18 top game picks: The DOs and DON'Ts of games for kids

It can be intimidating to shop for video games. The title your 8-year-old kid might be begging for might be packed full of blood and guts and simply unacceptable content. Here are nine games you can count on for your child, and nine you should shy away from (or keep for yourself). They're all very good titles, but some simply aren't appropriate for children. The "Do" games are all rated E for Everyone or E10+ for Everyone 10 and up, while the "Don't" games are all rated M for Mature by the ESRB. If you see a game that's not on this list, look at the rating on the corner of the box.

DO: Beautiful Katamari (Xbox 360)

The premise: The universe is shaken up and the stars are out of whack. As the cute, cylinder-headed Prince of the Cosmos, you must rebuild the stars by rolling together objects into giant balls.
The good: Bright colors, cute characters, and completely nonviolent gameplay make this ball-rolling fest great for any age. Even your littlest ones can have fun as the Prince of the Cosmos, pushing around his ball and rolling various objects into it to make it bigger.
The bad: Could encourage children to try to stick household pets and furniture to their favorite ball.
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Photo Credit: Gamespot

Text By: Will Greenwald