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: Lego Battles (DS)
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Posted on September 4th, 2009 by
Nearly every child has whiled away some time playing with those ubiquitous building blocks, Legos. Whether through luck or planning, Lego has managed to also make a name for itself in the video game market, with dual licensed games such as Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman that are fun to play by kids and parents alike. Striking off on their own, Lego has entered the real-time strategy market with the Nintendo DS title, Lego Battles. It has much of the expected Lego charm and is a solid title, but due to its appeal to the younger set, it will not appeal to the typical hardcore real-time strategy gamer.
Doldrums – What are you Playing?
Posted on September 3rd, 2009 by
I’ve finished Batman and slated it for another playthrough (a rear thing for me) on Hard, sometime in the future. Beatles Rock Band is due in these parts today or tomorrow, but other than that I’m kind of at a loss game-wise. Wolfenstein lost my interest due to generic gameplay and poor pacing sometime back and I decided that Battlefield 1943 (an awesome download) just wasn’t fun using a console controller. What I really mean to say here is that back in the PC BF1942 I was a deadshot on Wake Island – on the 360 I wonder how the heck people can hit me so consistently. Of course, the coming PC version might just prove I’ve totally lost my touch. A real possibility at 38. So, what to play?
State of the Heart – 2 years Ago
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 by
Two years ago today I felt a little off. I did some gardening, kissed my kids as they went to a sleepover at a friends house and had a nice dinner with my wife. I started feeling a little chest pain – right side, like heart burn or a stomach ailment – but otherwise okay. Linda went to bed, I went to play video games, for the life of me I can’t remember what game it was. After an hour or so I woke Linda up, the pain was worse, but it still felt stomach related so she authorized me a second pill (Prilosec) and went back to sleep. I took a shower to help defer the discomfort and went back downstairs where – unbelievably to me now – I had a cigarette.
Blizzcon ’09 – Gaming with Children style
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 by
Blizzcon, the annual festival of all things Blizzard (World of Warcraft, Diablo, etc…) was recently held in Southern California. Rather than send some boring old grown-up to do the reporting, Gaming With Children went an entirely other direction – we sent a boy (and his mom). Since they’re both avid World of Warcraft players, it seemed a natural fit. Here’s his report!
Hi, I’m Aiden. On Friday, August 21, 2009, I was given the opportunity to go to Blizzcon as a reporter, thanks to the great guys at Gaming With Children. It was amazing! It was so big that the $175 tickets sold out in about a minute. If you weren’t in the queue to buy a ticket in the first thirty-seconds after they were available to the public, you didn’t get a ticket. However, I got to go for free as a Gaming with Children reporter! Blizzcon was held in four halls of the Anaheim Convention Center. Each hall had a different focus: World of Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, and the Performance hall.
A PAX Approaches
Posted on September 1st, 2009 by
Well this will be my last blog until after I get back from PAX. When I’ve gone to video game conventions in the past, I usually would bring my dad with me because he could help me get around since I’m blind in my left eye, and plus I just like doing things with my family. This year I’m doing something a little different. I’m bringing little brother Jeff and my mom along. I’m glad that I can afford to take them on a vacation at this point in my life. I’ve never been able to do that before, and I might not have that chance again.
Game Review: Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward (DS)
Posted on September 1st, 2009 by
Today’s video games let you imagine yourself as any type of occupation, and not just a hardened mercenary or princess rescuing plumber. In some games you can be a doctor, a chef, even a lawyer. But in Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward, as a male or female nurse, it’s your job to guide patients to the doctor, then a bed, get the appropriate medicine, and send them on their way when they’re all better and happy.
GamerDad vs. Batman
Posted on August 31st, 2009 by
In a previous article I stated that I was surprised the ESRB chose to give Batman a T – given that there are several only-slightly-more offensive titles stuck with the dreaded M-Rating. What I decided is that I could live with it and that parents, especially if they let their kids watch Batman Scary Guy & Irish al Ghul and its sequel The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger is Disturbing then Arkham Asylum is only going to give them a handful of delightful hours of shocks, thrills, chills and terrific acting both in terms of voice (most of the Batman: The Cartoon is Better than the Movies!) and writing (from the Animated Show’s creator) I’ve finished the game on Normal, planning on replaying it on hard, and was wondering – hoping – praying to meet a few more of my favorite Gotham people in future installments.
The Characters of Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)
Posted on August 29th, 2009 by
Dissidia: Final Fantasy is a crossover fighting game featuring the main heroes and villains from the first ten Final Fantasy titles. It’s easily one of the best games on the PSP right now, alongside my other favorites such as Loco Roco and Mega Man: Powered Up. With original fighting gameplay mechanics and TONS of things to do, Square Enix has really made it their own and separates it from being another tired fanservice crossover game. The best part of the game is all the memorable characters you can play as, each one plays different. So we’ll take a look at each character in this blog.
Batman Arkham Asylum is Rated T?
Posted on August 28th, 2009 by
The new Batman game is brutal, violent, terrifying, brave, bold, outrageous “… so serious”, and very adult. It features bone-crunching violence, the constant threat of brutal murder and worse. It’s about as “extreme” a game as I’ve ever played and I actually spent a good 25% of the game actively trying to figure out why the ESRB – in all its wisdom – would give this game a T-Teen. Was it just because the game is based on a comic book? Because the famously brutal recent films are rated PG-13? Then, wham, bam, like a batarang to the kisser I figured it out . . .
Game Review: Pirates: Duels on the High Seas (DS)
Posted on August 28th, 2009 by
Yarrr! Hoist the anchor, walk the plank, swab the poop deck, flibber the gibbets, and all that other piratey talk! Pirates: Duels on the High Seas for the Nintendo DS is an arcadey pirate ship naval battle simulator with fast action and simple to understand controls.
