Wow, GamerDad has been around for 10 years? That's pretty impressive. I'm digging Project X Zone. It's the first RPG I've bought in at least 13 years.
GamerDad.com 10th Anniversary Reviews!
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 On 06/28/2013 at 04:53 AM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
Guess what? This June marks the 10th Anniversary of the GamerDad.com site! It’s been around in some form or fashion ever since Father’s Day of 2003! I wasn’t there at the beginning, but I came on shortly thereafter. A month or so after it started, a classic gaming Web site I used to visit posted a link to an article about Space Invaders that was on GamerDad.com. I really liked the site and thought it matched my tastes in games. Plus, in college one of my magazine projects was a mock magazine about technology and games for kids, and when I got out of college I was supposed to start writing for a game site for kids called Zgadz (which went under after the dot com bubble burst). So I thought the GamerDad site would be a good fit for me to write for (after I was let go from The Dallas Morning News a year earlier), and I think I had my first review there in September of 2003. So to celebrate the site’s 10th Anniversary, here are some more game reviews I’ve written there lately. Please click and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a comment or two! Thanks a bunch!
G.P. the GamerPuppet Unboxes Project X-Zone: Limited Edition for 3DS
I recently got the Limited Edition of Project X-Zone and had my GamerPuppet unbox it. I’ve always wanted to do game review videos, and have them be hosted by puppets instead of people (just to be different), but I lack the time, money, and knowhow. But at least I can take pictures! In the coming weeks, I plan to write blogs about the Namco, Capcom, and SEGA characters in Project X-Zone, so be on the lookout for those. Can you guess who my favorite characters are?
3DS StreetPass Meetup in the North Dallas/Plano, TX Area!
Just a quick announcement about a StreetPass meetup this Saturday for the North Dallas/Plano, TX area. Hopefully it won’t be cancelled, as I plan to be there with Animal Crossing: New Leaf in tow.
It’s a match three puzzle game, similar to Bejeweled or Puzzle Quest, except this one features pirates. Ron Gilbert helped make it, so that explains the humor. Gilbert also worked on LucasFilm’s old point and click adventures like Maniac Mansion and some of the Monkey Island games. Definitely worth checking out if you have an iPhone or iPad.
Reader Review: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (360)
This standalone downloadable game has nothing to do with FarCry, but it does have the same kinds of gameplay mechanics. Blood Dragon takes every aspect of cheesy 80’s action movies and blends them together with lots of humor and neon colors and music that sounds like it came from the first TRON movie. It seemed right up brother Jeff’s alley, so I had him do the review of it.
I dubbed this past week “free game week” on GamerDad, and talked about four ‘free-to-play’ games you can download. In Jane Wilde you play as a busty cowgirl sheriff as you shoot and kick zombies in this basic side-scrolling action game. While I do like the fact that it stars a strong female lead, the game really isn’t that fun or fair, as if zombies gang up on you, you’re toast.
Out of all the free-to-play games I featured, this one is the most fun of all of them. A mischievous dog has knocked a toy sheep into a pile of cardboard boxes, and you must help the sheep to get out of the stack. The game reminds me of Kirby’s Tilt N Tumble, as you tilt the iPad around to help the sheep maneuver around obstacles. But instead of rolling, the toy sheep bounces around. It’s really fun, and the game doesn’t make you feel like you need to pay extra to enjoy playing.
This fitness video app says it’s free to play, but after you download it they give you different exercise programs that you have to pay for. Even the only free one makes you upgrade with payment after a week! So it’s really misleading. Lot of good ideas about it, but I think a gym membership would be more effective. That’s what I do, anyway.
A few years ago, Doritos and Microsoft teamed up to bring us a free-to-play Xbox LIVE game that was similar to obstacle course game shows like WipeOut. Now they have a sequel, which is vastly improved over the first game. But it’s not exactly free to play anymore as you must use coins bought with MS Points to unlock more levels. It’s a shame, too, since it’s so much better than the first game. Oh well. The lesson here is that free-to-play games are not always truly free.
Resident Evil: Revelations Official Strategy Guide (Book)
I reviewed a couple of strategy guides lately. Not really interested in Resident Evil, but I do think Jill Valentine is cool for no reason in particular. I call her Jill Sandwich. It’s a good thing that video game characters aren’t real, because she’d be really mad if she knew I called her that!
Remember Me Strategy Guide (Book)
After reviewing this guide, I have to say that while Remember Me’s gameplay probably isn’t my cup of tea, it looks like a pretty interesting game anyway.
This brawler tries to imitate side scrolling beat ‘em ups, except here you use swipes on the touch screen to pull off combos. A lot of times you can just swish your finger around the screen wildly to get by. It’s not a bad game, but not super good either. Although one of the characters you can play as is a pretty cool tough female fighter.
You know how in some Zelda dungeon puzzles, you have to push ice blocks around, but you can’t stop them once you push them, so you have to really plan your moves? Well that’s what this iPad puzzler reminds me of. It’s really good, though, so if you like puzzle games, I’d recommend downloading it.
Last Minute Father’s Day Gamer Gift Idea: Super Mario Duct Tape!
And finally, I found some Super Mario duct tape at the store and just had to take pictures and write about it. You’ll just have to click on the link to see it and believe it!
And that’s all for now. Hopefully the GamerDad site will be around another ten years! Thanks for reading. Next week on my blog, we’ll first take a look at the mini-games in Game & Wario. And later after that, it’ll be time for my “Cary’s Best Video Games of the Year 2013 SO FAR Awards Show!” So stay tuned! Later!
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