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.
Game Review: Squeeballs Party (Wii, DS)
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Posted on December 20th, 2009 by
Squeeballs are fictional living plush toys (think Madballs from the 80’s only much less disgusting), and they are manufactured and produced on a far off island. Before they can be shipped off to toy stores around the world, Squeeballs must go through some rigorous testing. In Squeeballs Party (Wii version reviewed here), YOU are the tester and must toss, squish, and splat these little guys in this mini-game collection for the Wii and DS.
What Games to Return Your Games For!
Posted on December 19th, 2009 by
What does a consumer advocate do when he realizes that he’s failed to provide an annual holiday guide for parents? He can pretend it didn’t happen and simply put the list up and, y’know, tell everyone that the list HAS been up and that they just didn’t know it. Well. That happens to be true but the magazine in question hasn’t put it online yet. I’ve asked and been allowed to make a version for you as well. Here it is, under the guise of the above title!
Game Review: Gratuitous Space Battles (PC)
Posted on December 17th, 2009 by
The name says it all. This is a quality budget title that takes an idea and breaks it down into its core gameplay, making that gameplay all it can be. You’re presented with a battle against an alien fleet. Given limited resources (basically cash and a number of pilots), put together a fleet of ships to challenge the aliens. Once you’ve assembled your fleet and given them the barest of strategy advice, hit the play button, sit back, and watch the battle unfold in all its glory. Don’t look for any plot here, Gratuitous Space Battles is a fun little diversion for anyone who likes smashing things together to see how they hold up.
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Video Game Christmas Ornaments!
Posted on December 16th, 2009 by
Last year around the holidays I reviewed Hallmark’s Pac-Man Christmas ornament. They made it to look like an original upright arcade cabinet, and it had lights and sounds from the game! This year I found even more video game themed Christmas ornaments, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found with you all, too!
Guest Review: Chaotic: Shadow Warriors (PS3)
Posted on December 15th, 2009 by
Chaotic: Shadow Warriors is a popular trading card game and TV cartoon show, and now it’s a video game for all the major consoles (PS3 version reviewed here). For this review, though, I enlisted the help of kid Chaotic expert James Young to write the majority of the review. Read on for his take on the game:
Game Review: LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Wii, 360, PS3, PS2)
Posted on December 14th, 2009 by
Unlike Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, where chocolate and peanut butter go great together, video games and popular movie franchises rarely combine to make something good. Perhaps it is the addition of one more ingredient, LEGOs, but the LEGO series of video games based off of Star Wars, Batman, and Indiana Jones continue to prove popular both with gamers and critics. The newest release is a revisit to Indiana Jones. While it might not be the best game of the series so far, it is more than enough of a game to recommend highly for fans of exploration games with enough puzzles to interest older gamers and gameplay safe enough for anyone in your family.
B.O.S.S. Controller (Wii)
Posted on December 12th, 2009 by
The Wii certainly has its share of useless ‘shells’ for the Wii remote: tennis rackets and golf clubs for Wii Sports, and “Cooking Mother” (oh puh-lease) spatula and frying pan attachments for Cooking Mama. Now, finally, there’s a shell that’s actually fairly useful with the B.O.S.S Controller from Performance Designed Products (PDP).
Game Review: Tales of Monkey Island: Episode 5: Rise of the Pirate God (PC, WiiWare)
Posted on December 10th, 2009 by
In the final episode of Tales of Monkey Island, Guybrush Threepwood: Mighty Pirate™ has just been killed by his arch-nemesis, the zombie pirate LeChuck. Now it’s up to ghost Guybrush to figure out how to escape from the spirit realm and defeat LeChuck once and for all in this epic conclusion to TellTale’s point and click adventure series.
Nintendo DS RPGs: Two Too New To Ignore
Posted on December 9th, 2009 by
I’ve been playing two different role playing games on my Nintendo DS lately. Both Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky are solid titles that have the basic explore, search, and grow mechanic that tends to draw me in to RPGs. While they both have a sort of Nintendo-esque take on life (no horror or graphic violence here) each one plays out distinctly differently. While the new Mario & Luigi title has a sort of puzzle/platform mixed into the game, the Mystery Dungeon title might be best described as a Pokemon adventure without having to capture any Pokemon.
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Go Shiina, Go!
Posted on December 7th, 2009 by
Last week, another Web site put up an article about my favorite video game music composer, Go Shiina. But what caught my eye was a comment posted under the article from one of my good online friends. He said in his comment that the other site should’ve paid me to write about Go Shiina because I would’ve done a really good job, too. So I decided to write about Go Shiina anyway. Not because I wanted to make a better blog, but because someone ENCOURAGED me to do so.
