I’m still just getting started with Mario Kart 7 really, but I had such a strong reaction to the game I wanted to share my first impressions. Like many, I imagine, I’m a long term Mario Kart fan who has …
Continue ReadingAs the new Skylanders characters start to hit retail, and the mysterious limited edition silver Skylanders start cropping up, Family Gamer TV takes some time to see what makes this game different and how well that works for one of our gaming moms. A big question for Vanessa on the show is whether you need […]
Continue ReadingAfter the popularity of our Skylanders card stats, I started collecting together the in-game starting stats for each Skylander Character. These are the figures that actually determine how each toy performs in the game. It has been interesting to see …
Continue ReadingWe’ve said previously that Super Mario 3D Land is a platforming revolution and a system seller for the 3DS. I wanted to put this to the test with a real family. So this week I took Family Gamer TV to …
Continue ReadingA new game makes the Disneyland park an open world you can fly through, and the Kinect a must-have family-gaming accessory.
Continue ReadingThe Family Gamer Awards have been bubbling away for quite a few years now. This year the homepage has had a mini-makeover so that you can see all the past winners. Browsing the list makes for some interesting reading, and …
Continue ReadingSkylanders Spyro’s Adventure figure statistics and availability are perfectly poised to create the collectors dream: the “must have” and “hard to find” status that creates the thrill of the hunt. In an effort to get the jump on the holiday …
Continue ReadingFamily Gamer TV talks Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster with Tim, before getting stuck into Forza 4 head tracking. I round this off with my videogame advice for infant games (3-5yrs). If you’ve missed our previous FGTV shows you …
Continue ReadingI’ve been playing Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure quite a bit the last few days (both in videogame and Skylanders Chess form). But it wasn’t until today that I realized the stats published on the official Skylanders site were only for the …
Continue ReadingWhat’s your gaming tribe? A new study uncovers a new way to look at gamers and gaming. Surveys and studies can be tailored to prove pretty much anything. However, sometimes a well researched piece of work undeniably underlines reality. A …
Continue ReadingI’m not sure if my kids were inspired by me telling them about another GeekDad’s daughter reinventing chess, but they have set about doing the same with their growing set of Skylanders figures. It came about at the end of …
Continue ReadingThis week we meet new family on Family Gamer TV. Tobi, Mary and their three kids have never owned a videogame console. As the sun sets on our San Francisco trip Tobi talks about playing Limbo, Flower and Skylanders: Spyro’s …
Continue ReadingNow that Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure is out the big debate is which characters are the best to collect. My family each has a different approach to this. The kids want the ones that have the best weapons, I’m after a …
Continue ReadingWhile hunting through the release lists for my Hot 3DS Christmas Games, I stumbled upon quite a few interesting Kinect games. These titles are being called Kinect’s second wave because they each extend the use of the controller in some …
Continue ReadingWith Christmas approaching, video game publishers are starting to jostle for position. This is particularly true for the Nintendo 3DS, whose holiday season will be make or break.
Continue ReadingA problem of having three gesture control systems (Kinect, Move and MotionPlus) is the temptation for developers to deliver a one-size-fits-all approach to their games. I have talked at length previously about how Virtua Tennis 4 suffers from this syndrome …
Continue ReadingFamily Gamer TV takes you into the homes of families starting to play video games. Be a fly on the wall with us as Tim and Vanessa’s continue their journey with Kinect. We also take the chance to talk about …
Continue ReadingI’ve always enjoyed how the Wii has got more people playing games in our family. Not just because they are engaging with my hobby, but because I hope that as they grow up we will continue to share this, rather …
Continue ReadingDead Island may have turned out to be a middle-tier game, but I’ve enjoyed the hoopla and conversations that it’s inspired. In case you missed it, this is the game that came to fame through a CGI trailer depicting a …
Continue ReadingAge ratings are more complicated than they first appear, especially if you are a parent who is new to gaming. With more games crossing over from casual to hardcore it’s more important to understand how to read a videogame box …
Continue ReadingThe challenge for those of us who want to play games with our families is to encourage them to play without making them feel pressured. It can take a long time, but this approach is, in my experience, much more …
Continue ReadingGeekDad presents the first episode of its new video game web series for families: Family Gamer TV. Each episode will premiere exclusively on GeekDad every other Friday. Here’s how it came to be: Family Gamer TV (FGTV) has been a …
Continue ReadingI have fond memories of playing the first Sim City on the Amiga in the early 90′s, but until recently I hadn’t found a game that offered a similar experience for my kids. There were plenty of simulation titles out …
Continue ReadingIt depends on your musical taste where you first cut your audio teeth. For me it’s Kerrang magazine that brings back many happy days growing up listening to (and reading about) great rock music. It was with some excitement then …
Continue ReadingNow the E3 dust has settled I’ve had some time to pick through the remains and see what was most exciting from a family gaming perspective. First off I thought I’d look at the Kinect games that really stood out …
Continue ReadingLeedmees Kinect uses your body to guide its hapless tiny travelers home. While this full-body iteration of Lemmings-meets-Twister is perfectly pitched and well executed, the real excitement is the theater it creates in your living room. Having been roundly impressed …
Continue ReadingI enjoying listening to podcasts of all sorts. Although I’m a more mature (older?) gamer I actually still get a lot out of the fan-focused shows like Giant Bomb and Joystiq. However, I have been noticing that there aren’t many …
Continue ReadingPerhaps the best way to compare different technologies is see how they are used to solve a common problem. With this in mind I paid extra attention to the different opinions of Michael Jackson: The Experience that had been contributed …
Continue ReadingI’ve grabbed all the chances I could over the last few months to try out Nintendo’s latest handheld console, the 3DS. But I knew having a few minutes on a device tethered to a PR representative or in a crowded …
Continue ReadingIt’s not very often that I am moved to write something just an hour or so after seeing or playing it. However, the Dead Island trailer caused such a personal reaction, I wanted to post it right away. There have …
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