PARK ENDS VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES; MAGIC MOUNTAIN FOLLOWS SOUTHLAND RIVALS' LEAD.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Like its Orange County competition - Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm - Magic Mountain is pulling the plug on violent video games.

In response to widespread criticism of animated blood and gore that highlight countless video games and contribute to a ``culture of violence,'' amusement parks are seeking kinder, gentler arcade entertainment.

``We are a family theme park,'' said Six Flags California spokesman Andy Gallardo. ``We felt it was appropriate to remove the inappropriate games.''

The Valencia theme park contracts with a vendor, who this week was directed to replace the violent games. Gallardo said five or six games were removed entirely, and workers toned down the violence on some others.

``They have different levels of violence and you can control that,'' Gallardo said, noting an example. ``In a fighting game - a person's body part may fly off. You can change that so it doesn't happen.''

Gallardo said the park's owner, Oklahoma City-based Premier Parks Inc., is considering restricting games at all its parks.

Critics of bloody video games, including former Education Secretary Lamar Alexander, have contended they contribute to a ``culture of violence'' they blame for the April 20 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Two teen-agers fatally shot 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide.

Knott's Berry Farm changed its video repertoire Tuesday in the wake of the Colorado school massacre.

Knott's and four sister parks near Cleveland, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Mo., and Allentown, Pa., shut down some arcade games Tuesday at the order of their owner, Ohio-based Cedar Fair LP.

They included ``House of the Dead,'' in which players wage bloody war on zombies and monsters, and ``Area 51,'' where the targets are alien invaders.

Knott's unplugged 36 of its 280 games.

``It's just a testament to what we want to be: family entertainment,'' said Jack Falfas, Knott's general manager.

Bob Webster, who runs Knott's games operations, said it will be difficult to replace the games with less-graphic fare.

``Seventy percent of the video games out there are violent games,'' he said.

The move follows a similar decision by the Walt Disney Co., which several weeks ago began removing violent games from Disneyland in neighboring Anaheim, from nearby hotels and from Florida's Walt Disney World.