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.
F-Zero 99 (Switch)
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Posted on November 3rd, 2023 by
Nintendo’s futuristic high speed racing series: F-Zero, hasn’t had a new game in nearly two decades! Until now. F-Zero 99 is a 99 player battle royale racing game modelled after the original SNES launch title. I’m not sure that’s exactly what F-Zero fans wanted, but for a Nintendo Switch Online freebie, it’s not too bad.
Betomis (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on November 1st, 2023 by
Help a knight escape a dungeon in Betomis, a 2D single screen precision platformer. Collect keys to open doors, weapons to defeat enemies, and avoid obstacles along the way in this game that’s available for all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Shark! Shark! (Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on October 30th, 2023 by
I never had an Intellivision game console as a kid, but my cousins had one. Only thing I really remember playing on theirs was Frog Bog, which I enjoyed very much. Many years later, another Intellivision game I enjoyed on one of the PlayStation game collections was Shark! Shark! In that game, you are a small fish and must eat enough fish to grow so you can eat even bigger fish. Just watch out for that shark! It was very similar to a popular PopCap game called Feeding Frenzy, too. And now you can play a reimagined version of Shark! Shark! on some modern game consoles and PC (reviewed on Switch here).
Welcome to the Ace Angler Aquarium and Arcade Amusement Park!
Posted on October 27th, 2023 by
There’s a fishing game in Japan by Namco called Ace Angler, and you view the screen horizontally to the ground like you’re looking into a fishing pond. It’s pretty popular, and I think I even played it once at Round 1 arcade here in the US, or at least an imitation of it. And now you can play a home version of the arcade game on the Switch with Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits. It was available digitally in the US last year, but I imported a physical copy of it because I’m a freak about stuff like that. But the game is entirely in English so there’s no language barrier here. I asked for it for Christmas, but since imports can sometimes take a while, I actually didn’t get it until around Easter this past year. And I finally got around to playing it recently. The cool thing about the Switch game is that they made the arcade game like it has its own amusement park and aquarium. So it’s like a cross between a Namco Museum game (albeit for only one arcade game) and Animal Crossing. You even create your own avatar that looks like something out of Animal Crossing, and since I like the aquariums in those games, as well as Namco Museums in general, this game really ticked off a lot of boxes for me! The game says it’s Ace Angler’s 10th anniversary, which I didn’t realize it had been around that long! But anyway, let me take you on a tour guide through the Ace Angler Aquarium and Arcade Amusement Park found in the Switch Fishing Spirits game!
Rune Factory 3 Special (Switch, PC)
Posted on October 25th, 2023 by
I reviewed the original Rune Factory 3 WAY back on the Nintendo DS around 13 years ago! (Yeah I’m old) Now you can play it again on Switch and PC (reviewed on Switch here) with enhanced graphics and new gameplay modes. The Rune Factory series combines the farming simulation of a Harvest Moon or Story of Seasons game, but also lets you fight monsters in fields and dungeons in real time action based battles.
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4: Bush Rescue Returns (Switch, PC)
Posted on October 23rd, 2023 by
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, 3D platformer mascot characters were all the rage. One such character was Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. And just like his extinct animal counterpart, Ty hasn’t been heard from in a long time. Until now. Originally released on PC ten years ago, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4: Bush Rescue Returns has been remade on Switch. And surprisingly, it’s a 2D platformer, not a 3D one! It may be to celebrate the game’s 10th anniversary, or the whole series 20th anniversary. Help Ty and his Bush Rescue animal friends in Australia save the day as he runs, jumps, and uses his boomerangs to attack. Interestingly enough, the makers of this game, Krome Studios, are also based in Australia. They also made Game Room, which I played a lot back on the Xbox 360.
Pokémon Sleep (Mobile)
Posted on October 20th, 2023 by
There are many Pokémon games out there, but the strangest ones are usually on mobile devices. We’ve gotten the Pokémon teeth brushing app with Pokémon Smile, and Magikarp Jump!, a game starring the most useless Pokémon of all! And now you can track your sleeping habits with the Pokémon Sleep app. I liked how this game featured Snorlax, as that’s my favorite Pokémon. But you’ll just how to read on to find out how this app works!
Sprout Valley (Switch, PC)
Posted on October 18th, 2023 by
Nico is a cat who has moved out to a remote island to start a new peaceful country life. Help Nico plant crops and harvest them, as well as ship goods, gather materials, and craft them into new things in this simplistic retro pixel farming sim. Sprout Valley is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Rayland 2 (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on October 16th, 2023 by
In this sequel to last year’s puzzler, you’ll do more of the same reflecting lasers with mirror blocks so they hit certain targets. The sequel just gets tougher quicker and adds new elements like colored lasers and such. Rayland 2 is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
I Guest Starred on Some Friends’ Podcast!
Posted on October 13th, 2023 by
I have some friends that I’ve known and talked to on the Internet and in person for a long time. Like, since college, which was about 25 years ago! They have a podcast about cartoons now, and when they talked about the Pac-Man cartoon from the 80s, they had me be on the show with them! I am the biggest Pac-Man fan out there so why wouldn’t they? But seriously, it was an honor to be on the show with them and meant a lot to me that they included me and I was very thankful. So please give it a listen and let me know if you have any questions.
