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.
Unplugged: Legacy-style Games
2 Comments
Posted on September 1st, 2015 by
Sit down to a boardgame with your friends and enjoy a night of fun. Next week you can play it all again, but what if each time you play the game it is subtly altered so you never play the same game twice? About 4 years ago, Hasbro went out on a limb and released Risk Legacy. It was the Risk game known to many, but this time around every game played physically changed the game. What if the green army wins one game and comes back with advantages the next time around. What if western Australia was nuked, a sticker was placed on the board, and that location will never be accessible again. Risk Legacy was a hit amongst the boardgaming crowd. The idea of a boardgame that evolves and permanently changes was out of the bag and now several new titles are coming down the pipeline.
Pixels Defense (iPad)
Posted on September 1st, 2015 by
The movie Pixels is about classic 80’s video game characters attacking Earth, and now there is a game based on the film (available on Android and iOS, but reviewed on iPad here). You’d think that a game that has Pac-Man, Centipede, Frogger, and Q*bert in it would be monumental, but it’s just yet another tired Tower Defense clone. So it’s not very eventful at all. Kind of like the movie.
Cary’s Summer Movie Checklist 2015
Posted on August 31st, 2015 by
Well another summer is almost over, and I watched a lot of summer movies in theaters this year. So I thought I’d write a blog with brief impressions on them! Keep in mind that there MIGHT be some slight spoilers here and there, but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum. So grab your popcorn and see what I watched this summer!
Sonic Runners (iPad)
Posted on August 28th, 2015 by
Sonic games have almost always been about running as fast as you can from left to right. So it only seems natural that Sonic would star in his own 2-D running game that you see so often on mobile devices. And now he and his pals Tails & Knuckles are in their own runner, as Sonic Runners is a free-to-play game on iOS and Android devices (reviewed on iPad here).
Adventure Time: Puzzle Quest (iPad)
Posted on August 26th, 2015 by
Adventure Time is one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows, and Puzzle Quest is one of the most famous puzzlers in the past ten or so years. So put them both together as a free-to-play game downloadable for iOS devices, Google Play, and Amazon for Android (reviewed on iPad here), and you get a winner, right? Well, read on and find out!
Zoombinis (iPad)
Posted on August 24th, 2015 by
The 1990’s were kind of a renaissance for educational computer games. I remember reviewing a few for The Dallas Morning News back then, as well as watching my little brothers play a bunch when they were younger as well. But one I hadn’t heard of before was Zoombinis. But that doesn’t make it any less popular, as it was still an award-winning game that taught logic and reasoning problem solving skills through sorting, classification, and a bit of trial and error. And now you can enjoy this classic educational title downloadable on Apple tablet devices.
Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria (Wii U, 3DS)
Posted on August 21st, 2015 by
Back in the 8-bit and 16-bit days, I was really into RPGs about the time I was in high school. Some of my favorites included Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, Lufia 2, and many others. But once I hit college and the 32-bit era rolled in, I started to lose interest. Part of it was my fault, as college and other commitments took more of my time away. But 32-bit RPGs and beyond were often times bigger, longer, and more meandering. I felt they focused on story and characters more than actual gameplay. But every now and then I do miss those days where I could just veg out for a few hours and play a classic RPG. Luckily now there is Dragon Fantasy, a new downloadable title for Wii U and 3DS, which plays and looks like the RPGs I grew up with.
Legend of Kay Anniversary Edition (Wii U, PS3, PS4, 360, PC)
Posted on August 19th, 2015 by
Back in 2005 I remember going to E3 and seeing a colorful 3-D platformer starring a martial arts cat. The game was called Legend of Kay, and it was a PS2 game published by Capcom I believe. I didn’t get to review the game when it came out, but five years later I did review a Nintendo DS version of the title. So it’s been ten years since the original release, and now you can play the first PS2 game on most modern home consoles (Wii U version reviewed here) with the Legend of Kay Anniversary Edition.
Reader Review: Guild of Dungeoneering (PC)
Posted on August 17th, 2015 by
When I went to PAX South earlier this year, a bunch of my little brothers came with me since it was so close to home. While at the PAX show, one of my brothers (Jeff) showed interest in Guild of Dungeoneering, a game that they previewed there. So now that the game is out, I decided to have Jeff take a shot at reviewing it, since he took a liking to it before. My brothers may have different tastes in games than I do, but they still have good tastes in games regardless, so I highly recommend checking out his review by clicking here!
Art Academy: Home Studio (Wii U)
Posted on August 14th, 2015 by
Nintendo has been teaching art, painting, and drawing techniques with their Art Academy games for nearly five years now! But they’ve all been regulated to just their hand-held touch screen systems like the DS and 3DS. There’s even one that teaches you how to draw Pokemon! But now you can enjoy learning art from the comfort of your own home with Art Academy: Home Studio, a downloadable title for Wii U.
