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.
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.
Nintendo Labo VR Kit: Goggles
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Posted on May 31st, 2019 by
Nintendo made a splash last year with their Nintendo Labo kits. These building toys had you folding carboard around your Nintendo Switch game system and controllers to play games in totally new ways. TIME Magazine even named Nintendo Labo one of the best inventions of last year, and even I awarded it my Game of the Year in 2018 as well! And now Nintendo has done it again with the Labo VR Kit. This kit lets you build VR goggles and accessories to play virtual reality games and activities on your Nintendo Switch. You can get two different versions: one that lets you just build the goggles and blaster, and one that lets you build those and many more. Naturally I got the bigger set, and we’ll look at each thing you can build separately, starting with the VR goggles first.
Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia
Posted on May 29th, 2019 by
When I was a kid, I read a lot of Nintendo Power. It was Nintendo’s own self-published magazine. But they did more than just magazines, they did strategy guides, too. In fact, I think they helped popularize strategy guides, and theirs were very well written, too. One of their guides was Mario Mania. It was a cleverly disguised guide to Super Mario World, but it also had a large section at the front about the history of Mario up to that point. As a kid, I poured over that guide. And now, nearly 30 years later, there’s another Mario history book making the rounds with the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia. I got it for Christmas, so let’s take a quick look at it!
Duck Game (Switch, PS4, PC)
Posted on May 27th, 2019 by
Every year when I go to PAX or E3, I almost always visit Adult Swim Games’ booth. And every year they show off Duck Game, which has been on PC for a while. And even though it’s not a new title, Duck Game always draws a crowd of both adults and kids at these events. Just goes to show you that just because they’re called Adult Swim Games, it doesn’t mean that all their games are for adults only. When I heard that Duck Game was going to appear on the Switch, I knew I had to review it! Anyway, Duck Game is a silly 8-bit styled multiplayer-centric battle-fest where you play as a duck and pick up weapons to shoot the other ducks.
Captain Planet: Gaia Guardians (iOS, Android)
Posted on May 24th, 2019 by
When I was a kid, I remember a cartoon called Captain Planet. It was made in the late 80’s/early 90’s and was all about saving the environment, which was a common theme at the time. But I thought the cartoon was dumb. But then, I was probably at that age where I thought everything was dumb. No, no, I still think that cartoon is dumb. Anyway, in the show, an Earth guardian spirit named Gaia gives five multicultural kids each a power ring based on one of the four elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water), and the fifth kid gets a ring with the power of “Heart.” I don’t know about you, but I’d feel cheated if I were that fifth kid. Anyway, the kids then use their new powers to stop “Eco-Villains” and when the going gets tough, they can summon a super powerful hero named Captain Planet. As much as I disliked the cartoon, I remember it being heavily promoted at the time. And references to the show crop up from time to time, even now. I remember reviewing a Cartoon Network fighting game where Captain Planet was a secret character, and a new cartoon called O.K. K.O. had a Captain Planet episode. And now there is a mobile game based on the franchise, too! And it’s an…endless clicker?!? Oh no! Captain Planet: Gaia Guardians is free-to-play on iOS and Android devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Foodgod’s Food Truck Frenzy (iOS, Android)
Posted on May 22nd, 2019 by
When I got the press release for this game, it said it paid homage to Atari’s classic arcade game Food Fight. Well that got me hooked right there. Unfortunately this game has nothing to do with Food Fight, as it’s just another free-to-play match three puzzle game. But I’ve already downloaded it so I might as well review it. It’s also endorsed by an internet celebrity named Foodgod, who I’ve never heard of. Design your avatar, pick a food truck, and match food items to serve to customers in this downloadable game for iOS and Android devices (reviewed on iPad here).
Marblelous Animals (iOS, Android)
Posted on May 20th, 2019 by
Animals worldwide are turning into round fat versions of themselves, and it’s up to you to roll them into holes in mazes. The game doesn’t explain HOW the animals became that way, but the press release I got says it’s because of their fast food diet. This free to download game for mobile devices (reviewed on iPad here) plays like those marble maze games where you must tilt the maze to get the marble where it needs to be.
Unplugged: The Pokémon Card Game Featuring Detective Pikachu
Posted on May 17th, 2019 by
When I was in college and writing game reviews for The Dallas Morning News, the first E3 I went to was when Nintendo was going to release Pokémon in the US for the first time. I knew it would be a big hit, so I requested to my editor that I be in charge of covering everything Pokémon related for the newspaper. He was like, “yeah sure, whatever,” but he did keep his promise for at least a couple of years. I even learned how to play the Pokémon card game so I could cover events and competitions revolved around it. I like to say that Pokémon helped pay my way through college as I was writing tons of Pokémon articles then! It’s amazing to me that Pokémon is still super popular after all this time, even the card game. And now there is a new live action movie out in theaters called Detective Pikachu. To celebrate, the makers of the card game have released a wide selection of Detective Pikachu cards and packages, so today we’re going to look at all of them!
Furiends (iOS)
Posted on May 15th, 2019 by
Take care of a lovable pup in Furiends, a free-to-play game for iOS devices (reviewed on iPad here). Furiends is an AR game, and AR stands for Augmented Reality. What this means is that the game uses the camera on your mobile device and places objects over the image so it looks like they are in your space in the real world. The most popular example of this is probably Pokémon GO, but there lots of other games that use this, too. In Furiends, they make it look like a puppy is walking around where you’re at. You get a breed at random, I think. I got a German Shepherd and I named it Rush. It looks pretty realistic except for the ‘too-much coffee’ eyes. Then you get to play and take care of your new virtual pet in lots of ways.
Feather (Switch, PC)
Posted on May 13th, 2019 by
The joy of flight is always a highlight in many a video game. Remember when you first got an airship in a Final Fantasy game? Or the wing cap in Mario 64? How about flying with feathers in Banjo-Kazooie? Speaking of feathers, here’s a game that’s nothing but flying as a bird, as you soar around an island in a stress-free environment. Feather is available to download on Switch and PC, but reviewed on the former here.
The Games of the PlayStation Classic: Part 2
Posted on May 10th, 2019 by
I got so long-winded last time when talking about the games in my last blog on the mini PlayStation Classic that I decided to split it into two blogs. So if you haven’t read that one yet, I encourage you to please do so. Anyway, here’s the second batch of games on the PlayStation Classic. I don’t have as much to say about most of these games, so hopefully this will go by a little faster.
