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.
Just Dance With Chester Cheetah!
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Posted on August 14th, 2012 by
We all know Chester Cheetah as the mascot of Cheetos snacks. But did you know that he was created by one of the same folks who came up with the Pink Panther cartoon? Also, Chester Cheetah starred in TWO 16-bit 2-D platformer video games back in the day. I never played them myself, but I hear they weren’t very good. But now, Chester Cheetah is getting back into video games. Click here to read a snipped of a press release announcing that you’ll be able to download music tracks for UbiSoft’s popular Just Dance music games. And when Just Dance 4 comes out later this year, it looks like Chester might be in the game, too! Ha! Isn’t that ‘cheesy?’
Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome 2 & Cradle of Persia (DS)
Posted on August 13th, 2012 by
In these two match three style puzzler games, your job is to build Rome (or Persia) by lining up three of the same kinds of shapes to make them disappear. It’s very similar to Bejeweled, but in this one, you finish rounds by breaking tiles underneath by clearing out items in front of them. Once you do that, it’s off to the next round. Use the stylus and touch screen to tap on items and switch them to adjacent ones to line up three in a row.
Reader Review: Death Rally (PC)
Posted on August 12th, 2012 by
If you like top down racers like R.C. Pro-Am or Super Sprint, you might be interested in this. You can now download Death Rally on Steam for PC. It’s an updated version of an older computer game from around the mid-90’s or so. Since my brother Jeff is more of the computer game expert, I let him take a stab at this review.
HueShift (iPad)
Posted on August 10th, 2012 by
HueShift is a cute and basic platform jumping puzzler game downloadable on iPad and iPhone (iPad version reviewed here). Gameplay is simple. You have a selection of three different colored monsters who walk back and forth on their own. Tap the screen to make them jump. Your goal is to make it to the top of the level. On the right side of the screen, tap to switch to one of the three colored monsters. If your monster is not the same color of the platform, the critter will fall (or jump) through it. Skillfully switch monsters to land on the colored platforms and reach the top of the vertically scrolling stages.
Welcome to the New GamerDad!
Posted on August 9th, 2012 by
9 years ago, Father’s Day 2003, GamerDad.com launched to almost immediate critical acclaim. It was a different time. Videogames were still new and just breaking into the mainstream and parents largely looked upon them with suspicion. Back then, the only websites trying to help parents understand games were based on the idea that warning and scaring parents was the way to go – forget about understanding – and the news media seemed only interested in exploiting parental and societal fears. Were games responsible for horrors like the Columbine massacre? Or the equally heinous and shocking copy-cat atrocities that occurred in Paducah Kentucky or Jackson Mississippi? Was digital violence making the world a more dangerous place? Politicians like Hillary Clinton and Joe Liebermann thought so and they were aided and abetted by self-serving lawyers, journalists and nascent bloggers. Most of videogame’s opponents doubtlessly meant well, but they all had one thing in common: The didn’t PLAY games. That’s where I came in.
G.P. the GamerPuppet Unboxes Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance Collector’s Edition for 3DS
Posted on August 8th, 2012 by
Hey there, hi there, ho there, folks! G.P. the GamerPuppet here! Game reviewer Cary recently splurged and got the collector’s edition of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance for 3DS. For 20 bucks extra, you get all sorts of cool stuff. So let’s take a look at what all you get!
3D Solitaire (3DS)
Posted on August 6th, 2012 by
The classic single player card game has entered the third dimension. Now you can play (yet another) version of Solitaire, now available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop.
Dungeon Fighter LIVE: Fall of Hendon Myre (360)
Posted on August 3rd, 2012 by
I’m not really much of a computer gamer, but the online PC game company Nexon has a lineup of titles that I’d be really into if I was. They’ve got 2-D cuteness in Maple Story, old school side scrolling beat ‘em up sensibilities with Dungeon Fighter, Tales-like vibes with Mabinogi, and console style hack and slash with Vindictus. So as a mostly console-only gamer, I was overjoyed when I learned that Dungeon Fighter LIVE was headed to Xbox 360 as a download title!
Carrot Watch (iPad)
Posted on August 2nd, 2012 by
Help a tribe of warrior bunnies defend their stash of carrots from the thieving foxes (but what would foxes want with carrots?) in Carrot Watch, a cartoony tower defense style game for iPhone and iPad. When the game starts, foxes will march from the bottom of the screen to the top, where your pile of carrots is kept. Select from a variety of different bunnies and strategically place them about the level with your finger to whittle down the foxes’ energy and keep them from nabbing your stash. When a fox reaches the top, it’ll take away one of your carrots. Lose all your designated carrots in a level and you’ll have to start that stage over again.
Summer Movies, Assemble!
Posted on August 1st, 2012 by
Well, the last few weeks of summer are winding down, so I thought now would be a good time to take a look at all the summer movies I watched and give my brief impressions on them. Even though I saw a lot of movies, keep in mind that I went to the first early bird showing of each one over a weekend, so I really didn’t pay that much for tickets. I paid even less since I don’t go see movies in 3-D because I’ve been blind in my left eye since birth and can’t see the 3-D effects anyway. And I guess I should do one of those ‘spoiler warning’ things. I’m going to try and NOT spoil too much of these movies for you, but just in case something slips out, you’ve been forewarned. OK with all that out of the way, let’s get started!
