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.
Rock Band Blitz (PS3, 360)
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Posted on September 14th, 2012 by
OK so let’s say you’re the only one in the house and you have a sudden urge to play Rock Band. But then you’d have to lug out all the instrument peripherals again, and it’s not as much fun to play the game by yourself anyway. Ugh. Or let’s say you want to play Rock Band, but can’t afford or don’t have room for all the instruments. Luckily, Harmonix has just the thing for you: Rock Band Blitz. It’s a new arcade style single player music game that uses only the controller, downloadable on Xbox 360 and PS3 (360 version reviewed here).
Plants vs. Zombies Pinball (360, PS3)
Posted on September 13th, 2012 by
Plants vs. Zombies is one of PopCap Games’ most recognized and popular titles. Grow plants in your backyard to battle the waves of zombies coming to get you! It’s one of the few unique takes on the tower defense genre, and it is simple enough for casual gamers to get into, but deep enough to challenge anyone. Plus it has all those memorable and silly plant and zombie characters. Now, PopCap Games and Zen Studios have teamed up to bring you Plants vs. Zombies Pinball, available on Pinball FX2 on Xbox 360 and Zen Pinball 2 on PS3. It’s one of their best tables yet! (360 version reviewed here)
Cary’s Favorite Transformers
Posted on September 12th, 2012 by
At the end of last month, I reviewed Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. I really enjoyed the game because it was more like the original toy line and cartoon that I remember back in the 80’s, not the recent Michael Bay movies. Aside from the cool special effects, I never really did like the Michael Bay Transformers movies. Anytime the robots were not fighting it was really awful, especially anything having to do with the human characters. But I never complained too much because this WAS a movie based on an old toy line and 30 minute commercial disguised as a cartoon. You can’t expect too much out of that. But because of the new game, I’ve been on a bit of a Transformers kick lately, so I thought that in this blog, I’d list my top five favorite Autobots and top five favorite Decepticons.
Another 3DS StreetPass Meetup in the North Dallas/Plano, TX Area!
Posted on September 11th, 2012 by
This coming Saturday is an important date! Not only is it my birthday, but if you live in the North Dallas/Plano, TX area, and have a 3DS, we’re doing another 3DS StreetPass Meeting. Same time, same place. More info can be found here.
Mark of the Ninja (Xbox 360)
Posted on September 10th, 2012 by
Most 2-D side-scrolling ninja games (like Shinobi or Ninja Gaiden) require you to dash madly into enemy territory slashing at everything in sight. But few have explored the other significant side of ninjas: they hide in the shadows and remain unseen. But with Mark of the Ninja, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing in this unique 2-D stealth title, downloadable on Xbox LIVE.
Retro/Grade (PS3)
Posted on September 8th, 2012 by
When you start playing Retro/Grade, at first it looks like a 2-D side-scrolling shooter. But you begin at the final boss and quickly destroy it, then fly off as the credits roll. But then something strange happens. A rift in the space-time continuum breaks, and the credits start rolling backwards! Now you must play this shooter game…in reverse! Position your spaceship so that you line up with your shots and ‘catch’ them with the fire button as they retract back into your ship, as well as avoid enemy bullets coming from behind as they sink back into the opponents’ vessels. If that’s not creative enough, Retro/Grade is actually a cleverly disguised music/rhythm game, downloadable on the PSN store for PS3.
Containment: The Zombie Puzzler (iPad)
Posted on September 7th, 2012 by
Zombies are all the rage in games these days, and you can find them infecting nearly every kind of genre. First person shooters like Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption have mini-game zombie modes. Hack and slash fans can enjoy Dead Rising or Onechanbara. Even point and click adventures have been zombie-fied with The Walking Dead. And casual gamers have Plants vs. Zombies. Now the undead have invaded color matching puzzle games with Containment: The Zombie Puzzler, a creative new game for iPad.
Power Packed PAX: Day 3
Posted on September 5th, 2012 by
On the third and final day of PAX, we’ll look at a few more games, hop on the Tekken bus, and check out some funny game-related costumes. Thanks for reading all three of my PAX 2012 articles, I really appreciate it!
Power Packed PAX: Day 2
Posted on September 4th, 2012 by
So for the second day of PAX, we’ll look at four big meetings I had. We’ll start with Twisted Pixel, then check out some of WB Games’ titles. After that we’ll see what iPad games Big Fish featured, and conclude with some big time Epic Mickey coverage! So click to read some more PAX 2012 fun!
Power Packed PAX: Day 1
Posted on September 4th, 2012 by
The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, is a massive gaming convention started by the same folks who do the successful Penny Arcade web comic and Child’s Play charities. PAX is nearly as big as the E3 trade show, but PAX is open to the public, and features electronic video games as well as PC and tabletop games for people to try out, play, and compete. I had the opportunity to visit the original PAX in Seattle again this past weekend, so hang on for the first of a three part article series about my experiences at PAX 2012!
