Let me preface this by stating that my wife & I are somewhat liberal when it comes to our kids' entertainment- they're not allowed to watch horror flicks, but an hour or so of Super Mario every other day is totally acceptable to us.
So, last week we had their cousins over for a slumber party (all kids are 8 or younger) & I thought it would be a great idea to rent a new video game. Even better I found out that the library rents out Wii games (free). So being my frugal self, I took the boys to view their very limited selection & we all agreed (sort-of) on a game called "Science Papa" that features "over 30 different experiments," during which players will manipulate lab equipment like Bunsen burners, mix chemicals, etc. Sounds innocent- right? From the library & age appropriate.
First off, the kids were not really impressed with this pick & I could tell- but wished for the best, hoping this could be educational & fun, a nice change of pace from Super Smash Bros, etc. I was wrong, very wrong. This was the weirdest game ever. We only got ten minutes into the game before I shut it off. I set it up for 2 player action, where each player competes to see who can complete their experiment the fastest. This first experiment was... building a goddamn bomb! Seriously!? It had a timer, explosives, etc. built in a lab setting. WTF? Why? I was expecting maybe... they would make soda-pop, or a candle. Maybe even invent Flubber- but constructing a bomb was so odd & made no sense to me. Science Papa wants to teach your kid to blow stuff up. Am I too conservative?