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.
World of Final Fantasy (PS4, Vita)
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Posted on November 11th, 2016 by
When I was a kid (well I guess it was more like high school), I was really into role-playing video games. I started playing them on the 8-bit Nintendo with titles like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy, but I didn’t really get into them until the 16-bit era. And then I was hooked. Games like Final Fantasy 4, Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, Lufia 2, and many others took up most of my gaming time back then. But when the 32-bit days came along, I kind of got out of the loop. College and other commitments kept me from playing RPGs for long hours like I used to, but also the newer RPGs kind of grew up, but my tastes in games didn’t. Sure I would find a few here and there that would interest me, like Final Fantasy 9, Tales of Legendia, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but it’s definitely not like how it used to be. That’s why World of Final Fantasy makes me so happy. It’s like Square-Enix went back and made a Final Fantasy game just for me! (Vita version reviewed here)
World of Final Fantasy Strategy Guide
Posted on November 10th, 2016 by
This game may look cute and cuddly, but World of Final Fantasy can be quite challenging sometimes. In this monster gathering and battling RPG, if you don’t go into the fight with the right strategy, you might find yourself toppled over—literally! Luckily there’s the World of Final Fantasy Strategy Guide from Prima Games. When I was a kid, I used to enjoy the older Final Fantasy games, and would pour over the printed guides when I wasn’t playing. This guide made me feel like a kid again while reading it, so let’s take a look inside together!
20 Years of Tomb Raider (Book)
Posted on November 8th, 2016 by
One of video game’s most popular female icons turns 20 this year. Makes me feel old, how about you? To celebrate, Prima Games has put together an awesome hardcover book with more than 300 pages featuring the Tomb Raider games, the fans, and Lara Croft herself.
Dragon Quest Builders Standard Edition Guide
Posted on November 7th, 2016 by
I played Dragon Quest Builders at PAX West this year and it was one of my favorite games of the show. It’s basically a combination of Dragon Quest and Minecraft. Those two game series are very robust, so you know you’ll need a comprehensive guide if you get stuck or don’t want to miss out on secrets. Luckily Prima Games has you covered with the Dragon Quest Builders strategy guide! Let’s take a look inside and see what’s all in there!
Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure (3DS)
Posted on November 4th, 2016 by
Sony’s PSP was one of the few times (other than the Neo Geo Pocket Color), that I was lured away from Nintendo’s handheld juggernaut for a bit. The PSP had a lot of great games, and my top five include Loco Roco 1 & 2, Mega Man Powered Up, Half-Minute Hero, Ys Seven, and Gurumin. Fortunately, that last game on my list is now available as a downloadable title for the Nintendo 3DS. Best of all, even ten years later the game is just as enjoyable as I remember it being.
LEGO Dimensions The A-Team Fun Pack
Posted on November 2nd, 2016 by
When I was a little kid, The A-Team was a very popular TV show. But I wasn’t really into it as I was more interested in shows like The Dukes of Hazzard and Knight Rider. One show had a cool orange car that jumped over ramps, and the other had a TALKING car! The A-Team just had a van with a red stripe. (yeah you know where my priorities were as a little boy) Plus, I feel ashamed to admit it, but as a little kid, I was kind of scared of Mr. T, who was the star of the show. But there’s no denying that The A-Team was super popular. Heck, even Mr. Bean slept on A-Team sheets in one of his comedy skits, and a few years ago they made a movie remake of The A-Team (I rented it once and feel asleep about an hour in, unfortunately). Mr. T was also popular in his own right, even getting his own Saturday morning cartoon and breakfast cereal back then (yes, really). And now you can relive the action of the TV show in LEGO form with The A-Team Fun Pack for LEGO Dimensions. The game is available for nearly all current home game consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Daybreak: Special Gigs (PS3, PS4, Vita)
Posted on October 31st, 2016 by
We all have guilty pleasures, whether we like to admit them or not. One of my guilty pleasures is watching ghost shows on TV. You know, the ones where people go to haunted places and try to investigate ghosts, or recount their own spooky happenstances. You can usually watch them on cable channels like Discovery or the History Channel (more like Used to be About History Channel). Anyway, I know most of the stuff on those ghost shows are probably exaggerated and not real, but they’re still entertaining to watch anyway and who doesn’t like a good ghost story every now and then, especially at this time of year. I also find video games about ghosts rather interesting, heck, the first game I ever played, Pac-Man, had ghosts in it! So that’s why I decided to review Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Daybreak: Special Gigs. It’s a game about ghost hunting and is a weird mix of a virtual novel and strategy RPG. It’s available for all of Sony’s current systems, but reviewed on PS3 here.
Bustin’ Ghosts at Dave & Busters
Posted on October 28th, 2016 by
About a month and a half ago for my birthday, my family and I went to Dave & Busters. The best way to describe Dave & Busters is it’s like a Chuck E. Cheese for adults. They have a restaurant and bar, billiards, and other things. They’ve also always had big arcades. I think Dave & Busters started out in Georgia, but when they expanded, one of the first places they went to was Dallas, so we’ve had them nearby for a long time. I think they’re all over the place now, though. Anyway, we mainly spent our time in the arcade, and it was the first time in a long while that I had a lot of fun in a newer, modern arcade. So I thought I’d share with you some of the stuff we played.
LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Story Pack
Posted on October 26th, 2016 by
This past summer, we were treated with a brand new Ghostbusters movie featuring a different story and an all-female team. While I don’t think it was nowhere near as good as the first movie, I still laughed a lot and it was considered a comedy, so I guess it did its job. Plus, the new movie helped bring back my favorite childhood drink: Ecto-Cooler, so it’s all good. And now you can play the movie in LEGO form with the LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Story Pack. Not to be confused with the LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Level Pack, which I reviewed earlier this year. LEGO Dimensions and all the sets that go with it are playable on nearly all the current home game consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.
Marvel’s Women of Power (PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox One, 360, PC, iOS)
Posted on October 24th, 2016 by
Girl Power is taking over pinball! A bevvy of Marvel’s superheroines have teamed up to bring you two new action packed pinball tables for play on Zen Studios’ pinball platforms: Pinball FX2 and Zen Pinball 2. They’re available on nearly all current game consoles and computers, but reviewed on PS3 here.
