Common Sense Media Review
By Paul Semel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Awkward online shooter best left only to mature players.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Rules of Survival
What's It About?
In RULES OF SURVIVAL, you parachute into a battle zone and, after locating weapons and armor, have to survive as long as you can against up to 119 enemies, all of whom know the only rule here is kill or be killed. As time progresses, the battlefield shrinks -- being caught outside it is deadly -- and the risk of being caught in a random bombing increases. But if you can outlast the rest, you'll be the king of the hill.
Is It Any Good?
Thanks to its awkward controls, this take on the popular battle royale kind of online shooter doesn't work as well as its computer and console counterparts. Like the wildly popular PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Rules of Survival is a third-person, last-person-standing shooter in which you and 119 other online players get dropped into a war zone and, after (hopefully) locating weapons and armor, have to battle it out until only one person remains. As time goes on, the battlefield slowly shrinks -- being caught outside of it is deadly -- while the risk of being caught in a random bombing increases. But while this kind of Hunger Games-esque online shooter can be fun, it works much, much better when you have a controller and don't have to use the typically awkward controls that undermine nearly every third-person shooter on tablets. It also doesn't help that the battlefields are so large that it takes forever to find anyone to shoot: It's possible to go 5-10 minutes before you see any other players. The game also takes an unusually long time to load and occasionally suffers from glitches that make it stutter. Which is why Rules of Survival doesn't, well, rule.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Does it make you feel differently that your enemies in Rules of Survival are human, as opposed to aliens, animals, or monsters? Why do you think that is?
Talk about appropriate clothing. If you were in a fight to the death, would you wear a miniskirt and a leather vest, or would it be better to wear something more practical?
Discuss money management. In this game, you can spend real money to buy virtual outfits, but does this seem like a good use of your money?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : January 18, 2018
- Genre : Action Games
- Publisher : NetEase Games
- Version : 1.0.8
- Minimum software requirements : Requires iOS 9.0 or later; Android 4.0 and up
- Last updated : September 29, 2022
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