play

Now available

“DS Mario and Luigi:

Partners in Time”

“PS2 Neopets: The Darkest

Faerie”

“Nintendo DS Mario Kart

Bundle”

“Prince of Persia: The Two

Thrones”

“GBA Dr. Mario/Puzzle

League”

“PSP Pinball Hall of Fame:

The Gottlieb Collection”

Available Tuesday

“The Elder Scrolls IV:

Oblivion” (Xbox 360)

“PSP Pac-Man World 3”

“Nintendo DS - Animal

Crossing: Wild World”

“GameCube Super Mario

Strikers”

“Sims 2 University (Mac)”

“PSP WWE Smackdown vs.

Raw 2006”

“XB360 Dead or Alive 4”

“SpongeBob II TV Game”

“Mario Tennis Advance”

Coming Dec. 13

“PS2 America’s Army: Rise

of a Soldier”

“PSP The Sims 2”

“GBA Final Fantasy IV”

“PSP Peter Jackson’s King

Kong”

“Gauntlet Seven Sorrows”

Game controls

The latest feature in the latest generation of game consoles isn’t as exciting as buzzwords like “bump mapping” or “teraflops,” but it could help the industry stave off lawsuits regarding younger gamers getting inappropriate games.

The Xbox 360 sports a set of parental controls that will effectively lock out games with specific ratings, such as Mature. Nintendo also has announced that its upcoming Revolution will feature parental controls. Of course, the GameCube housed few M-rated games compared to the PS2 and Xbox, but the firm is making noises about going after a wide variety of games in the next generation.

Most launch-day titles for the 360 are rated for gamers 13 and older – the exceptions are mostly sports. Of course, video gamers are mostly adults, so Microsoft’s launch library is expected to reflect that. The ability to control who experiences what will be applauded by parents.