Review – Endless Ocean
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Posted on February 28th, 2008 by
In case you haven’t noticed, I like to spice up my BioShock, Rainbow
Six: Vegas, Rock Band, and other grown-up games with games that can best be described as “cute and quirky.” I admire imaginative gaming – and feel these kinds of casual games are very good for kids. I also believe gaming is all about doing things you can’t normally do (fly a plane, drive a race car, combat terrorism, or save the world from various kinds of aliens – zombies – or alien zombies). (Note to self, try and pitch alien-zombie idea to a game developer.)
Family Game of 2007
Posted on February 26th, 2008 by
Picking the best game of any given year is difficult. That’s why you’ll see that most magazines and websites cheat and cram as many categories as they possibly can – so as many games can win as possible. To me the question is simple. I’m not looking for excellence (Mario Galaxy) so much as I’m looking for impact. I’m looking for the game we’ll remember that year for. And that game, for 2007 inarguably is . . .
txa1265’s Best Games of 2007
Posted on February 21st, 2008 by
Over the past five years I have gone from predominantly a PC FPS fan to a gamer who will try just about everything on the PC, GBA, DS and PSP. Heck, I have even picked up some games for the Wii my kids bought themselves last year! I had a great year of gaming in 2007 with GamerDad, and wanted to share my thoughts on the best experiences of the year!
You should be playing: Audiosurf
Posted on February 21st, 2008 by
There are plenty of great games out there that don’t get the publicity of a Madden, a Halo, or a Grand Theft Auto, but deserve your attention anyway. From time to time, I’m going to look at some of these games, typically independently produced and free or cheap to buy.
I’ll kick things off with a wonderful music game for Windows called Audiosurf. If you enjoy games like Guitar Hero but wish the soundtrack was more exactly suited to your taste, keep reading; Audiosurf is strictly BYOB – Bring Your Own Beats – and thus is as family-friendly as your music collection.
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Patapon for PSP Review
Posted on February 20th, 2008 by
Square-Square-Square-CIRCLE! Pata-Pata-Pata-PON! What a bizarre game this is! I’m talking about Patapon, a stylish new rhthym game from the makers of Loco Roco. It’s a PSP game from Sony. The idea is simple. By tapping out the basic rhythmic patterns (button combinations) you’re ordering these little silhouette creatures (with single eye balls, Viking helmets and spears) to march, attack, etc., on a 2D plain that somehow conveys more of a sense of “wartorn horror and full-scale destruction” than most games that are 3D and realistic!
First Impressions: Lost Odyssey
Posted on February 14th, 2008 by
Rated: T for Teen
Time Played: about 4 hours out of an estimated 40+ hours to finish
Lost Odyssey is a Japanese RPG game that was released for the Xbox360. It’s published by Mistwalker, who brought us last year’s Blue Dragon. Here’s a few notes from this first part of the game.
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Have you hugged your companion cube today?
Posted on February 13th, 2008 by
Valentine’s Day is when you let the people you care about know that you really appreciate them (shouldn’t that be everyday?). One way to show appreciation is to give gifts. Well my Valentine’s Day gift to all of you readers is a fun blog to read. It’s a lot less expensive than flowers and much less calories than chocolate, too.
I was strolling through Furu Furu Park one day…
Posted on February 8th, 2008 by
Furu Furu Park is a collection of mini-games on the Wii. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Like the Wii NEEDS yet another collection of mini-games.” Well there’s two things about Furu Furu Park that make it stand out. One, most of the mini-games are based on classic arcade Taito titles, which give it some familiar charm. The other reason why Furu Furu Park is special is that it’s only 20 bucks. For the price, it’s pretty enjoyable. It’s certainly better than the Nintendo DS game that Furu Furu Park is based on. There was a collection of Taito mini-games on the DS called Turn it Around that used the touch screen like a ‘dial’ you turned around with the stylus. But in Furu Furu Park, you use the Wii remote in different ways to play the games. So here’s a rundown on all the games on Furu Furu Park.
GamerDad in FamilyFun.com
Posted on February 5th, 2008 by
For the past year I’ve been honored to drive Disney’s video game, DVD, and Film criticism for FamilyFun.com (the website for the insanely popular parenting magazine) and the brand new to the web Disney Family.com. They trusted me to tell them what video games, DVDs and Movies were worth reviewing. I’ve been replaced in 2008 by CommonSense Media – a shame, but they do outproduce little old me) Here’s the initial article I did for them. It’s a Top 10 for 2006. And after you’re done reading that, here’s a bunch more! It is a shame the reviews aren’t linked (all these links are broken it seems). But they are all at GamerDad.com. Go there and do a search, click in here to find the list. Oh and since CommonSense Media sells my work to 3rd parties – I’m still in Disney’s magazines. Only I’m being paid a lot less. Such is the hard-scrabble life of the freelance writer!
Madden ’08 (Wii, 360, PS3, PC) – CrispyGamer
Posted on February 4th, 2008 by
CrispyGamer is a new hardcore gaming magazine on the web. (Yes, that’s my face on the cover. Wish the links all worked but I’m hoping they do well. Right now they’re my best way into the hardcore. My message is for both mainstream and “gamer” parents.) Bless them, they use freelancers for about 95% of their stuff and they pay well enough to have attracted the best in the business. The site’s still in BETA but I’ve done a lot of reviews for them. I thought this would be a good week to showcase my work with John Madden this year. At CrispyGamer I covered the game for the Wii, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and the PC. Here’s GamerDad’s official review (from USAToday’s Marc Saltzman) and here’s another one from me, covering the Wii exclusively, in more of a “mainstream friendly” style for Disney Family.com and Family Fun.com. Whew! That’s a lot of Madden! Fun fact, no more football but we’re now roughly half-way to 2009’s edition.
