Help me choose a game for my Nephew.

Christmas is right around the bend and it is "Cyber Monday". So, I want to finish my holiday shopping in one swoop.

My nephew is 13 and an action junkie. Mature content is also not an issue. Seeing as how he will be all jacked up on Saints Row: The Third on Christmas day because it is his most looked-forward-to gift of the holiday season (and his dad already has that covered) i doubt he will be finding much time to play whatever i get him until awhile after Christmas regardless. Nonetheless, i am still looking to get him a game that he will really enjoy...which is also very good (according to his preferences) and fairly cheap.

He likes action games where there seems to be a lot to do and usually supports like...50 different ways to go about killing something. He really like the "Saints" series and the "Dead Rising" games because there is apparently a plethora of different ways to go about making zombies loose their brains that range from cool and awesome to silly and bizarre. He seems to really be into that type of mentality of gaming where it is a bit cliche and exacerbates game aspects from absent but associated franchises. Like the way the Saints games seems to put a "Micheal Bay on blow hanging out with John Woo" spin on GTA. That being said, he is your typical thirteen-year-old FPS Xbox kid and thinks things like Skyrim and or anything with "fantasy" elements or aesthetics are lame, but somehow can repeatedly play CoD every year and think it is a brand-new experience.

A little off topic there at the very end but this is what i think i have it narrowed down to.

These are what i have been looking at.

Vanquished - This seems to be a pure adrenaline thrill ride from a third-person's perspective mixed with some over-the-top anime-like cyborgs and action.

Bioshock 2 - I own the first Bioshock but i never finished it. So, i kind of know what to expect with this game and i think it could really hold his interest with the multiplayer and well...it is bioshock. Bioshock seems to be a FPS that even a FPSer fan and RPGer can admit that the game finds a nice balance between action and interesting first-person depth through pretty deep gameplay mechanics.

Crysis 2 - Well, it's Crysis, but i have yet to play it so i don't know.

Help me out with some suggestions that you think may fit into his mentality of gaming. AKA, crazy, death, insane but knows what it is, action junkie fix...and 30$ or less. OR, if you had to choose between the two games...which one would you pick (if you think you also fall into similar gaming values).

Thanks.

I'm not sure if Bioshock will be his thing, IMO, the single player is pretty slow in comparison to CoD, also the games been out for a while now so the multiplayer might be pretty dead.

Vanquish may be a good choice but I would recommend Bulletstorm instead, it's fast, over the top and an adrenaline ride, he'd get a kick out of it I'm sure.

I was the same way six years ago, just buy him what he likes but slowly expose him to different genres and he'll catch on soon enough.

Totally flower! Adrenaline to the max!

Avoid Bulletstorm, give Deadly Premonition.

Bulletstorm is a good choice. I would also recommend Space Marine on the grounds of "this is so stupid it's awesome"

@Hulsey90: Good call on Bulletstorm, he has actually mentioned that before and he really likes it...but he owns it. What about Brink? Did that ever get fixed up? Brink looked somewhat intriguing with a high paced parkour-like combat style. It looked interesting, but i guess it was simply not even close to being finished. Is Brink any good now?

@TerraMantis: I havn't check up on it since release, but even then what i played felt far too sterile to be fixed with a couple patches

Bulletstorm is definitely a good choice. Any of the Gears of War titles. Or if he has a PS3, God of War 3, or Killzone.

Does he have a PS3? I was gonna say the Uncharted Dual Pack is a great choice, and you could probrably find it for $30 somewhere. Otherwise I'd recommend you buying a MS point card. He could buy more DLC to add to the action games he has now.

Yeah Bulletstorm is a great idea for a 13 yo. I'd love to see his teacher's face when he goes around calling everyone dicktits. I'm not against kids playing mature games but use a little common sense. I guess today it's better to be a cool parent then a responsible one.

@TerraMantis said:

@Hulsey90: Good call on Bulletstorm, he has actually mentioned that before and he really likes it...but he owns it. What about Brink? Did that ever get fixed up? Brink looked somewhat intriguing with a high paced parkour-like combat style. It looked interesting, but i guess it was simply not even close to being finished. Is Brink any good now?

It was a game heavily dependant on multiplayer.. so when it came out, wasn't very good and had game breaking issues, people quickly quit and not many people were willing to join the community. It was dead very soon after release, I can't imagine there's anyone there at all any more. Borderlands might be a good choice, if he hasn't played that though. A lot of action and re-playability there.

@TerraMantis: @WinterSnowblind: Yeah Brink was pretty dead on arrival, Borderlands is good (get the GOTY edition). Also can't go wrong with Gears 3

May I suggest Bayonetta?

I was tracking the number of Brink players on Steam until it dropped off their top 100. 2 months ago. And then it was 345 peak players. Until they make beacons on XBox work outside a friends list, I think Brink is dead. I know every game has a drop dead date, but the market for online FPS multiplayer is saturated, you have to provide something superlative to break in.

Split/Second. It's a racing game but it has all the action and 'Michael Bay' you'll ever need.  The game also has a split screen option so you guys can play together
 
Red faction guerrilla- You're nephew seems to like open world games. Get this game for him and he can enjoy bringing down buildings with his hammer. The only issues I have with this game is that the landscapes are barren(it's Mars) and you can't fly any planes :-( 
 
Just cause 2- A nonsensical plot notwithstanding this game is great. The graphics are fantastic and the grappling hook makes movement and combat a joy. The game's explosions also look and sound really great. It does get repetitive towards the end but it's a fun ride. He can also spend hours in the game completing every settlement to 100%. I took over 150 hours to do it. 

Anyone who lets a thirteen year old play saints row is a bad, well im not going to pass judgement. But no thirteen year old should be playing saints row

Haven't seen anyone mention it, so Dead Space 2. Crysis 2 as you mentioned originally would probably be good as well. I'd avoid Brink. Even if he enjoys team co-op based combat like Team Fortress, the game is pretty much dead in the water.

@AgnosticJesus: Let us hope that you are actually not that naive and believe that a child saying the word "dicktits" is really a "problem" measured in a scale that is actually worth mentioning. Believe it or not but he is 13 years old and has a brain in which he has a process that filters the urge to randomly spout words that are inappropriate to whatever situation he is currently in. At least i am pretty positive he does not have tourette syndrome.

When i was 13 i had a friend get his girlfriend pregnant and one that died from his lungs filling with blood from huffing paint. If you seriously believe stopping a "dicktits" spoken aloud is the pinnacle of parenting you have a lot coming. Let's also forget that you mentioned a word...A VERBAL WORD, in a game that is a realistic murder simulator. A MURDER simulator. You murder over and over and over. So, let's not talk about what is inappropriate and what is perceived as suitable for our accepting hyper violent society and nature...shall we?

You're right though, your priorities seem in order.

Dicktits.

Batman: Arkham City has some amazing open-world exploration similar to Saints Row and has possibly the best hand-to-hand combat of any game I have ever seen with fantastic action to boot. If he has a PS3 then Uncharted 3 is worth mentioning as well. I have not played it yet, but it scored high and there is no reason to believe the franchise has suddenly stopped being awesome.

Before you say those are out of the 30$ range you mentioned, I would say that they're on sale today...for 40$, but it is worth it. Well, Batman is at least.

I don't know exactly, but my younger cousins, which one is 11, likes Ninja Gaiden; they can't beat it, but they still enjoy it. If you have a PS3, maybe Ninja Gaiden Sigma, it's probably pretty cheap too, and once he figures out how to beat it, I'm sure he'll love it.

From Dust.

Oh wait, he may have to use his brain..

And there is no gore or excessive violence for no reason to satisfy his 13 year old mind.

Still a good game though :)

Vanquish or Bayonetta. Both are insane and awesome and bring joy and laughter to many a gamers heart.

Awesome, I knew you'd respond with some bullshit saying that he is an intelligent 13 yo who can filter "bad things". You must have one mature nephew. I hope his father and him get some quality time in together while playing some "whore mode". Out of the two of us I'm actually a parent (5, 7, and a 13 yo step-son). It is the parent's responsibility to dictate what they can and cannot play but allowing a 13 yo to play a game so laden with sexual content is irresponsible. There is a great difference between playing games where you kill fictitious aliens with green blood and a game where you kill people with huge dildos. I don't give a fuck what you say, it's irresponsible. I don't expect you to understand, but maybe you'll think differently when you have kids of your own.

Kid apparently needs better parents.

Have you thought about any of the Ratchet and Clank games? Not sure if he would like them. I found the one game I played from that series to be very fun and a great game for younger kids.

@Dagbiker said:

Anyone who lets a thirteen year old play saints row is a bad, well im not going to pass judgement. But no thirteen year old should be playing saints row

You just did pass judgment. That's what "Anyone who lets a thirteen year old play saints row is bad" was. Even saying "I'm not going to pass judgment" indicated that you were passing judgment.

Let's see... I liked Mass Effect, and I don't see it mentioned. It's a little far away from what you're suggesting, but I enjoyed it. You'd want to double check it to see if it's the kind of thing your son might like, though.

Get him something that will actually make him use his head, instead of the mindless gore-fests he thinks he wants.

Bulletstorm is a great choice also Uncharted 3 or Gears of War 3

Sounds like maybe he needs a book or something. Anything with refined sugar is right out as well.

Woah, WAIT. No one mentioned the perfect game for a 13 year old action junkie? Get him Duke Nukem 3d for Xboxlive along with Duke Nukem Forever. That's how you raise a man!

Kidding. Batman AC is the best deal.

Bulletstorm

Just Cause 2

Gears of War 3

Halo Reach (?)

Assassins Creed Brotherhood (Not sure if this is action packed enough)

Stranglehold

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

Dead Island (Awesome Game! Zombie killing, blood, gore etc...AWESOME!)

@AgnosticJesus said:

Awesome, I knew you'd respond with some bullshit saying that he is an intelligent 13 yo who can filter "bad things". You must have one mature nephew. I hope his father and him get some quality time in together while playing some "whore mode". Out of the two of us I'm actually a parent (5, 7, and a 13 yo step-son). It is the parent's responsibility to dictate what they can and cannot play but allowing a 13 yo to play a game so laden with sexual content is irresponsible. There is a great difference between playing games where you kill fictitious aliens with green blood and a game where you kill people with huge dildos. I don't give a fuck what you say, it's irresponsible. I don't expect you to understand, but maybe you'll think differently when you have kids of your own.

He probably watches some gnarly movies that aren't for kids too. Probably why there's no problem with the games.

Bulletstorm seems right up his alley. Space Marine also isn't a bad fit and is heavily discounted around the web today.

@AgnosticJesus said:

Awesome, I knew you'd respond with some bullshit saying that he is an intelligent 13 yo who can filter "bad things". You must have one mature nephew. I hope his father and him get some quality time in together while playing some "whore mode". Out of the two of us I'm actually a parent (5, 7, and a 13 yo step-son). It is the parent's responsibility to dictate what they can and cannot play but allowing a 13 yo to play a game so laden with sexual content is irresponsible. There is a great difference between playing games where you kill fictitious aliens with green blood and a game where you kill people with huge dildos. I don't give a fuck what you say, it's irresponsible. I don't expect you to understand, but maybe you'll think differently when you have kids of your own.

Maybe. Maybe i will. I don't know Agnostic Jesus. What values are you teaching your kids? Did you think that name was funny because it is a paradox? Or, simply because agnosticism can mean knowledge over belief and that would mean you actually consider yourself a Jesus figure from the aspects that your wisdom is so grand. Either way, it seems ironic that it would basically mean a son who doesn't believe in his father. Rather fitting.

I am not sure if you're one of those zealots or just really pompous. A sense of great self-importance it would seem. Seeing as how the topic did not mention a specific game or age yet you decide to never simply answer the question.

"AWSOME, i knew you'd respond with some bullshit..." It would seem you only wanted to debate and bring about your fantastic parenting skills in which this is exactly what you want and you never had any intention of simply answering my extremely elementary question.

I'll do it for you then. "No, i have no suggestion. I will even keep my two cents that has no way shape or form a relation to the subject topic at hand. YEAAAAH. Strangely i for the first time do not feel opinionated and jaded and think that i should now leave; not speaking about things that I myself do not know about but am obviously well informed." =D

Awesome, thanks for your help anyway JESUS!!!

Anyone else have any suggestion about any games i could pick up?

Dues Ex 3.

Man, I have such reservations about giving a kid Saints Row 3....

I'm glad I don't have to think about doing that.

You should give Devil May Cry 4 to him.

@Hypertreb: You shouldn't give devil may cry 4 to anyone.

@Mesoian: Its a good game!

Dead Rising 2 should fill the kill zombies in many ways quota nicely....

@Mesoian: Awwww... I liked that game.

If you're going to get something like DMC4, get Bayonetta. Better in every feasible way.

Trigger system...god damn dumb.

@rebgav: Yeah...Dead Island is what I currently have in my cart for him at Amazon.

Vanquish 100%, it is just stupid, stupid fun. Total adrenaline game. If he's a points guy, this game gives bonuses for finishing levels faster, and the boost/slow mo combo made this game so much fun, although it was short.

Finish the first Bioshock, stellar game. 2nd one is good but first is better in this case. Any of the Batman: Arkham series is a great choice for well anyone.

god of war maybe, batman: arkham city.

Hulk Hogan's Main Event. I hear it's really good guys.