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.
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (3DS)
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Posted on August 2nd, 2013 by
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, giant monster ‘Kaiju’ movies and TV shows were all the rage, not just in Japan, but all over the world. Guys in rubber Godzilla suits would tromp around city models while giant metallic Ultraman heroes would defend the people. But what if you lived in a town where the giant monsters and heroes seemed REAL? Well, in Attack of the Friday Mosnters! A Tokyo Tale, a downloadable title on 3DS, you play as Sohta, a Japanese 4th grader who just moved to a suburb outside of Tokyo in the early 70’s. In this little burb, you’ll meet new people, make friends, run errands, play monster card games and other childish shenanigans, and maybe even see a giant monster yourself!
My Gamer Grandmother
Posted on July 31st, 2013 by
This past week was kind of a rough one for me. My grandmother passed away so last weekend I went to Alabama for the funeral and stuff. I kind of wanted to use this blog to brag on her a bit, because not only was she a great person with many talents, she was also a gamer, too, believe it or not!
D&D: What’s Next?
Posted on July 29th, 2013 by
A year and a half ago, the folks at Wizards of the Coast announced a move to create (yet another) new version of the popular role playing game (RPG) system, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). This is the seminal role playing game that spawned many others, and inspired the use of its theme in other mediums such as computer games (ex. Skyrim, World of Warcraft) and board games (ex. Warhammer Quest, Descent, Castle Ravenloft). This new version, “D&D Next” for now, is freely available in prototype form for anyone interested in playtesting. It is an effort to ‘get back to the roots’ of D&D in some fashion, simplifying the base rules while simultaneously providing many optional bits for gamers who wish to emphasize specific styles of play. Along with moving forward towards a new, retro D&D game, Wizards of the Coast has spent the past year re-releasing many old, out of print titles in both electronic and premium hardback editions.
Famicom 30th Anniversary 30 Cent Games
Posted on July 27th, 2013 by
This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Famicom, the Japanese equivalent of the NES in the US. To celebrate, Nintendo has offered one Virtual Console Wii U game each month for only 30 cents! They’ve done this for a few months now, and the last 30 cent game was just released. I’ve bought them all, as it was such a great deal. So in this blog, I thought I’d take a quick run through of the games in this promotion. Now, keep in mind that most of these games you can’t get for 30 cents anymore, as each game sale only lasts for a month. But I’m going to take a look at each one anyway!
Asterix: Megaslap! (iPad)
Posted on July 26th, 2013 by
Asterix is a very popular European comic book series that has spawned several animated movies and even video games over the years. But it’s not very well known here in the US. Asterix and his large friend Obelix are Gauls who defend their small village from the Roman army by using their wits and their magical super strength potion. I don’t know much about it myself, but from what I can tell, it looks like the European equivalent of Popeye. And now you can help Asterix sock some Romans in Asterix: Megaslap! for iOS devices (iPad version reviewed here).
Mamorukun Curse! (PS3)
Posted on July 25th, 2013 by
Mamorukun Curse! is a 2-D top-down classic styled arcade shooter, downloadable from the PSN store for PS3. Choose from a selection of cute but deadly anime type characters as they save the netherworld by mowing down demons and dodging an endless supply of bullets and projectiles. Because of the Asian settings and enemies based on monsters from Japanese folklore, it kind of reminds me of Taito’s classic shooter Kiki Kaikai, or better known as Pocky and Rocky when its sequels were brought to the Super Nintendo in the US.
Project X-Zone: Team SEGA
Posted on July 24th, 2013 by
For my last blog in my series on the characters in Project X-Zone, an action-strategy RPG on 3DS, we’ll look at the cast from SEGA’s games. Of all the three companies’ games listed in Project X-Zone, I probably know the least about the SEGA roster. So this will be a rather short and uninformative blog. Maybe some of you folks can fill in the gaps for me in the comments section?
Time and Eternity (PS3)
Posted on July 23rd, 2013 by
Time and Eternity is a Japanese RPG on the PlayStation 3. In it, you are a royal knight about to marry a beautiful princess. But just as you are about to seal the deal with a kiss, enemies barge through the church door and assassinate you! As you lie bleeding, the last thing you see is your beloved princess, but she’s not who she was before. Now she’s a ruthless, killing machine, beating up all the assassins and invaders ruining her wedding. Turns out the princess shares two souls in one body. The sweet princess Toki and the rough and tough Towa. Also, since she’s a princess, she has the power to magically travel back in time. So Toki/Towa use their power to go into the past to prevent the wedding assassination. And you go back in time, too, but you are stuck in the body of the princess’ pet dragon! Now it’s up to you and the princess to go on a quest to stop the wedding disaster, six months before it happens!
Turbo: Super Stunt Squad (Wii, Wii U, DS, 3DS, PS3, 360)
Posted on July 22nd, 2013 by
In the new DreamWorks computer animated summer movie Turbo, a snail gets infused with nitro from a race car and now is the fastest snail in the world. Now you can play as Turbo and his friends in the new game based on the movie. Surprise! Turbo: Super Stunt Squad is a racing game! (Nintendo Wii and 3DS versions reviewed here)
Touch and Sing Along Picture Book (iPad)
Posted on July 20th, 2013 by
Touch and Sing Along Picture Book, or Touch & Sing for short, is an activity center app for iOS devices and will be available later for other smartphones and tablets later on (iPad version reviewed here). Developed by two Japanese moms, Touch & Sing combines learning activities with familiar tunes. Two songs are available for free, with a third free song available for a limited time. You can buy others for 99 cents each, or get a group in a value pack. The free songs are Hokey Pokey and the ABC song, with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for free until the end of July. Other songs include Ten Little Indians, The Wheels on the Bus, The Muffin Man, Old MacDonald’s Farm, and more! Over a dozen in all. Let’s take a look at the free songs.
