Advice on X-box 360 game as gift for 8 year old

CuddlyCuteKitten · February 2009

My girlfriends smaller brother is turning 8 and we are supposed to give him a 360 game for his new X-box that he'll get. I've never owned a console so I don't know which games are actually good.

Some guidelines:

Not to violent or "adult", gears of war is probably out.
Preferbly something we can pick up and play in co-op or vs with him on his birthday.

We were thinking about some fun racing game like Mario cart or similar but really any game would do as long as it's good. The kid is kind of smart so that's not a problem.

Richard M. Nixon · February 2009

I enjoyed Beautiful Katamari. It's not much of a game (quite short) but it was fun while it lasted. It's also been out for a while so it's relatively inexpensive.

KeyScourge · February 2009

Given the huge range of games available for the 360 it'd help to narrow down the list if we knew the kind of kid it is. Different kids like different stuff

Sentry · February 2009

Anything from the Lego series... Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones...

SatanIsMyMotor · February 2009

Yes, I'd get him Lego Batman as that one is likely the most relevant to him as an 8 year old.

Thanatos · February 2009

Castle Crashers could be fun, too. Though, I'm not sure if that would be considered "too violent."

Sir Headless VII · February 2009

If they like a sport there are sports games for pretty much any sport (and they are all multiplayer), if they like superheros Marvel: Ultimate alliance is a fun multiplayer game (and has the added bonus of seeming very grown up and cool to an 8 year old without actually being violent, or inappropriate). Pure (an off road racing game), I haven't played but rates highly and looks like fun. Just think of their interests and there will be a game for it (and be sure to check the ESRB rating).

CyberJackal · February 2009

Slightly more expensive, since you would be somewhat forced to buy peripherals, but a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game would be good. I think GH3 can be had for fairly cheaply (though it's not the best of the franchise). Co-op too, if you get more than one controller.

Lewisham · February 2009

Thanatos wrote: »

Castle Crashers could be fun, too. Though, I'm not sure if that would be considered "too violent."

If he doesn't think you're the greatest ever for giving him a game where you ride a deer that propels itself via the vehemence of it's own shitting, you should never see him again.

Richard M. Nixon · February 2009

I would maybe steer clear of Castle Crashers. The 8-year-old will probably think it's awesome. The 8-year-old's parents, on the other hand...

The LEGO games are pretty good. I'd say either Star Wars or Batman. Indy, while my favourite movie series of the three, was not as good a game.

Sir Carcass · February 2009

Viva Pinata?

Raneados · February 2009

Sir Carcass wrote: »

Viva Pinata?

make sure you get the regular viva pinata and not the shithole party animals

illig · February 2009

Kameo... older, but very good IMHO

Nataneko · February 2009

Get Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. He'll get more pinata. Otherwise, yeah, Lego everything is nice. My nephew also liked Guitar Hero but he gets very obsessive about it (but could be said of any game really....)

tsmvengy · February 2009

Lego Star Wars (preferably complete saga)
Burnout Paradise
Pure
Viva Pinata

Castle Crashers has a lot of cartoon violence and blood - not sure if parents would like that.

anoffday · February 2009

Viva Pinata for sure. Even I loved that game.

takyris · February 2009

I got Spyro for the 360 on the recommendation of people here (my son, who is very young, wanted a dragon game). It's not fantastic by the standards I'm used to, but he gets to fly around and stuff.

AaronKI · February 2009

What about Banjo Kazooie?

The "Lego _____" games are probably the best for pick-up and play co-op since the controls are simple and Player 2 can jump in at any time.

Zilla360 · February 2009

Banjo Kazooie : Nuts & Bolts

Kuroi Ookami · February 2009

The first Pinata is wonderful, Pinata Trouble in Paradise was alright but I much preferred the first. The second gets bonus points thought because someone can pick up the second controller and join in and help out. Is the system coming with Kung fu Panda and Lego Indy? If not, one of those 2 games would also be a good pick. I enjoyed both of them well enough, and for a game based on a movie Kung fu, Panda really surprised me.

CuddlyCuteKitten · February 2009

Kid loves Starwars, loves LEGO, loves LEGO starwars things. I think the choice is obvious when I look at the LEGO games.

Thanks guys, really made this a lot easier.

Willeth · February 2009

Is he online?

CuddlyCuteKitten · February 2009

I have no idea. He'll get the Xbox at the same time as the games.

However we now have a problem. He apparantly has the LEGO Starwars for the Nintendo DS and he'll get LEGO Indiana Jones from his parents. So we figured that we can't buy Starwars. Apparantly he wants Starwars: Battlefront but that game doesn't seem to be available for the 360. Can you play it anyway?

Willeth · February 2009

Battlefront 2 is playable on the 360, but he'll need to either connect to Xbox Live (with a free Silver membership) to get it to work with original Xbox games, or you can burn an install disc from xbox.com. I'll dig out the think for that in a sec (along with Family Settings info).

If he does end up getting online, I can't recommend Burnout Paradise enough. Not only is it an incredible game, the updates recently made it have a better difficulty curve (so it's easier to get into) and all the free updates have added a ton of content to it. You might need someone to set up the downloads and stuff for him, though.

Sir Headless VII · February 2009

The xbox 360 will play the xbox version of both Star Wars Battlefront and Star Wars Battlefront II. The official backwards compatibility list is available Here

CuddlyCuteKitten · February 2009

I could probably set up an internet connection. I'd have to give him a lecture about net etiquette first though, don't want him to grow up into a jerk.

Were Sweden based so I don't know how live works here but I guess it should be fine. Only problem is that there seems to be very few retailers that actually carry the game. If we can't find it I'll buy Naruto: Rise of a ninja instead because I used to be a huge Narutard and it seems like the proper time to ruin the new generation.

Plus I want to play it myself. :P

Willeth · February 2009

Look into Family Settings. You can control what age rating he's allowed to play up to, who he can communicate with on Live, that sort of thing. My nephew, for example, can't talk to anyone not on his friends list, and can't add anyone to his friends list without parental approval (which requires a separate password).

Of course, he just asked his dad what the password was. But still.

capnrico · February 2009

I got my daughter Lego Batman for the DS, and got Lego Batman from the 360 from Gamefly. They're really different, and she enjoys them both. Not sure if the Star Wars games are the same deal, though.

I know it's not the popular thing (as they're generally crappy games as far as we're concerned) but kids seem to love licensed games -- Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, etc.

Sci-Fi Wasabi · February 2009

He will probably like Burnout Paradise or .Skate. Soul Calibur 4 is not very explicit in its violence as far as fighting games go, and The Force Unleashed is rated T, but I'll be damned if it's not just fine for any 8 year old I've ever been around.

Willeth · March 2009

Skate might well be too irritating to control. I might be underestimating eight-year-olds, though.

Having picked up Crackdown again and thoroughly enjoying it I can recommend that. So much fun.

The best thing, though, is that if you get him connected online (and he has a system with a hard drive), you can download demos of most games that are out there and he can see what he likes and doesn't.

AaronKI · March 2009

CuddlyCuteKitten wrote: »

I have no idea. He'll get the Xbox at the same time as the games.

However we now have a problem. He apparantly has the LEGO Starwars for the Nintendo DS and he'll get LEGO Indiana Jones from his parents. So we figured that we can't buy Starwars. Apparantly he wants Starwars: Battlefront but that game doesn't seem to be available for the 360. Can you play it anyway?

Do you know which Lego Star Wars game he owns on the DS? If he only has "Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy" for the DS, you could still get him "Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga" for the 360. It contains both trilogies along several extra levels that weren't in the two stand-alone games.

If he likes the real Lego sets for the building aspect, there's a good chance he'll like Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. A good portion of the game seems to revolving around constructing various vehicles in a Lego-like fashion from parts that you collect:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36782.html

Lewisham · March 2009

AaronKI wrote: »

If he likes the real Lego sets for the building aspect, there's a good chance he'll like Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. A good portion of the game seems to revolving around constructing various vehicles in a Lego-like fashion from parts that you collect:

The 3D spacial awareness and cause/effect structure of building those machines is beyond most adults, let alone 8 year-olds

Bartholamue · March 2009

Don't underestimate an 8 year old's mind.

Penny Arcade

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Advice on X-box 360 game as gift for 8 year old

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