GamerDad and family 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.
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Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 13: Top Five Favorite 2-D Platformers

My brother Nathan wanted to record a podcast with me on our favorite 3-D platformers, so before I do that, I wanted to talk about my favorite 2-D platformers, so that’s just what my other brother Jeff and I did in this episode of The Pizza Pixel Podcast.  Please click on the link and give it a listen if you can.  Thanks.

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Panda Punch (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)

A red panda’s home is rampaged by robots, but he escapes.  Unfortunately, his arm is wounded, but his father is a mechanic red panda and fashions his son a mechanical arm.  Now with a powerful metal punching fist, the red panda sets off to pummel the robots in this 2-D platformer.  Panda Punch is available on all current game consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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Wings of Bluestar (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)

This is a story driven 2-D horizontally scrolling shooter.  It features hand drawn looking graphics and tried and true gameplay.  It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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Cary is Looking Forward in 2023

Happy New Year!  Around this time of year, I like to make a list of games that are releasing in the coming year that I’m looking forward to.  Of course, this isn’t a full complete list, as there will assuredly be titles announced throughout the year that I may get as well. Heck, last year we didn’t know about Pac-Man World: Re-Pac until late summer, and that ended up being my Game of the Year in 2022!  But anyway, here’s what I know now, for the most part, so let’s take a look at what games I’m looking forward to in 2023!

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Epic Encounters (Tabletop RPG)

Tabletop role playing is at an all time high, as one can see by the major kerfuffle over the Dungeons and Dragons brand last month. (The publisher was going to restrict 3rd party content creators but then had to backtrack due to fierce protest.) Where there are players, there are opportunities to jazz up one’s game. The folks over at Steamforged Games decided to use their experience in producing miniatures-heavy boardgames and apply it to the tabletop role playing experience. The result is Epic Encounters, a line of ready-to-play encounters containing everything needed for a great in-person gaming experience. Each box contains figurines, a double-sided fold-out map, and a booklet that gives suggestions for setting up and running the encounter.  

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Buddy Simulator 1984 (Switch, PC)

When I was a kid back in the early 80s, our first computer was an Apple ][+.  It was really my first gaming ‘console’ and I played a lot of games on it.  Most were arcade titles like Pac-Man, Zaxxon, and Frogger, but there were also some original ones like Spare Change and Aquatron.  But the way you started these games was totally different than how you do it now.  Back then you had to enter a floppy disk in and type in some text like ‘run’ and then whatever game you wanted to play.  Some of these games were just text only, too.  And some of those text only games simulated you having a conversation with a person.  I remember one called “Freud” where it was like you were talking to a psychiatrist.  But the main thing I remember about that game was the blocky face of a bearded man.  Another one I remember later was called “Alice.”  Well Buddy Simulator 1984 aims to recreate the feel of those games, while adding in some unsettling AI horror elements as well.  It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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Trifox (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)

A band of nasty animal pirates have ransacked a fox’s home and stolen his remote control.  But luckily this is one clever fox and must use skills from a warrior, mage, and engineer to take back his stuff!  Mix and match various abilities to defeat enemies, bypass obstacles, and solve puzzles in this 3-D adventure.  It also has a bit of a retro vibe as it feels like something that would’ve been on the PS2.  Trifox is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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Cary’s Best Games of 2022 Awards Show!

It’s the end of the year so you know what that means?  It’s time for my “Best Games of 2022 Awards Show!”  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

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Papetura (Switch, PC)

In a world made entirely out of paper, a shadowy being enters with the power of fire.  That’s pretty dangerous in a world like this, so it’s up to a living sheet of paper and his weird friends to stop the shadow presence and save the day.  Papetura is a 2-D puzzle adventure game where everything was made from paper in real life, then scanned into the game so it’s very artistic.  It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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Arctictopia (Switch, PC, Mobile)

A mama polar bear and her cub are exploring the ice, but it starts to melt and break up and separates them!  Help the mama polar bear reach her cub by hopping on constantly melting icebergs in this very “chill” puzzle platformer.  It’s available on Switch, PC, and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch here.

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