GamerDad and family Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
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Storm Boy: The Game (PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC, Mobile)

Back when I was in college, I took a Children’s Literature class as an elective.  I had to read and learn about a lot of children’s books, and yet I’ve still never heard of Storm Boy.  But after doing some research, apparently they even made a movie about it so I guess it just passed by me.  And now there’s a game about it, too.  Actually it’s more of an interactive story book, and it’s available to download on most current consoles, PCs, and mobile devices, but reviewed on PS4 here. Join Storm Boy as he takes care of and has adventures with a pelican named Mr. Percival on their seaside home.

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Cary is Looking Forward in 2019

Normally I do my Game of the Year blog first, and then my blog on what games in 2019 I’m looking forward to.  But I’m going to switch it around this year like I did last time.  Mainly because there are a couple of releases that are coming up quick, and also I want to try and squeeze a couple more 2018 games in to see if they’ll make my GOTY list.  But don’t worry, my Game of the Year blog will go up soon after this one, like in another week or so.  In the meantime, here are some games I’m looking forward to playing and reviewing in 2019.  Granted there may be more as we get into the year and have Nintendo Directs and E3 announcements and such, but here’s some that I know right now.

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Pinball FX3: Williams Pinball Volume 2 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC)

For many years, Zen Studios has been making original video pinball tables for their Pinball FX and Zen Pinball outlets.  Now for the first time, they’re tackling real life classic pinball machines in video form from the Williams lineup.  Volume 2 of this set includes three more tables.  To play them, first you need to download the Pinball FX3 hub (available for most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here).  And then you can buy and download table sets.

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Pipe Push Paradise (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

In real life I work in the plumbing department at a major hardware store.  Yeah, I guess you could say like Mario, but I really prefer Luigi.  So if I work around pipes all day, why on earth would I play and review a game about plumbing, too?  Is Pipe Push Paradise really that good?  You’ll just have to read on to find out.  It’s available to download on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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Octoling amiibo

Some new Splatoon amiibo recently splashed down, this time featuring the Octoling characters.  Let’s dive in and take a look at them.

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Diablo amiibo

Well this kind of came out of nowhere!  I had no idea there was a Diablo amiibo (sounds like a brand of salsa).  But when I looked on GameStop’s web site for release dates, I saw it there as an exclusive, so I snatched it up since I like collecting amiibo figures.  So let’s take a look at this Loot Goblin amiibo.

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Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax (what a cool title) is a horizontally scrolling classic styled 2-D shooter for up to four players.  Choose a flying mech and a gun and shoot anything that moves and avoid projectiles.  And that’s all there is to it, really.  It’s available to download on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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The Games of the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection

NIS America recently released a collection of some of SNK’s arcade hits on the Switch.  While SNK is mostly known for their fighting games and NEO GEO, before then they made other arcade games, too, and that’s what this collection is all about.  So no King of Fighters or other NEO GEO games.  Mostly pre-90’s stuff here.  But despite having a lot of army themed shooters, this is still a pretty good collection, so I thought I’d go over the games on it today.

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Solar Flux (Switch, PC, Mobile)

Pilot a spaceship and collect plasma balls and fire them into a sun in this intergalactic action puzzler.  Use your thrust, planetary orbits, gravity, and other space physics as you collect all the plasma, just watch out for solar flares and blazing heat!  Solar Flux is available on PC and mobile devices, and is now a downloadable title for the Nintendo Switch, which is the version reviewed here.

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Don-Ay Pet Land (iOS, Google Play)

Rescue and adopt a stray animal in this free-to-play virtual pet simulation/continuous runner hybrid game.  As you play, you’ll be able to help out a real-life pet rescue organization, too!  Don-Ay Pet Land is available to download on mobile devices, but reviewed on iPad here.

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