Is Sea of Thieves Appropriate for Your Kids?

Sea of Thieves is rated T for Teen, with Content Descriptors for Crude Humor, Use of Alcohol, Violence. Sea of Thieves also has Interactive Elements including Users Interact (meaning the game allows players to communicate with each other) and In-Game Purchases (meaning the game offers the ability for the player to make purchases with real-world currency).

According to the Rating Summary, “players can engage in sea battles against other pirate ships by using cannons and harpoons; on land, players can use pistols and swords to battle enemies (e.g., skeletons, ghosts) in frenetic combat.” On top of that, players “can drink mugs of grog, which can result in screen-blurring and the character belching and hiccupping. Consuming too much grog can cause the players’ character to vomit green liquid.”

Where Can I Play Sea of Thieves and How Much Does It Cost?

Sea of Thieves was initially released on the Xbox family of consoles and Windows in 2018, and has since grown significantly with new content and expansions. In June 2020 it was also released on the Steam PC platform. It is now available on the PlayStation 5 for the first time. Regardless of where you play, it costs $39.99 for the standard edition.

There is also a Deluxe Edition for $49.99, which includes several bonus in-game items and currency. A Premium Edition is available on some storefronts that includes all of the Deluxe Edition add-ons, as well as a season pass, early access to the game, and more. The Premium Edition is $59.99.

Remember that perks and add-ons are required to play! If you and your kids just want to get into some pirating adventures, you won’t lose anything by going with the standard edition.

If you already have an Xbox console and subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, Sea of Thieves is included and can be downloaded for no additional cost.

What is Sea of Thieves About?

Developed by Rare, Sea of Thieves is an online adventure game that allows players to create their very own pirating journey. Unlike some always-online games, Sea of Thieves does have a story, including narrative arcs, non-player characters, and more. If you and your kids are interested in learning more about the back story to the game, we recommend doing a quick search online so you can get caught up before you dive in. Considering the online nature of the game the ongoing story will continue to develop as time goes on.

Some may argue that the real story comes from how you and your family may decide to approach your pirating career. You’ll get your own ship to go where the wind takes you (literally), empowering you and your family to make your own story. One minute you can be docking on an island to search for treasure, and then battling another player in a ship-to-ship naval skirmish. You may even run into some sea monsters that are bent on destroying your ship!

A lot of the “story” develops from our own experiences and decisions as a pirate captain.

How Does Sea of Thieves Play?

From a first-person perspective players will run, battle, shoot, and sail their way through Sea of Thieves.

On land, this plays out as you may expect a first-person adventure game to. Players can explore islands – swords and guns in-hand to battle any pesky skeletons. On some charted islands you may find outposts (basically little towns), merchants, stories, quests, and more. Meanwhile, on others you may navigate treacherous dungeons to find gobs of treasure that can be (manually) carried back to your ship. Of course… a clever pirate may decide to clear out some enemies using their ship’s cannons from a distance.

The on-ship gameplay is a totally different experience, and surprisingly in-depth. By default, a standard ship spawns when your crew is created, but it can be customized. upgraded, or replaced as you progress. It will serve as both your home base and your transport. Players will need to consider the wind, sails, steering, navigation, and more to safely make it to your destination. And if your ship gets damaged, you’ll also have to manage repairs and leaks! You’ll even need to manually scoop out water using buckets. This can be fun alone, but if you have a full crew it can make for some wonderful chaos – especially once you become more advanced and can tackle more dangerous seas.

No pirate adventure would be complete without some naval battles, and you’ll see plenty of those. Players can use cannons (with various types of ammunition) and harpoons to battle other pirate crews, defend your ship, and vanquish sea monsters. Especially sneaky pirates may choose to stealthily board onto enemy ships to take it down from the inside. All while working by yourself or with a team to repair your ship, manage leaks, and defend your hard-earned (or stolen…) treasure.

Help Your Kids Become Pirate Royalty!

Whether they’re land-lubbers or born to ride the waves, it’s always helpful to stay involved with your kids’ video game experiences. Checking the ratings is a great first step for any game, but there are other steps you can take to make sure your children have appropriate experiences with their video games.

ESRB offers step-by-step parental controls guides to help you manage what your kids play, when and for how long, with whom, and whether they can spend money on in-game purchases or new games. Virtually all video game devices offer these controls, so check out our guides on how you can set them.

While you’re there, visit our Family Gaming Guide. This easy-to-use site has information and helpful tips about staying safe online, managing screen time, picking appropriate games, and more!

ESRB also has a free mobile app that bundles a lot of our resources into one convenient package. You can find the app in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

You can find even more resources at ParentalTools.org.

The post A Parent’s Guide to Sea of Thieves appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

Is Sea of Thieves Appropriate for Your Kids?

Sea of Thieves is rated T for Teen, with Content Descriptors for Crude Humor, Use of Alcohol, Violence. Sea of Thieves also has Interactive Elements including Users Interact (meaning the game allows players to communicate with each other) and In-Game Purchases (meaning the game offers the ability for the player to make purchases with real-world currency).

According to the Rating Summary, “players can engage in sea battles against other pirate ships by using cannons and harpoons; on land, players can use pistols and swords to battle enemies (e.g., skeletons, ghosts) in frenetic combat.” On top of that, players “can drink mugs of grog, which can result in screen-blurring and the character belching and hiccupping. Consuming too much grog can cause the players’ character to vomit green liquid.”

Where Can I Play Sea of Thieves and How Much Does It Cost?

Sea of Thieves was initially released on the Xbox family of consoles and Windows in 2018, and has since grown significantly with new content and expansions. In June 2020 it was also released on the Steam PC platform. It is now available on the PlayStation 5 for the first time. Regardless of where you play, it costs $39.99 for the standard edition.

There is also a Deluxe Edition for $49.99, which includes several bonus in-game items and currency. A Premium Edition is available on some storefronts that includes all of the Deluxe Edition add-ons, as well as a season pass, early access to the game, and more. The Premium Edition is $59.99.

Remember that perks and add-ons are required to play! If you and your kids just want to get into some pirating adventures, you won’t lose anything by going with the standard edition.

If you already have an Xbox console and subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, Sea of Thieves is included and can be downloaded for no additional cost.

What is Sea of Thieves About?

Developed by Rare, Sea of Thieves is an online adventure game that allows players to create their very own pirating journey. Unlike some always-online games, Sea of Thieves does have a story, including narrative arcs, non-player characters, and more. If you and your kids are interested in learning more about the back story to the game, we recommend doing a quick search online so you can get caught up before you dive in. Considering the online nature of the game the ongoing story will continue to develop as time goes on.

Some may argue that the real story comes from how you and your family may decide to approach your pirating career. You’ll get your own ship to go where the wind takes you (literally), empowering you and your family to make your own story. One minute you can be docking on an island to search for treasure, and then battling another player in a ship-to-ship naval skirmish. You may even run into some sea monsters that are bent on destroying your ship!

A lot of the “story” develops from our own experiences and decisions as a pirate captain.

How Does Sea of Thieves Play?

From a first-person perspective players will run, battle, shoot, and sail their way through Sea of Thieves.

On land, this plays out as you may expect a first-person adventure game to. Players can explore islands – swords and guns in-hand to battle any pesky skeletons. On some charted islands you may find outposts (basically little towns), merchants, stories, quests, and more. Meanwhile, on others you may navigate treacherous dungeons to find gobs of treasure that can be (manually) carried back to your ship. Of course… a clever pirate may decide to clear out some enemies using their ship’s cannons from a distance.

The on-ship gameplay is a totally different experience, and surprisingly in-depth. By default, a standard ship spawns when your crew is created, but it can be customized. upgraded, or replaced as you progress. It will serve as both your home base and your transport. Players will need to consider the wind, sails, steering, navigation, and more to safely make it to your destination. And if your ship gets damaged, you’ll also have to manage repairs and leaks! You’ll even need to manually scoop out water using buckets. This can be fun alone, but if you have a full crew it can make for some wonderful chaos – especially once you become more advanced and can tackle more dangerous seas.

No pirate adventure would be complete without some naval battles, and you’ll see plenty of those. Players can use cannons (with various types of ammunition) and harpoons to battle other pirate crews, defend your ship, and vanquish sea monsters. Especially sneaky pirates may choose to stealthily board onto enemy ships to take it down from the inside. All while working by yourself or with a team to repair your ship, manage leaks, and defend your hard-earned (or stolen…) treasure.

Help Your Kids Become Pirate Royalty!

Whether they’re land-lubbers or born to ride the waves, it’s always helpful to stay involved with your kids’ video game experiences. Checking the ratings is a great first step for any game, but there are other steps you can take to make sure your children have appropriate experiences with their video games.

ESRB offers step-by-step parental controls guides to help you manage what your kids play, when and for how long, with whom, and whether they can spend money on in-game purchases or new games. Virtually all video game devices offer these controls, so check out our guides on how you can set them.

While you’re there, visit our Family Gaming Guide. This easy-to-use site has information and helpful tips about staying safe online, managing screen time, picking appropriate games, and more!

ESRB also has a free mobile app that bundles a lot of our resources into one convenient package. You can find the app in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

You can find even more resources at ParentalTools.org.

The post A Parent’s Guide to Sea of Thieves appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

Is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Appropriate for your Kids?

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is rated T for Teen, with Content Descriptors for Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Language, and Violence. There is also an Interactive Element assigned for In-Game Purchases.

According to the assigned Rating Summary, players will enter the spider-shoes of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they “attempt to save New York City from a new threat.” You can also expect characters that “punch, kick, and throw each other during fights,” with main characters using special abilities to battle criminals, villains, and other bad guys. Keep in mind that there are instances of blood, as well as references to drugs, and some mild language.

Where Can You Play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and How Much Does it Cost?

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is available on the PlayStation 5 and costs $69.99 for the Standard Edition and $79.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition that includes the game, unique spider suits for both Peter and Miles, and two skill points.

There is also a Collector’s Edition available for $229 that includes the game, a statue, and other physical and in-game items. You can find all of those details here.

As previously mentioned, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 also includes a label for In-Game Purchases. This means the game may offer the ability to purchase additional content directly within the game.

What is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 About?

Following the events of 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man and 2020’s Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales players can once again swing into the webbed shoes of both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. This iteration sees Peter and Miles join forces to protect Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn from various villains, including Kraven the Hunter, who sees the Spider-Men as his ultimate hunt. Also making appearances are classic Spider-Man villains like the Lizard, Venom, and more.

Like the previous Spider-Games, the spider-men’s secret identities play a big role in the sequel. When not webbing around the city, players will experience moments as Peter and Miles as they try to navigate their double-lives, while keeping their loved ones safe. Miles, for example, is now old enough to be considering his future education, along with all the pressure that comes along with that. Meanwhile, Peter’s best friend, Harry Osborne, is plagued by a serious illness, making Peter desperate to help.

How Does Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Play?

The first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of Spider-Man is swinging around New York City. This is a huge part of Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, which gives players all of the tools to gracefully swing, wall-run, and catapult around a massive city at breakneck speeds. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 also introduces the “Web Wings”, which allow the player to glide through wind tunnels to speed up travel and create variety in how the player can get from point A to point B.

But what would Spider-Man be without being able to save some citizens and beat up some bad guys. Combat is another pillar of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Peter and Miles have the ability to punch, kick, and pummel, all while leveraging their Spidey-sense (which appears as a colored wave above the characters’ heads) to dodge and parry enemy attacks. These standard fisticuffs can be further augmented with the use of gadgets, like little web grenades that grab multiple enemies to one point, and abilities, like Miles’ electricity powers (which he calls Venom powers… not to be confused with the bad guy named Venom) for additional options.

If you and your family are more into a stealthy approach, both Peter and Miles also have many opportunities to deal with situations quietly. The Spider-Men can use many of their abilities quietly to web up or knock out bad guys without getting into an all-out brawl.

Lastly, there are also some light puzzles that you and your kids may help Peter and Miles solve. After all… they’re scientists as well as superheroes, and sometimes the best way to solve a problem is with your brain!

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a single-player, open-world, action-adventure game. While only one person can play at a time, the game is cinematic and visually varied, making it fun to take turns and share with the whole family.

Managing Your Kids’ Superhero Adventures

Even when your kids are itching to save New York City it’s important to manage how they do so. Fortunately, there are a bevy of tools and tips to help you set reasonable limits on your kids’ video game experiences.

It’s always great to start by checking the ESRB-assigned rating information to make sure it’s appropriate for your children. If possible, we also recommend that you try the game out before giving your kids permission to play.

That said, virtually every video game device has parental controls that allow you to manage what your kids play (based on the ESRB-assigned rating information), when and for how long, with whom, and whether they can spend money on new games or in-game purchases. You can find step-by-step parental control guides at ParentalTools.org.

If you’re looking for more tips about video games and online safety, visit ESRB’s Family Gaming Guide.

The post What Parents Need to Know About Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 appeared first on ESRB Ratings.