Games for a 12 year old?

TooSteep

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Morning:

I have 2 boys, 11 and 13 who are just getting into PC games. They use an e5200 CPU and a 4670 graphics card, on a 20" widescreen, 1600x1200.

Their console system is a Wii. But they've started playing a lot of Unreal Tournament 2004, Civilization IV, Dungeon Siege, Spore and TrackMania on their PC.

I have a steam account for them, and would like to get them a few games for Christmas. Any suggestions? I saw Torchlight being recommended in a budget games thread, and think it looks interesting. What others might be good for their age?

Also, are there any recommended controllers that can be attached to a PC to enhance the gaming experience? I once tried playing Racecar GRID on a PC, and gave up after 5 minutes because 'driving' with arrow keys was insanely frustrating. IMHO, Nintendo got it right with the Wii - casual gamers need a better play interface, not better graphics. Are there similar devices for PC games?

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it.

Merry Christmas to all!
 
any modern gamepad should work right out the box on a PC and a name brand one should have keyboard mapping software available for games that have gamepad support issues

I would stay away from generic brand, < $15 gamepads as they seem to break very quickly
 
Do they both have PCs that they can play to LAN? If they like Dungeon Siege, then Titan Quest will blow their minds. Will run nicely on a 4670.

For the Civilization gamer, perhaps an introduction to Total War would be good; Rome and/or Medieval 2 Total War should run well enough on a 4670. Empire: TW is a bit hardware intensive and doesn't live up to the previous two titles, IMO. GalCiv 2, also a greeaaaaat game.
 
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First you'll need to get another computer, 2 boys sharing one computer can't work out good in the end heh.

The best gamepad for the PC IMO is the Xbox 360 controller. You can use any of the wired ones or get a kit that comes with a wireless receiver for the computer. Any of the Games for Windows Live title should have support built in.

Trine was another very good platrofrmer type they may like. Get the expansions for Civ IV if you didn't get the complete version. Galactic Cilvilzations or Demigod would be other good posibilies if they like the strategy genre.

Burnout is highly praised for a PC racer, but I haven't personally played that one.

Most of the games on my current play list are M rated, so I'll leave those off.

Lastly, since you specifically mentioned Steam you might want to consider waiting until after xmas. Their end of year sale last year was amazing.
 
Curmudgeon checking in. The last thing that an 11 and 13 year old boys need is to be encouraged to play video games. They're going to play more online than is healthy anyways. At least board games offer some social interaction. You know, talking to people you know in the real world?
 
When I was 12 I played a whole lot of Starcraft. RTS games are good at making you think critically very quickly, I would totally recommend something like that!
 
Street-fighter 4, supports a crap load of controllers, and can have 2 players on the same screen.
Its pretty kid friendly I think.
 
On a budget, madballs in babo invasion is a great game. with online matchup... great game
 
Curmudgeon checking in. The last thing that an 11 and 13 year old boys need is to be encouraged to play video games. They're going to play more online than is healthy anyways. At least board games offer some social interaction. You know, talking to people you know in the real world?

Really? Did you really just post that? :rolleyes:
 
Beyond Good & Evil was a good mix between story line, gameplay, and cartoony eye candy...
 
Also, are there any recommended controllers that can be attached to a PC to enhance the gaming experience? I once tried playing Racecar GRID on a PC, and gave up after 5 minutes because 'driving' with arrow keys was insanely frustrating. IMHO, Nintendo got it right with the Wii - casual gamers need a better play interface, not better graphics. Are there similar devices for PC games?

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it.

Merry Christmas to all!

I play GRID / Other racing games (trackmania, Dirt2, Burnout Paradise, etc.) on my Xbox360 wireless controller. If you look around amazon I think you can find a controller + receiver (it needs a special PC wireless receiver) for less than $50.

As for games for 12 year olds... I remember when I was 11-13, I played a lot of Starcraft. That's also how I learned all my cuss words and how to type really fast. Take that info however you wish.
 
Thanks for all the ideas so far. I'll look into all the games mentioned.

I had no idea you could use an XBox 360 controller on a PC. I'll get one of those.

Curmudgeon: no need to worry. We regularly play Settlers of Catan, Race for the Galaxy and Puerto Rico. The 13 year old also is in the midst of 75 straight school days of basketball practices and games. The 11 year old is about to spend 3 months of exhausting ski-race training. Video games are a welcome diversion for them. I don't play myself (... yet. The interfaces have always driven me nuts in the past, I'll keep trying), but I enjoy seeing them kick back with their friends and get into their games.

Please keep the ideas coming.

Cheers.
 
Team Fortress 2 - lots of fun and teamwork. Generally superior community to the crap you'll find in the average Counterstrike server.

Portal - creative problem solving, more fun.
 
I recommend purchasing a second computer when you are able and letting them play Team Fortress 2, they will probably get really addicted to that.

There's always World of Warcraft, but I don't recommend letting them get sucked into that but I still have to throw that out there, paradoxically enough.

Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 are both excellent, I'm not going to get into the whole "mature enough for" debate because that's something only you would really know, I've been playing FPS games most of my life and i'm as balanced an individual there is.

It's really up to you, but if you wanna exercise some of their intellect, Starcraft is a good game, so is Warcraft 3, and maybe Heroes of Newerth.

I think since they are brothers, you should find games they can play together
 
Another recommendation for Team Fortress 2, great game and it supports game pads like the XBOX 360 controller.
 
Why would you want to use an Xbox 360 controller to play the PC version of TF2?

ughhhhh
 
Orange box, it has some shooty goodness with loads of HL2 singleplayer (HL2 + HL2 Ep1 + HL2 Ep2) It also has TF2 which is fun and colourful for online play, and portal for some interesting puzzle solving,
 
13 is old enough to play any game, really.

When I was 13 I was playing just about everything...

they're not 5 year olds who can only understand My Little Pony
 
Team Fortress 2 and Command & Conquer 3. My son really likes those games.
 
I would highly recommend the Orange Box, it includes Half Life 2 + EP1 & EP2, Portal which will be awesome for their age, and TF2.
Also Steam has just started there holiday sale again and there going to be having different games on sale every day for the next few days.
 
Torchlight and Titan Quest are both good if they like Dungeon Siege.

They need Portal, as it's amazing and a shining gem of the gaming industry etc etc.

And toss in Burnout Paradise if they like Trackmania - it's a blast and you can get it pretty cheap now. IDK if that's suitable for your card, but look into it.

If they like UT2004, maybe they'd get into TF2? Are they playing SP or online?
 
well, both

Ahh, that crazy counter-strike themed porn, "A Bomb has been Planted in that Sweet Ass". Didn't turn out to be as successful as they hoped.

Anyway, I was kinda disappointed after reading the title that thread didn't result in being filled with recommendations of Halo 2 and CoD4. :p

Also, decided to throw another push for the 360 controller. I don't actually own a 360, but I used to borrow a friend's controller to play Gears of War and I found myself really enjoying the feel of it. It's a great controller and it really works well (as opposed to my pita PS2 + USB controller set up I'm stuck with till Amazon feels like delivering.)
 
I wouldn't recommend pc games or video games in general for kids at that age. They should be more active....you know, football, basketball, etc....but please...no badmitten, that is what non-athletes play.
 
Plants vs Zombies

Totally agree with this... Plants vs Zombies is by far the best independent game I've ever played. My wife is completely hooked, my 15 year old brother-in-law is hooked (bought it for Christmas for him), and I've been hooked for months now. Had it beat a while ago. Still keeps me engaged.
I played the Torchlight demo and it was a blast.
Demo's are another option. You could have them download a bunch of free Steam demos and ask that way.
 
buy plants vs zombie... and youll find yourself playing it to death as well... win-win
 
Mirrors Edge, TF2, Audiosurf, CSS, Darwinia, Portal, Stubbs the Zombie (works with 4 series ATI cards, yay!), Dirt 2, Halo (still getting patched), Anything from Kenta Cho (free too!), Street Fighter 4, Switchball, World of Goo
 
I wouldn't recommend pc games or video games in general for kids at that age. They should be more active....you know, football, basketball, etc....but please...no badmitten, that is what non-athletes play.

He already said they both play sports and want to unwind with videogames.
 
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