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Moon

(2009, Video Games - Action/Adventure, Rated T, Play it on: Nintendo DS)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    This lunar experience is deeper than many console games.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–16

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Although the game is set in the future world that is 2058, you do get a feeling of what it might be like to live (and fight) on the moon.
  • Messages:

    Heroic astronaut that you are, you are trying to save your peers as you persevere through difficult lunar circumstances. You are loyal, and you take orders from superiors willingly, although you do have a questioning wit.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    While there is a fair amount of shooting from various guns, you're mainly shooting robots. So there is no blood. But, you do see the carnage left by the aliens. In those cases, you'll see a pool of dark blood around a body. It's not animated, though.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    The drug reference surrounds canisters filled with mysterious liquid that you pick up to regain your health. In addition to reviving your weakened state, they do put you in various other states. The first time you take one, you get dizzy and then go unconscious.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Moon was written by Harold Goldberg

Parents need to know that playing this game feels like you're in a science fiction movie. While there's violence, it's always for the greater good and for solving the mystery. What makes this an outstanding experience is not only the lack of gore, but the attention to story. There is a minor drug reference to the fluid in glass canisters you use to regain your health. The music adds to the drama, which can be somewhat scary. This is also one of the rare first person shooters that doesn't make you dizzy, even if you're prone to motion sickness in games.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about what it would be like to live on the moon and to encounter robots beneath the lunar surface. Why would you like to live on the moon? Would you like it better if it was a peaceful existence? Or would fighting angry robots add excitement to your existence? Who or what would you take with you to the moon? Why?
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More on Moon

What’s the Story?

It's scary. It's the future. And it's the unknown. In MOON, you're Major Edward Kane, a brave astronaut sent to Earth's moon to check out something weird that's going on beneath the dusty surface. You enter a strange, glowing opening and go down, down, down in an elevator which leads to long tunnels and a possible connection to the Roswell mystery. What exactly is the source of the strange energy readings you're receiving?

It's not every day that you get a generally enjoyable first person shooting experience that feels more like an adventure game. But with Moon, there's a deft (though not perfect) combination of story, game control, shooting, and music. On the top screen, you'll see cut scenes and a first person view as you move through lunar locales.On the bottom screen, you'll see maps, sometimes very intricate, indicating the ways to go. The bottom screen also lets you look all around. Movement is controlled via the D-pad and shooting, by the L button. After you play a level in Adventure Mode, you can go back in Quick Play mode to try for better shooting stats.

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Is It Any Good?

Moon, run by the software first seen in the gory Dementium:The Ward, is not a run and gun, blood-spattered shooting experience. There is indeed first person shooting with various guns that do different kinds of damage. But here, the story matters as much as do the weapons – a rarity in video games. For variety, you'll be driving a vehicle on the moon's surface and shooting from it (and taking time to admire the changing, star-filled skies).

The game does have its challenges, however. Driving a vehicle and walking through tunnels is seamless, but you'll find the occasional bug. The enemies, like hovering, shooting bots, are very similar throughout. It's sometimes difficult to aim via the touchscreen and, at the same time, move via the D-pad. And you'll often wish there was a button to adjust your view so that you automatically look forward at eye level. Despite these problems, though, Moon has more soul and story than many of its more expensive console counterparts.

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Publisher’s Details

Released on 1/13/2009, price $29.99, online enabled
ESRB rating: T (for Violence, Drug Reference)

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 4.0

    Ambitious game that gets it right

    Moon is from Renegade Kid, who developed the horror-FPS Dementium: The Ward. I have actually played that game, unlike CSM, and it's quite good. But Moon improves on the Renegade engine used in Dementium, and looks extremely realistic for a DS game, with a frame rate of 60fps. The story's also a very good one: in the year 2057, you are a man named Major Kane, the leader of a task force sent to the moon to open up a sealed hatch that was found while men on the moon were excavating objects. The gameplay is innovative, because you move with the d-pad, look around by sliding your stylus across the touch screen, shoot with the L button, and open doors, etc. with the R button. Objectionable content is minimal. There's typical FPS violence, but unlike Dementium, Renegade Kid's previous game, there's no blood; also, there are minor drug references involving your main source to regain health, and the first time you use it, you pass out (just like tobacco), but you basically get used to it. Overall, Moon is a very good game, just like Dementium: The Ward, and I can only wonder what other innovative FPS experiences Renegade Kid will create. Thumbs up.

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