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.
Gravitators (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S)
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Posted on September 9th, 2024 by
Gravitators is a twin stick shooter where you pilot a variety of ships as you blast enemies, navigate tricky mazes, pick up objects, and solve puzzles. It’s available on current PlayStation and Xbox consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.
Minecraft Fruit Snacks and…deodorant?!?
Posted on September 6th, 2024 by
Minecraft is one of the most popular video games ever made. I don’t want to say it’s more popular than my favorite game Pac-Man, but the yellow ghost chomper never had fruit snacks or deodorant! Yeah I saw Minecraft fruit snacks and deodorant at Wal-Mart a while back, so here’s some pictures and things. I try to stay away from Minecraft myself. It looks fun, but I don’t want to get addicted to it! Even if that Pac-Man DLC is tempting!
Tiny Pixels vol. 1: Ninpo Blast (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on September 4th, 2024 by
You are a ninja riding a hoverbike shooting stars and knives at bugs and other weird critters in Ninpo Blast. It’s a super simple vertically scrolling shooter and is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Cattie (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on September 2nd, 2024 by
Help a cat make it to the exit in this challenging 2D precision platformer. It features retro black and white graphics that remind me of the games I used to play on my Apple ][+. Catie is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
The Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 22: Favorite Adult Cartoons
Posted on August 30th, 2024 by
On this episode of The Pizza Pixel Podcast, my brother Jeff and I talk about our favorite cartoons with more adult humor and themes. Most of the time our podcasts are fairly family friendly, and this one is, too. But we do talk about some cartoons that younger kids may not be ready for yet, so just keep that in mind if you listen to this podcast with your kids. But it’s still mostly family friendly. Please click on the link below and give it a listen if you can. I’d really appreciate it. There’s a short little secret song at the end, too!
Aero the Acro-Bat (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on August 28th, 2024 by
Back in the early to mid 90s, 2D platformers starring a cartoony animal mascot with attitude were all the rage, thanks to the popularity of Sonic the Hedgehog. One of the more prolific ones was Aero the Acro-Bat. His game got a sequel, a spinoff starring one of the antagonists (Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel), and an enhanced port of the first game on Game Boy Advance many years later. I actually rented the first one back in the day, and I honestly didn’t like it that much. I didn’t remember much about it except the goals were a bit unclear. But at the time, I was getting pretty tired of all those mascot platformers (I didn’t even like a lot of the Sonic games), and I really only got back into those kinds of games once Klonoa came around on the PlayStation. Plus at the time I was more into 16-bit RPGs (it’s kind of the opposite now). But I’m willing to give Aero the Acro-Bat a second chance, because now you can play it on all modern consoles (reviewed on PS4 here). I think this is the Super Nintendo version because of the Mode 7 bonus stages. The cool thing is that later this year, we’ll be able to play the other games in the series on modern consoles, too!
EvoMon (Switch)
Posted on August 26th, 2024 by
Way back in the 90s when I wrote game reviews for The Dallas Morning News, I got to see first hand how Nintendo was going to market Pokémon in the US, and I knew it would be big. So I called my editor and requested that I cover anything Pokémon related, and for a few years he kept that promise. I like to say that Pokémon helped pay my way through college. Anyway, not only did I get to review and cover everything Pokémon related, but also any rip-offs and copies riding the coattails of its popularity. This included things like DigiMon, Monster Rancher, etc. EvoMon on Nintendo Switch reminds me of some of those knock-offs, and it even looks and feels like something that would’ve been on the Game Boy Color or NEO GEO Pocket Color, two handhelds out at the time! In EvoMon, you’ll play mini-games to train and evolve your monsters so they can battle others and you can win badges!
Sonic Sno Cones and Spoons at Bahama Buck’s
Posted on August 23rd, 2024 by
Sonic the Hedgehog is really getting around at eating establishments this year! First it was IHOP, now Bahama Buck’s, a snow cone place. A while back, my mom and stepdad came out to visit, and when they left, they stopped by Bahama Buck’s on the way out. I didn’t go with them because I don’t like snow cones. Too syrupy sweet for me. Anyway, it’s too bad I didn’t go because they had a Sonic promotion at the time. Luckily they took pictures for me and got everything they could, so here’s some pictures and info and things. I’m not sure if the promotion is still going on as of this writing (probably not), as it’s hard to keep up with these things.
Music Box (Switch)
Posted on August 21st, 2024 by
Compose your own drum licks on the Nintendo Switch with Music Box. Yup, that’s it.
Retro Revengers (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on August 19th, 2024 by
I really don’t keep up with the game streaming business, but apparently it’s very popular. Some streamers even have their own characters and products and stuff. Such is the case with a group of streamers in Japan that I’ve never heard of, but now they have their own game with Retro Revengers. Play as the characters from the streaming videos in a retro styled 2D platformer. But really what sold me on this game was that the music was done by the same composer who did the tunes for Mega Man and Shovel Knight (the music isn’t as good here, but you can tell that’s who did it at least). Anyway, Retro Revengers is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
