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.
PAX West 2016: Part 1
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Posted on September 8th, 2016 by
The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, is one of the largest video game conventions open to the public. I’ve been going to it annually for nearly ten years now. PAX West in Seattle was last weekend, so here are my impressions of the show! The convention is so big that I had to split my articles into three parts. Before I get started, I wanted to let you all know that I couldn’t cover EVERYTHING at the show. I’m just one person and just tried to focus on games that interest me and what would fit the theme of this site. Anyway, in this first part, we’ll go over games featured by major publishers, like Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Capcom, SEGA, and Square-Enix!
Flying Slime (iOS)
Posted on September 7th, 2016 by
Play as a slime creature as you fling sticky tentacles around and swing about a cavernous forest landscape. Make it to the end and grab a shiny thing to complete the level. It’s available to download for about three bucks on the App store (reviewed on iPad here).
Rooms of Doom (iOS, Google Play)
Posted on September 5th, 2016 by
Rooms of Doom is a new free-to-play mobile game from the makers of Crossy Road and Pac-Man 256 (reviewed on iPad here). In the game, a mad scientist creates mutant minion creatures and tests them to see if they are worthy of being his minions by making them run through obstacle-filled rooms. These rooms resemble 2-D challenges from other platformers and mobile games. Survive as long as you can to boost your score and collect coins so you can make new minions and build new rooms for them to ‘play’ in!
Gotta Protectors (3DS)
Posted on September 2nd, 2016 by
One of the cool things about the Xbox 360 was that amateur game makers could create games for it that you could download later on under their ‘indie games’ section. Many of these games were quite amateurish, but there were some standout gems. One was a Japanese game called Protect Me Knight. It was an 8-bit styled, action oriented tower-defense game. It was made by famed video game composer Yuzo Koshiro and his team at Ancient, so you know the tunes were good. Actually the whole game was fantastic, and it was one of my favorite multiplayer Xbox LIVE titles on the 360. And now, about five years later, we finally get a sequel in Gotta Protectors, a downloadable title on the Nintendo 3DS!
Dots & Co. (iOS, Google Play)
Posted on August 31st, 2016 by
It may look like your typical free-to-play match-three mobile puzzler, but Dots & Co. has a few gameplay elements that separate it from the rest of the bunch. Clear out same-colored adjacent dots by connecting them to one another on the touch screen, and they’ll disappear. There’s actually been two “Dots” games before this one, but I’ve never played them so I don’t know what’s new or added to this one. It’s available free to download on iOS and Google Play, but reviewed on iPad here.
Tadpole Treble (Wii U)
Posted on August 29th, 2016 by
What is it with tadpoles and music in video games? First it was Super Mario RPG, and now this! OK, maybe that was too obscure of a reference for an introduction. Anyway, in this game, you play as a young tadpole named Baton. She swims too far away from her frog family and gets snatched up by a pelican. She escapes, but now must swim downstream back to her pond in this downloadable music/rhythm action game for Wii U.
Cary’s Spring and Summer 2016 Movie Roundup!
Posted on August 26th, 2016 by
Well, summer’s almost over, so you know what that means. It’s time for me to talk about the movies I saw this summer (and some in the spring, too), as well as movies I wanted to see but didn’t get a chance to. I’ll try to keep things spoiler-free, but there may be a few that slip out, so just be warned. So let’s do this thing!
Mutant Mudds Super Challenge (PS4, Vita, Wii U, 3DS)
Posted on August 24th, 2016 by
A few years ago, game developer Renegade Kid released Mutant Mudds, a run-and-gun 2-D platformer about a kid armed with a water gun who zaps monsters made of mud who are trying to get you! It featured classic 8-bit graphics and sound, as well as a challenge level similar to games of that era (meaning it was hard). Well, if that game wasn’t difficult enough for you, now there’s Mutant Mudds Super Challenge. It’s the same basic game, but the new levels are super tough! You’ll be hard-pressed to get through Stage 1-1 unless you are a pro! Mutant Mudds Super Challenge is available for download on most current consoles, but reviewed on PS Vita here.
Rodeo Stampede (iOS, Google Play)
Posted on August 22nd, 2016 by
The makers of popular mobile games like Crossy Road and Pac-Man 256 have roped in a new free-to-play downloadable title for iOS and Google Play (reviewed on iPad here). In Rodeo Stampede, you must ride wild animals without getting thrown off, and jump and lasso the next critter in the stampede. Keep on doing this for as long as you can, and you’ll even befriend these animals and invite them to live on your floating zeppelin zoo!
Disney Art Academy (3DS)
Posted on August 19th, 2016 by
For nearly a century, Disney has been synonymous with artistic animation and cartoons, and now they’ve teamed up with Nintendo for a new Art Academy game. Nintendo has been teaching art lessons with their Art Academy franchise on multiple consoles, spanning the DS, 3DS, and even the Wii U. So it only seems natural for them to feature art lessons with Disney characters on the 3DS. I’ve wished that this series would get more recognition, and maybe now with the familiar Disney license, it might just do that.
