Halo 3

This is a game where you shoot aliens but no people. The aliens are violent and may be disturbing to some kids. There is quite a spill of blood but 90% of it is alien blood. It is blue green, orange, and sometimes red. when u shoot the certain aliens that have red blood there is ALOT! when you shoot a dead PERSON blood flies out and dripps on the ground. You can also kill your own guys and there will be blood. You can also go up to aliens and whack them with your gun, or hammer. There is alot of H*LL. I mean ALOT! you almost always hear what the H*LL. *ssh*ole is used. And so is Sh*t a couple times. B**tards is used maybe about 15 times in the game. Son of a B*t*h is used only once or twice. D*MN is used quite a bit... D*MN the aliens! is yelled a couple few times. I WAANNA SHOOT IM IN A REAL BAD MOOD! is used sometimes, angrily. die Die DIE! is used alot angrily too. If you go on Xbox Live with a headset you CERTANLY will hear the F word ALOT! and other curse words. The violence is not that intense either. But it mostly just depends on your kids' attitudes. If your kids run around the house cursing and screaming DIE!!!! don't get this game for them

While reading the "What parents need to know" (I am currently trying to find a good reviewing site for games and movies I have not played) section of the review on Halo 3 it struck me that Marc was very wrong on a few points, and this may cause kids to miss out. First, Marc said: "Throughout the game, players shoot aliens AND HUMANS. You DO NOT shoot humans* in the campaign. It is possible, but if you do the marines attack you, as you are not supposed to attack them. ...and they'll see vivid images with blood. While playing campaign on Halo, if you shoot an alien, there is blood. Blue/Green blood, and that actually doesn't just pour out after you finish shooting. Also, there is zero dismembering/actual damage to dead bodies. And know that when the Halo games are played online, players can communicate -- and curse -- via headsets. Depending on your gamer zone on xbox live, there is generally very little swearing. But, if you so wish you may mute players (only to yourself) in games, or simply plug in a headset and turn the speech volume off. *Actually, in multiplayer, you do by default play as a human (albeit, a human in a suit that you only know is a human, there is no face, just metal) but if you so wish you can turn into one of the aliens (Sangheili, or Elites to be exact, the Arbiter is an example of this species, they have defected to humanities side) and fight that way. For overprotective parents who fear xbox live like a dangerous animal, you do not have to play on xbox live to play multiplayer, or the game at all. Also, as long as your child does not act stupid, no one will ever be able to access their real name, location, phone number, email address (phone number and email are needed to register for xbox live, but are not shown to the public) or even what they sound like. If you seriously look at the characters of Halo 3, you will find numerous good role models. Even John 117, Master Chief Petty officer, the soldier whose face is never shown, is extremely dedicated to the service of humanity. He is courteous, and many times goes out of his way and puts himself in danger to rescue his friends, in particular Sergeant Johnson. Parents, almost every concern you have about Halo 3 will be dispelled upon actually investigating by playing the game and reading about it yourself. If it weren't for a very few uses of b***ard and b**ch Halo 3 would be rated teen.

Whhat else are you supposed to do when aliens are trying to commit genocide on the human race, take it with a (soon to be blown off) grin? That being said, this game probably does deserve an M rating. It is a VERY tame M, but the violence and blood from both humans and aliens is just enough where the ame doesn't seem appropriate for a T rating. Plus, the aliens are somewhat intimidating themselves, and the pure aggretion shown from characters is a little much. The story is very well done though, and graphics are amazing. If your kid is relativly mature, this game shouldn't be too much of a worry. Compared the Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, this game is nothing. It is more of a fantasy adventure. The violence is in no way the main point of the game, and it's too fast moving to be a prevelant factor anyways. It's a great game, legendary for the Xbox 360, and violence shouldn't be a huge turn-off for this game.

Seriously; Common sense media never looks at their games they rate. I came here mostly to correct you. Like protective parent said, the claim that humans never tried peacful means with the covenant is false. On reach, they tried to send spartans to make a treaty, but apparently the covenant mindlessly follow 'Gods' that say humans should die. Next, the only noticable blood/gore is shooting someone without shields up close (by then you'd beat them down anyways, which has no blood), or the flood, which I'm surprised you didn't mention. I'll admit they freaked me out for a bit, but I got over it. And the flood is programmed to kill, so no peaceful options there either. Overall, I played this with my eight year old cousin without problem. Just try to skip the flood for the younger ones even though they're a vital part of the story.