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The
Dirty Dozen
12 Toys To Avoid
For 2001 - 2002
Toys
Tied to Video Games
Metal Gear Solid 2, Sons of
Liberty,
“Solid Snake,” McFarlane Toys
Recommended
age: 5+
Description:
An “ultra-action
figure” that comes with a plastic rifle and a pistol.
Why we chose it:
The
six toy action figures in this series represent characters from the new Konami
video game Metal Gear Solid 2, rated M
for Mature by the video game industry. Even though the video game “has scenes
of graphic violence,” according to a
www.gamespot.com
review, the toy tie-in is labeled as appropriate for “ages 5 and up.” The
McFarlane website asks: “Hey, kids, want to score some Metal Gear Solid 2 action figures signed by Todd McFarlane? Click
here.”
www.spawn.com
Rock
Em Sock Em Robots,
“Head
Case Robot,” Mattel
Recommended
Age: 6+
Description:
A plastic
robot “warrior” that comes with a “slashing blade.”
Why
we chose it: “Customize
and pulverize!” suggests the box. “These metal maniacs face off in a
ferocious fight to the finish. … Only one victor will emerge from the scraps
of steel, so let the battles begin!” The
toys’ website notes, “This neck wrenching head collector says winning is as
easy as taking candy from a baby's intestines.” The toy is marketed to
first-graders, but the package advertises a Teen-rated video game called Rock
Em Sock Em Arena.
www.mattel.com
or
www.rockemsockemrobots.com
Fighting
Robots
Mobile
Suit Gundam, “MS-06S Zaku II,” Think Way Toys
Recommended Age: 8+
Description: A motorized “fighting action figure” with sound
effects and a “recoil action, light-up machine gun!”
Why we chose it:
This action figure comes in a “try me” box that allows children to press a
button and watch a narrated slide show punctuated by repeated machine gun fire
and the sound of clashing metal weapons. After one such burst of fire, the
narrator intones, “Now, say goodbye!” He promises “hyper-realistic combat
action!” when two figures in this series (sold separately) are joined. “I’m
a Thinking Toy!” the tape concludes.
www.thinkwaytoys.com
or www.gundamofficial.com
Commandobot3, MGA
Entertainment
Recommended Age: 6+
Description:
A
foot-high robot that shoots up to10 missiles at family members and friends while
defending a child’s room.
Why we chose it: This “Room Guard detects intruders and sounds an
alarm,” according to the package. Its “missile command” can “attack and
defend with missiles that really shoot!” This high-tech, voice-recognition
robot allows children to launch “up to 10 weapons” in their own home.
www.mgae.com
Television-Based
Action Figures
Dragon
Ball Z “Striking Z Fighters” series,
Irwin
Toys
Recommended
Age: 4+
Description:
A series of
plastic action figures based on the violent anime cartoon program Dragon Ball Z.
Why
we chose it: This
figure encourages pre-schoolers to re-enact the fighting they see on the
Japanese anime TV show Dragon Ball Z—which tops the Cartoon Network’s
ratings. The Goku character comes with a “striking wall” and features “front
kicking action!” The Trunks figure comes with “side kicking action!” and
Piccolo comes with “double punch action!”
www.dragonballz.com
or www.irwintoy.com
Power
Rangers Time Force, “Virtual Reality World,”
Manley
Toy Quest
Recommended Age:
4+
Description:
A virtual reality headpiece, gloves and a leg
sensor that allow children to re-enact scenarios from the Time Force Power Ranger television program.
Why
we chose it: This toy
adds a 21st century, virtual reality twist to the 10-year-old
Power Rangers product. “You are a member of the Power Rangers, and you are out
to defeat the evil Cyclobot. … Punch and kick to control the action,” notes
the box. “The realistic Stereo Sound FX and vibrantly colorful screen puts you
in the fight. … It comes down to speed and agility … are you prepared for
the fight?”
www.manleytoyquest.com
or
www.powerrangers.com
"Educational" models with weapons
Mech Warrior, “Shadow Cat,”
K’Nex
Recommended
Age: 9+
Description:
A K’Nex construction toy that “fires foam missiles.”
Why
we chose it: This
is a basic construction toy—a product that is generally open-ended and
creative—that children can now use to make “weapons of destruction (that)
are the future of warfare!” In addition to missiles, the toy includes “elemental
soldiers to shoot.” This product is being used to
introduce children to a popular series of PC
games called Mech Warrior, rated E for
Everyone or T for Teen (depending on the version) with an “Animated Violence”
descriptor.
www.knex.com
Zoids, “Gun Sniper,” Hasbro
Recommended
Age: 8+
Description: A model kit of a dinosaur-like creature with a gun.
Why
we chose it:
This toy takes an educational concept—in this
case, a dinosaur model that requires some assembly—and turns it into an action
figure called a “Gun Sniper.” The Zoids series also includes a Command Wolf
sporting a “rocket
booster,” and a Zaber Fang dog carrying a “land missile pod” on his back.
www.hasbro.com
E-rated 'STREET FIGHTER" video GAMES
(for children
ages 6 and up)
Super
Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival, Capcom for the Game Boy Advance
Recommended
Age: E for
Everyone, with a “Violence” descriptor.
Description:
This is “the
most respected fighting game of all time,” according to the packaging.
Why
we chose it: This hand-held game encourages first-graders
to “wreak havoc on your opponent and become the best street fighter in the
world,” according to the box. The “special moves” involved in playing this
game have names such as “psycho crusher,” “devil reverse,” “head press”
and “somersault skull diver,” according to the directions. Children who play
the game hear characters say things like, “My fists will have your blood on
them” or, “You are not a true warrior!”
One version, called “survival mode,” requires children to kill 100
people without stopping.
www.capcom.com
Final
Fight One,
Capcom for the Game Boy Advance
Recommended
Age: E for
Everyone, with a “Violence” descriptor.
Description:
A classic
arcade fighting game, now in a hand-held version.
Why we chose it: This
game features a mayor who is “an ex-street fighter” and “calls in the big
guns” in order to free his kidnapped daughter, according to the package. “Each
punch and kick does a different amount of damage,” the directions instruct.
“Experiment with different combinations to find out which are the most
effective.” According to one customer review on
www.amazon.com, “This is a classic beat um up, punch um,
make um fall down and disappear game … No need to think or read. Just hit
punch and knock out.”
www.capcom.com
First Person Shooter Games
Doom,
Activision for the Game Boy Advance
Recommended
Age: T for
Teen, with “Blood” and “Violence” descriptors.
Description:
One of the
best-known first-person shooter games, now in a hand-held version.
Why
we chose it:
This Game Boy Advance version is the basically the same game that was rated M
for Mature for the PC. “Blast your way to freedom through Doom’s 24 levels
of destruction,” the package suggests. “Annihilate hell spawned demons with
plasma rifles, chain guns and rocket launchers. Team up with a friend … for
the ultimate deathmatch.” According to a review in www.gamespot.com, “Doom
is a straight shooter, so you’ll end up firing no matter what’s in front of
you. … There’s nothing like blasting your friend in the back when he’s
fighting cacodemons.”
www.activision.com
Ecks
vs. Sever,
Bay Area Multimedia, Inc. for the Game Boy Advance
Recommended
Age: T for
Teen
Description:
Another first-person shooter for teens for the Gameboy, featuring explosive
weapons and government conspiracy.
Why
we chose it: This hand-held game has “a storyline steeped in the
hard-boiled crime found in spy films, which, early on in the game, touches on
murder, terrorism, and other violent aspects,” according to a review in www.gamespot.com.
“The story almost seems out of place for a handheld system,” the reviewer
notes. The game offers teens a choice of explosive weapons including the Colt
M16A2 rifle, Sig SSG 3000 sniper rifle, and the Heckler & Koch 40 mm grenade
launcher.
www.crawfish.co.uk
If you have any suggestions for
toys for our next list,
please contact us here at The Lion & Lamb Project via any
of the methods listed
at the top of the screen - or use our easy online Toy
Recommendation Form!
If you send us a toy
recommendation, please include all the relevant details
of the toy, including those seen above.
If we pick your recommendation
to be included in one of our lists,
you'll receive a free Parent Action Kit! |
