Hi there and welcome to GAMEparents, the website that helps you make the right decisions about computers and computer games. If this is your first visit, we recommend you read through the "What We're About" section by clicking here.
After that if you want to get a head start on finding out about computer and video games we would suggest the following:
Learning is the Game - an article that exposes the positive aspects of video games and there are more than you might think! Click here
Everything Bad is Good For You - A review of the book by Steven Johnson that reveals how popular culture (including video games) may actually be benefiting our education not demeaning it. Click here
Computer Game Genres - Ever wondered what the different types of video games are? Wonder no longer. Click here
Finally, here are several other sites we highly recommend depending on where you are.
GamerDad is a great resource for American parents who are gamers too. You’ll find GamerDad at www.gamerdad.com.
GameParents.de - this new site was launched recently in Germany. www.gameparents.de has the same mission as us – to educate its visitors and members about video gaming and is well worth the visit for German speakers.
Podcast Series - Episode 12 - Five Kid's Games in Five Minutes
Woohoo - I forced everything else out of my life for 10 minutes and sat down and recorded this short episode to cover off some of the better and appealing games for kids that I’ve received over the past few weeks. We’ve got EyePet, It’s My Birthday, The Backyardigans, Motorstorm Arctic Edge and Gran Turismo PSP, each game covered off in a minute. Check it out.
00:20 - The Backyardigans (NDS) - SCORE 8/10 for preschoolers, 2/10 for everyone else due to simplicity
01:15 - Motorstorm Arctic Edge (PSP) - SCORE 9
02:10 - Gran Turismo PSP (PSP) - SCORE 7
03:20 - EyePet (PS3) - SCORE 10 for kids, 8.5 for adults
04:25 - It's My Birthday (Wii) - SCORE 7 for kids (+0.5 if it's their birthday), 4 for adults
NOTE: Just a point of clarity - these are five games accessible to all ages. By the title I do not mean that they were ONLY for kids, just that kids could definitely play them.
Podcast Series - Episode 11 - Time for a new experience
Awesome - the new dashboard update came for the Xbox 360 console this week and brought with it a few surprises as well as the expected additions such as Avatar Marketplace and Games on Demand. Check out this short 10 minute ‘cast I’ve recorded to talk about these features along with the noticeable speed improvement and other niceties.
I also talk briefly about Splosion Man and give it a 9/10 for fun for all ages.
Podcast Series - Episode 10 - Red Faction Guerrilla
I love it when quality games come in bunches. This time around we got our hands on Red Faction: Guerrilla on Xbox 360 (yes, it’s multi-platform - this is just the version we got). Want some wanton destruction? Look no further than Red Faction: Guerrilla - you will NOT be disappointed.
After some downtime due to a loss of equipment, I’m back with a new episode of the gaming podcast. This time we take a look at inFAMOUS, a PS3 exclusive released the week before E3 in the US. This game simply rocks so take a listen.
A QUICKSHOT this episode - just a single game to cover this time around - Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm on PS3. To score this game properly, we brought two Naruto experts into the discussion - Jacob and his best mate Nick.
So we’re back after the Christmas/New Year break and JakeYugi is now looking forward to high school… man, he’s growing up fast. Anyhow, this week we thought we’d revisit the music genre and get through all the remaining music and rhythm titles we didn’t hit last year.
We’ve got LIPS, Rock Revolution, SIngStar Vol 3, Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3 and Disney Sing It! (Camp Rock Edition) and a quick recap of Guitar Hero: World Tour.
So this week was interesting. We decided to try to keep the podcast much shorter - a couple of minutes per game and only five games, but while that was a great intention, Jacob really started showing confidence in speaking and made some great comments during the podcast. As a result of that and us just being more relaxed, the original take ended up being 45 minutes long. I find it easy to listen to, but after twittering about it, we made the decision to re-record the podcast and try to keep it down.
This is the result of that second attempt - sub-20 minutes. Personally, I feel that we left out a lot of detail and felt a bit cramped, so we're now looking at doing even less games next time - maybe just one or two each episode. It's a toughy because while it's important to listen to your audience, I also don't want to hamper Jacob as he becomes more confident in speaking publicly, and I think his conversation flowed more naturally in the longer episode.
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