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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Final Smash amiibo

So the last three DLC Super Smash Bros. amiibo figures have finally been released.  Nintendo did a little something different with these because they made two of each, with a character having two different outfits.  Luckily I managed to get them all, so let’s see what they look like!

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WWE Tap Mania (iOS, Android)

I have some friends who are into professional wrestling, but I’ve never been able to get into it myself.  I don’t have anything against professional wrestling, and I think the physical prowess of those athletes is amazing, but it’s just not my cup of tea.  But every now and then I’ll try watching or playing something related to wrestling to see what it is my friends like about the whole thing.  Recently SEGA released a downloadable endless clicker called WWE Tap Mania, so I decided to try that.  Of course, that might’ve been a mistake as I’m not a big fan of endless clickers either, but let’s see how it goes.  The game is available on iOS and Android devices, but reviewed on iPad here.

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Pac-Man Funko Pop Vinyl Figures

So there’s a company called Funko that makes these figures called Pop Vinyl.  They all have a unique, stylized look: big heads, large round (usually) black eyes, and they have them based on pretty much any character you can think of.  Characters from comics, TV shows, movies, cartoons, and even video games!  I don’t really collect them because I already have two shelves of amiibo figures and I need to set limits somewhere.  But when I saw they had Pac-Man Pop Vinyl figures, I decided I wanted those since I’m so crazy about Pac-Man.  I finally got them all, so I thought I’d share them with you here.  Plus a majority of them I got in an interesting way, so I’ll tell that story as well!

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Summer Movie 2017 Checklist

It’s that time of year again.  All the summer movies are out, and there are usually a few that interest me.  So here’s a list of the movies I’ve seen this summer, as well as the ones I wanted to see, but didn’t for whatever reason.  Oh and there might be some slight spoilers here and there, so you’ve been warned.

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LEGO Dimensions Wonder Woman Fun Pack

The Wonder Woman movie has been very successful in theaters this summer, and may end up being the best movie this season.  So to celebrate the success, WB Games sent me the Wonder Woman Fun Pack for LEGO Dimensions for review purposes.  And so here’s the review!  LEGO Dimensions is available for nearly all current consoles, but played on Wii U here.

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Nintendo Handhelds (New Nintendo 3/2DS/XL)

It is easy to argue that the Nintendo Gameboy revolutionized the portable gaming market, and may even have created the market. Since that time, Nintendo has found the Gameboy system to be a reliable source of income, updating the system and churning out games at a regular pace. For the past six years, the system of choice has been the Nintendo 3DS line. (Note that the “Gameboy” moniker is no longer present.) However, calling it the 3DS line of hardware does not do the variability of options justice. In celebration of the newest release, the Nintendo 2DS XL, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the history of the handheld and possibly offer some advice..

 

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Pauli’s Adventure Island (iOS, Google Play, Windows Store)

Just so you know, this game has nothing to do with Hudson’s Adventure Island game series.  Instead, you play as bunnies Pauli or Gemmi as they run, jump, and spin on a 2-D platforming adventure…presumably on an island.  Their home is being overrun by weird baddies and it’s up to you to help them.  It’s a free-to-play game (with a two dollar ad removal fee) for iOS, Google Play, and Windows Store, but reviewed on iPad here.

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Cars 3: Driven to Win (PS4, PS3, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One, 360)

Cars 3 is driving around theaters this summer and now you can cruise around with the characters in the Cars 3: Driven to Win racing game.  Play as Lighting McQueen, Jackson Storm, Mater, and many more in a plethora of racing events.  Cars 3: Driven to Win is available on nearly all current game consoles, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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The Three Link Amiibos

Hey folks, got another batch of Nintendo amiibo figures I thought I’d show off here.  This time it’s three different Links from three different Legend of Zelda series!

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Micro Machines: World Series (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

As most little kids like to do, when I was young I enjoyed playing with toy cars.  The biggest contenders were Hot Wheels and Matchbox.  But later on, a new brand came on the scene called Micro Machines, which were a lot smaller than the others but proved to be just as popular.  By the time Micro Machines came out, I was a little too old to “play cars” but I still remember the commercials where that guy who talked really fast from the FedEx ads was on there.  Later on, they even had some top down racing video games based on the franchise.  I recall renting the first one on the NES and SNES, and later I remember even reviewing a 3-D version on the PlayStation for The Dallas Morning News back in college.  And now Micro Machines are back in a new multiplayer-centric game downloadable for PS4, Xbox One, and PC (PS4 version reviewed here).

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