays. Although I don't personally agree with this, I'm still careful to mention when a game features Santa Claus or his pals just on the off chance that someone will want to know about it.