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Tornado Outbreak

(2009, Video Games - Action/Adventure, Rated E10+, Play it on: Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 12; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Exciting to be animated twister, but chaos is massive.

In this game kids can:   improve hand-eye coordination, kill non-humans (without blood), race, whack cartoon characters

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 10–12

The good stuff

  • Ease of play:

    The controls are very instinctive and the difficulty increases as just the right rate.

  • Educational value:

    Nothing really.
 

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Despite the good intentions of the hero, rampant destruction is played for fun in the game, and that is likely to be the main takeaway for younger kids. There can be some real benefit, though, in older children analyzing the hero's motivations. The heroes moral dilemma can actually be quite thought-provoking. In a less redeemable aspect, trailer parks and poor southern neighborhoods are depicted in a stereotypically "trashy" way in the game.

  • Role models:

    The hero causes unbelievable destruction throughout the course of the game, but he does so because he has been duped into believing what he is doing is helpful. He also states his remorse about the damage he's done and then tries to help the displaced humans rebuild.

  • Violence:

    In the guise of a whipping tornado, the hero tears through trailer parks, amusement parks, roadside attractions, small villages, army installations, and other doomed areas, destroying everything in its path. Cars explode, trees are ripped up, houses crunched, and people and animals get thrown, screaming, into the air. The sounds of roaring winds and crunching wood and metal are near constant throughout.

  • Sex:

    A tornado too small to lift a person can rip off his clothes, but the cartoonish characters always have more clothes underneath. One of the recurring "townspeople" that can get tossed around is a very round woman in a halter top.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Tornado Outbreak was written by Christopher Healy

Parents need to know that Tornado Outbreak's hyper-kinetic action allows kids to revel in the fun of destroying property. Kids take on the role of a destructive windstorm and tear up one town after another. They will throw people and animals to unseen fates as well. The hero of the game is an outer space Wind Warrior, who [SPOILER ALERT] has been deceived into believing the destruction he causes is all in the name of a good cause. Through most of the game, he thinks he must tear up buildings and farms in order to unearth the evil Fire Flyers that are hiding there and plan to destroy the Earth. He discovers in the end that he was being manipulated and fights back against the true evil ones. The heroes moral dilemma can actually be quite thought-provoking.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • The concept of collateral damage is brought to the foreground by some of the cutscenes in the game. The hero feels remorse for the people he hurts, but also believes it was all done in the name of the greater good. This opens up various moral dilemmas for families to discuss, including the "I was just following orders" defense. It's heavy stuff, but,  the game brings it up.
  • Families can also talk about the depiction of trailer parks and impoverished towns in the game. Can these stereotypes be hurtful?
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More on Tornado Outbreak

What’s the Story?

In TORNADO OUTBREAK, intergalactic Wind Warriors are enlisted to become tornados on Earth and tear up landscapes in order to find lost power orbs and the evil Fire Flyers who hid them. The eager young commander of the squad has misgivings about the destruction he is causing ("The humans didn't ask for this," he says), and wants to help rebuild the Earth once their elemental war is over. Still, he carries out his orders, [SPOILER ALERT] only to discover that he was being deceived all along and was actually carrying out the plans of the evildoers. He fights back for ultimate victory. Close

Is It Any Good?

Tornado Outbreak, while not as creatively original as the Katamari games, has similiarly addictive gameplay. On each mission, you start off as a small dust devil, and as you suck up larger and larger items, your size increases until you're able to destroy barns, monuments, and even skyscrapers. It's guilty fun. There's a time element, as well as a rule about Wind Warriors' vulnerability to sunlight, which requires you to only travel within shaded areas and adds another level of challenge. The story is probably more complex than you'd need for gameplay that is essentially, "How much stuff can you break in the time limit?" But it's got the kinds of plot twists and character depth that you'd never expect from such a game, which succeeds in making the whole experience far more interesting. Close

Publisher’s Details

Released on 10/13/2009, price $39.99, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E10+ (for Cartoon Violence)

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