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Arena Football

(2006, Video Games - Sports, Rated E10+, Play it on: PlayStation 2)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    2.0
  • Common Sense says

    Fun but shallow sports game -- tweens and up.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 10–14

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Not an issue.
 

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The game celebrates late hits in cut-scenes in which one player tackles another and talks trash after a play is finished, sometimes without a penalty.
  • Violence:

    Regular football violence, with added emphasis on hard hits that send players off the field and late hits that happen after a play is over.
  • Sex:

    Cheerleaders dance in skimpy outfits.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    Like real life, the virtual arenas are plastered with ads on the boards, field, and scoreboard (NBC, Champs, Upper Deck, US Army, Nike, etc.). The game also announces the song name and artist from the licensed soundtrack when a new song starts.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Arena Football was written by Chris Jozefowicz

Parents need to know that this game depicts plenty of football-related tackling and pushing, with a little more violence than usual in its celebration of late hits. Cut scenes feature cheerleaders in skimpy clothes; ads for real-life companies are displayed along the sidelines and on the scoreboards; and licensed songs play on the soundtrack. This game is online enabled; players may encounter offensive language from opponents they meet online. Common Sense Media does not recommend online play for anyone under 12.

Families Can Talk About

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  • Families can talk about sportsmanship. Do things like late hits and trash-talking make football more or less fun to watch or play? Families also may wish to discuss the place of advertising in games. Are arena-side ads necessary in a virtual world? Families should also discuss appropriate online behavior and language.
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More on Arena Football

What’s the Story?

Football fans who only know NFL-style play, with 100-yard fields and a serious ground-game strategy, may initially find ARENA FOOTBALL a bit quirky. To keep the games quick and high-scoring, most of the offensive work revolves around passing, and there are a few new rules regarding defense and blitzing.

Players with some football familiarity should quickly master the basic mechanics of selecting plays and then controlling the timing of the snap, pass, and maybe a couple of evasive running moves. They'll be racking up points in no time. It's not hard for one team to pile on eight touchdowns in a 20-minute game. And the defense can execute some flashy and satisfying tackles -- smashing ball carriers over the sideline boards, for example -- to match the offensive energy.

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Is It Any Good?

Arena Football rushes players like a blitzing linebacker, and on a superficial level it does a good job of capturing the in-your-face attitude and intensity of the real game. Before long, though, the mediocre presentation and shallow play end up hobbling the game. The game provides a variety of fine-tuned control features, like switching control to the receiver as a pass is in the air, but making tweaks in plays while they're underway frequently throws off the timing and ruins the play. As a result, many of the more-complicated features are never very useful.

Other problems: The online community for Arena Football is frequently small, and players may not have many opponents to choose from. The game's characters look blocky, arenas feel sterile, the crowd is poorly defined, and the game lacks much voice-over audio.

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Publisher’s Details

Released on 03/13/2006, price $29.99, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E10+ (for Mild violence, suggestive themes, language)

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Our Members Say

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  • What did you think about Arena Football?
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See all 7 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in Connecticut
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 1.0

    What!!!!!!!!!

    I have no idea why they say"iffy" for 10to 14 year olds this game is no big deal anyone can play

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in New Jersey
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 1.0

  3. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Florida
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Massachusetts
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    Hello football!

    It finally returned... 1 that'a almost as good as NCAA and Madden games! The concept is that you play in an almost unknown football league and play like normal. Really good with a couple of kinks that should have never been there. Otherwise very good.

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

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