A Parent's Guide to Video Games Quiz

Answer: Red Dead Redemption

Released in 2010, "Red Dead Redemption" is an action adventure game published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is loosely based on the earlier "Red Dead Revolver" and is the first in the "Red Dead" series. It became extremely popular and won several awards for Best Game of the Year.

John Marston is the player-controlled protagonist who is forced by the government to bring in his former gang members. The game is set in a fictionalised American wild west, where the character can roam on foot or horseback, through open plains, farms and busy towns. The game also allows the character to hide or take cover behind objects while reaching out to shoot. It also gives the option to target a specific person, aim or blind fire.

Answer: Gone Home

Set in 1996, "Gone Home" is an exploration style game released in 2013 by the Fulbright Company. Players take role of Kaitlin (Katie) Greenbriar, a young lady who returns home from overseas to find the family home deserted. Of course, it's not really her home as the family moved in to it while she was away. Players must explore the house to find clues and piece together what happened and where everyone has gone. Most of the family's possessions are in moving boxes, and younger sister Sam has left an enigmatic letter begging Katie not to investigate. However, when told specifically not to do something, the human mind immediately yearns to the forbidden.

While Katie is the player-controlled character, during the course of the game it becomes clear that the main protagonist is the younger sister Sam, as every time you find an item belonging to Sam, an audio diary entry is narrated to you. The game has a horror-story feel about it- you enter the unfamiliar house during a thunderstorm, the unsettling note left by Sam, and the flickering lights all add to the feeling of suspense. Despite the game being touted as a puzzle solving game, there are very few puzzles and the game centres around finding notes. But after playing a surfeit of shooting games, it feels like a breath of fresh air and almost relaxing.

Answer: Assassin's Creed

While not the primary playable character, Miles is the main protagonist of the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. He is descended from assassins and so his hidden memories are an important part of the storyline. He has spent time in the animus, a virtual reality machine, in order to relive the memories of his ancestors. In the storyline, the assassins want peace through free will and they battle the Templars, who want peace through order.

The character of Desmond Miles was panned by the critics, because of unfinished characterisation and development. However, players of the game thought otherwise and voted Miles into position 20 on the "Game Informer's" list of top characters of the noughties decade.

"Assassin's Creed" was first released in 2007 by Ubisoft, and was inspired in part by Vladimir Bartol's 1938 novel "Alamut" and also in part by the "Prince of Persia" range of video games. "Assassin's Creed" has proved so popular that it has been adapted to a regular and several short films, comic books, novels and board games.

Answer: Minecraft

"Minecraft" is a sandbox video game originally released for PCs in 2011, while later editions are suitable for other platforms including Xbox 360 and Playstations 3 and 4. While there are no hard and fast set goals, players can earn achievements while exploring their "blocky" world by mining ore, crafting items and building structures.

If that's not your idea of fun and you want something more challenging, you can choose to play in Survival mode. Here you need to fight the computer-controlled mobs whose damage-inflicting capabilities increase as the levels get higher. Once you work your way through the void dimension called "The End", the final boss is the Ender Dragon. Conquer him and you have finished the game.

Steve is one of the most popular video game characters, but almost by default as there are only two player-controlled character skins to choose from, Steve or Alex.

"Minecraft" was acclaimed by both critics and players when it was released for allowing the creative freedom it allowed players, and is popular with children and adults alike. "The Guardian", "Forbes" and "Polygon" all agree that "Minecraft" is one of the most influential games, certainly in the early 21st century and in 2020 it was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Answer: Portal 2

"Portal 2", released in 2011, is the second in the "Portal" series of puzzle-platform games. In this single-player game, gamers must solve puzzles by placing teleportation portals on various surfaces in order to advance. Like the original "Portal", the game is set in an old dilapidated science centre and once again features the supercomputer GLaDOS. Chell makes a return from the first version, and in this single-game campaign, is the only character available for players to choose. In the co-operative mode two players can play, but they must take on the roles of the two robots, Atlas and P-Body.

Chell is a popular character not just because she is female, but because GLaDOS never mentions her name and the player is almost tricked into believing the computer recognises them. Chell is a silent protagonist, allowing the player to immerse more fully into the game.

In the first week of its release, "Portal 2" was the best-selling game in the USA, but was overtaken the following week by "Mortal Kombat".

Answer: Grand Theft Auto

"Grand Theft Auto" (GTA), first released in 1997 was critically acclaimed and has become one of the most financially successful video games. Between 1997 and 2013, eleven games and expansion packs were released, along with four hand-held games.

Trevor Phillips is one of three characters that players can control in "GTA V", the other two are Michael De Santa and Franklin Clinton. In this game, Trevor is a sociopath, is arrogant, unpredictable and is a remorseless killer. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, the character is popular with gamers. Phillips was voiced by actor Steven Ogg, who also provided motion caption for the animation.

Answer: Gears of War

The "Gears of War" video game franchise (shortened to "Gears") was first released in 2006 by Epic Games and the Xbox Game Studios. The game story is set on the planet Sera where humanity is on the brink of extinction by the Locust Horde.

Marcus Fenix appeared as the protagonist in the first instalment and has gone on to become one of the most popular game characters of all time, as recorded by The Guinness World Record Gamer's Edition in 2011. Why? Maybe his back story resonated with players. Or is it because he's a hero, an alpha-male and wears a ton or armour?

Answer: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

First appearing in "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare", (aka CoD), MacTavish is a special services Sergeant, sniper and demolitions expert. Appearing alongside Captain John Price in the CoD games as Co-Field Commander of Task Force 141, and equally as popular as a player-character, MacTavish takes a special place as both a protagonist and deuteragonist.

Due to his background as an SAS specialist and all-round macho guy, MacTavish was voted 12th most favourite fictional game character in an online poll by Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers' Edition. It makes you wonder why the creators wrote him out of the storyline in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3", which ironically was released in 2011.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" was released on 2007 by Activision and is a first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward. It is the fourth installment of the CoD series and is set in 2011 as opposed to WWII like the previous editions. Since its release, it has spawned several follow-up editions, all of which feature MacTavish: "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2", "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 3" and "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered".

Answer: Tomb Raider

Initially released in 2003 by Core Design as "Tomb Raider", between 2001 and 2007 the game was known as "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider". Since then it has reverted to the original name.

The game focuses on Croft, an archaeologist who travels the world searching dangerous tombs for lost artefacts. Over the course of the series, her appearance and back story changed and evolved and Lara Croft has since become one of the world's best known and best loved game characters. And that was before Angelina Jolie was cast in the movie which made Croft one of the first video game characters to be adapted to film.

Answer: Halo

Master Chief is a playable character in the "Halo" franchise of first-shooter games. He is a biochemically and cybernetically-enhanced soldier and a Spartan, who is never seen without his helmet. Because he is faceless, and speaks little, it is easier for the gamer to believe they are him, and it is thought that this has led to his popularity.

The "Halo" games are set in the 26th century where humanity is battling an alien race called the Covenant. The Halo rings are a series of structures in space (installations) which can be activated to fire simultaneously in order to destroy all sentient life in the Galaxy. The focus of the game "Halo" is to prevent this from happening.