Ten Ton Hamster

At first glance, Maple Story looks like a really fun game for children around the age of 8 and up.

The characters are colorful and cute. The interface is very easy to navigate around the different maps. I would describe it as a mix of your basic hack and slash game mixed with some Mario Brothers, as there is a lot of jumping and climbing ladders.

The mobs are fairly benign, consisting mainly of evil mushrooms and pink blobs that you whack at until they explode. They drop a lot of loot, from coins to weapons to various gear.

I played Maple Story with my 8 year old over the span of a few weeks. After my experience within Maple Story, I do not find it appropriate for my son to play. The biggest downfall is that Maple Story does not have any kind of language filter in place to protect your kids from seeing some pretty nasty stuff that the community talks about while playing.

The text pops up on your screen normally in the upper right hand corner. The things I’ve seen were definitely not the kinds of things you’d want a child to read. Maple Story seems to be a vehicle for the players to hook up in various ways.

If your child pays attention to these messages, you might find yourself having to explain some things that a young mind isn’t ready to grasp, nor should be introduced to.

I have stopped letting my son play Maple Story. Due to the graphic messages that are allowed, and that the community takes full opportunity of, I would set the age range to be more of around 14 or 15 and up.

It is always good to play a new game with your child for awhile to make sure these kinds of influences are not occurring in game. Sit and play with your child for at least a week, and take in the experience, making sure to watch the kinds of things that the community is talking about before letting your child play the game alone.