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.
Point Blank Adventures (iPad)
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Posted on September 16th, 2015 by
Light gun games have always been a staple in arcades. However, in most of them you’re either shooting terrorists or zombies, so I haven’t had much interest in them because of that. But back in the 90’s, Namco made a light gun game called Point Blank, and it was like a silly shooting gallery game. I loved it, and was more than happy when they released three Point Blank home console games on the original PlayStation. My brother and I played those all the time, and it’s too bad the old GunCon controllers won’t work on today’s HDTVs. Namco even made a Point Blank game on the DS, and you used the stylus to tap on the screen instead of aiming at targets with a gun. It lost a little bit in the translation, but it still had that wacky madcap humor the series is known for. So when I found a similar Point Blank game on my iPad, and it was free-to-play, I just had to try it since I’ve had such a big history with the Point Blank series.
Alphabear (iPad)
Posted on September 14th, 2015 by
Normally I’m not too keen on free-to-play games on mobile devices, as they have too many annoyances that bug me. But every once in a while a free-to-play game comes along that I really enjoy anyway. Alphabear is one of those games. It’s a clever word spelling game downloadable on mobile devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Paddington: Adventures in London (3DS)
Posted on September 11th, 2015 by
I never really read any of the Paddington Bear books when I was a kid, which is where that character got his start. But when I was little, I do remember seeing lots of Paddington Bear stop-motion animated shorts on TV and on filmstrips at school (I’m really aging myself here). In fact, Paddington had a perchance for eating marmalade sandwiches, and when I was a kid I had never heard of marmalade. So when I saw it at the grocery store when I was little, I convinced my mom to buy some so I could try Paddington’s favorite treat. I learned something that day, marmalade is DISGUSTING! Why couldn’t he have liked pizza instead? Fast forward to earlier this year. A new Paddington Bear movie hit theaters, and I recently saw it on video. It really wasn’t that bad of a movie at all, a very charming family flick that stays true to the source material. And now you can play a game on the 3DS based on Paddington’s adventures.
Massive Chalice (PC & Xbox One)
Posted on September 10th, 2015 by
Like X-Com, Massive Chalice is both a short-term tactical game and a long-term strategy game. However, rather than managing an organization and individuals as they progress through their careers, Massive Chalice puts you in charge of a kingdom and you manage the royal lines through centuries of development.
Wind-Up Knight 2 (Wii U)
Posted on September 9th, 2015 by
In this downloadable Wii U game you control a knight with a wind-up key on his back. He can’t stop running, so you must help him avoid obstacles and enemies in this 2-D platforming action game. I never played the first one, nor even heard of it, so I don’t know what’s new or improved in the sequel.
Unplugged: Cardline: Dinosaurs
Posted on September 8th, 2015 by
Which is larger, a tricerotops or an ankylosaurus? If you already know, you may be in the target audience of Cardline: Dinosaurs. The Timeline family of card games challenges players to place cards representing items and events in chronological order. In Cardline: Dinosaurs, players place their cards in order either by weight or by size. While similar to the previous games, the dinosaur theme may be more attractive to younger players.
Fruit Attacks (iPad)
Posted on September 7th, 2015 by
Alien fruit in UFOs are invading Earth, and it’s up to a half-cat, half stereo speaker (?) to shoot them down in Fruit Attacks. It’s a free-to-play shooter for iOS, Android, and Kindle devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
PAX Prime 2015: Day 3: 15 Minutes Could Save You on Cosplay Insurance
Posted on September 4th, 2015 by
The last day of the show was not as eventful for me because I only had one meeting and I was flying out that night to go back home. So for this final article we’re just going to wrap things up and take a look at a few of the cosplay pictures I took.
PAX Prime 2015: Day 2: Star Toons
Posted on September 3rd, 2015 by
Day Two of PAX was a big day for me! I attended more meetings, played more games, went to a party, and even met a celebrity! Click and read to find out what I played and who I met!
PAX Prime 2015: Day 1: Crafty Beginnings
Posted on September 2nd, 2015 by
The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, is a video game convention open to the public. Video game developers show off their upcoming line-up to gamers, so it’s kind of like a mini-E3. There is a PAX convention in Boston, Australia, and a new one earlier this year that I went to in San Antonio, TX called PAX South. But the original one that started it all is in Seattle, so it’s called PAX Prime. This past weekend I attended PAX Prime, so for the rest of the week, I’ll be posting articles and pictures of what I did there. So we’ll get started with the first day of the show! And forgive me for not covering ALL the games shown at PAX. I’m only one person and can’t do it all!
