Gamer Mom

Busy shopping days are just around the corner

November 20, 2009 · 2 Comments

I have been bombarded with people asking me for ideas for what games to buy for gifts this year!  There are so many good games out there this season that it is tough to recommend just a few.  However, many families are struggling.  I was hyperventillating when I spent $119 to buy Tony Hawk: RIDE earlier this week.  It is a great game, but that is more than I want to spend on a gift for one child.

Luckily, I recently had a little help.  Someone sent me some suggestions on games for the holidays and there are some ideas for those who might be trying to get their dollar to stretch a little farther this year.  I haven’t played any of these games, but I thought I would pass the information along so you could make up your own mind.  If you have played one of these games, please use the comments to let me know what you think.  I love to hear from you.

 

FOR FAMILIES ON A BUDGET:

Free Realms (PC)
Available Now | Rating: E | MSRP: free! | Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment
With over three million registered users since its launch in April, Free Realms is a whimsical, free to play virtual world that is fun for gamers of all ages.  Families on a budget should stuff stockings with the Free Realms Trading Card Game or Sony Station Cash Gift Cards, which provide access to new, exclusive premium content.

Freaky Creatures (PC, MAC, Mobile Platforms)
Available Now | Rating: E10+ | MSRP: $19.99 | Publisher: Abandon Interactive
Freaky Creatures combines the best of online multiplayer gaming, collectible action figures, virtual worlds and social networking. The experience begins with a starter pack that includes two action figures and a flash drive that unlocks the Freaky Creatures universe.

FOR SPORTS LOVERS:

Bass Pro Shops: The Strike (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC)
Available Now | Rating: E | MSRP: $79.99 | Publisher: Griffin International
The Strike literally puts the fishing rod in players’ hands as they head out to their favorite hot spots.  By combining advanced gameplay with an innovative, motion-sensing fishing pole controller, The Strike is quite the catch for gamers and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

FOR FANS OF SPIDERS AND CREEPY-CRAWLIES

Discovery Kids: Spider Quest (Nintendo DS)
Available Now | Rating: E | MSRP: $29.99 | Publisher: 505 Games
Fans of creepy crawly arachnids can hunt dangerous species from around the world to build up their own vivariums and complete missions in the jungle to capture their species or help them escape from danger. Gamers will learn interesting facts about the venomous species they’ve caught such as what kind of food they like and the kind of environments they inhabit! To make collecting each species even more fun, players can trade captured species with other players over the wireless connection.

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Christmas comes early

November 18, 2009 · 1 Comment

This afternoon, channel 12 is coming over to my house to film a piece on video games for Christmas.  I reviewed a bunch of new games for the December issue of Raising Arizona Kids, but I don’t actually own any.  Two were just released this week.  If channel 12 was coming over to film, I should have some of the new games on hand.  I went shopping and came home with a trunk full.  My son knew I’d been out shopping and believed it was for Christmas presents so he greeted me and said “I won’t look in the trunk!”  I took a deep breath and told him that although there would still be a few small things for him to open at Christmas time, he would have the bulk of his presents tonight so we could film tomorrow.  Disappointment spread over his face and I felt sick knowing I had ruined his Christmas.

He brushed off his disappointment and turned his attention to helping me prepare.  He studied and mastered his new Nintendo DSi in a matter of minutes.  He learned about the SD card to transfer the photos from the DSi to our computer.  He learned how to play the new game I got him.  Scribblenauts has received rave reviews and it did not disappoint.  He loves it!

I went off to visit my mother-in-law in the hospital, leaving my son home to figure out the video games for today.  He mastered all of them except Tony Hawk: RIDE which he couldn’t get out of the box.  I got home too late for him to try it last night, but this morning before school, with the skateboard controller safely out of the box, he learned how to set that up and use it as well.  We are ready.

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My Virtual Tutor Reading for the Nintendo DS

November 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment

This week I had the pleasure of playing My Virtual Tutor Reading for the Nintendo DS.  Designed for Kindergarteners through first grade readers, I was anxious to see how it dealt with the instructions since the kids might not yet be able to read them.  I asked my son, a third grader, to try it out.  He said the game was very easy to learn how to play, but he has played a lot of games.  I found the game fairly easy to play as well, but I am still unsure how a young reader will do.

The graphics are colorful and fun.  It is easy to understand what to click and what to do.  My son and I both found it awkward that you hold the clam shell Nintendo DS vertically like a book, rather than the horizontal position used by many of the other DS games we have played. I selected a book and had it read to me.  The reader’s voice is pleasant, natural, and easy to understand.  If my child was playing this game without headphones, I would not be annoyed.  As the mom, that’s a big factor in my life.  If the game has an annoying sound track or too many loud sounds, I am going to ask them to turn it off.

I am not an early reading expert, but I found it interesting that the first word that was introduced in the first book I read in this game was “underwater.”  It seems like a sophisticated word for a five or six year old child.  Another word that I felt was pretty high level for this population was “jellyfish.”  Although there were more simple words like “water” and “fish”, it seems to me that they should master simple words first before moving on to compound words.

There are little games using the words introduced in the story and my kids enjoyed the quizzes quite a bit.

While you are buying holiday gifts this year, consider those that have some educational value.  And remember to watch the ESRB ratings!  It is critically important to get a video game that is appropriate for the child playing it.  Also, if you have younger and older children in the house, be mindful that anything the older kids play, the younger ones will probably be watchings and emulating.

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Games teach kids how to care for their skin

November 4, 2009 · 1 Comment

This week I am pleased to introduce a guest blogger, Gabrielle Byrd.  Gabrielle is a junior in high school and is working to evaluate how games can be used for learning.  This week, she reviewed a new game designed  to teach kids how to care for their skin.  It is available from KidsSkinHealth.org Here is what she had to say:

Review: Kid’s Skin Health

While playing this game, I thought that it could be a helpful tool in teaching younger children how to properly care for their skin. The repetition of having to wash your face twice a day and wash your hair at least once a day helps children understand that these are useful tasks not just pointless rules set by parents. Since I saw that this was geared toward a younger demographic the large words used in “Scrubble” may overwhelm some children. Also, the amount of reading that is required in the Skin Challenge involves a lot of reading when I would rather see that information incorporated into the gameplay instead of through quizzing. But, health points and coins are given for good scores, which is a good motivator! Some things that are confusing to me are why it is required on your To Do List to purchase a swing and and picnic table when it is not required to moisturize your face daily or something relating to skincare. Also, playing BugCatcher seems completely unrelated to what is being taught but it is always fun to add another game in there. It is somewhat difficult to play test a game that is not targeted for my age range but overall I think that a lot can be learned by children to play this game and learn about skincare!

 

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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

November 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Last week I had the pleasure of playing a brand new game for the Nintendo DS. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. This game has a more engaging storyline than Pokemon games I have played in the past. It drew me in and made me feel more a part of the game.

The game starts with the questions to match you to the best Pokemon for you. It asks the player to touch the screen in a certain spot after the questions so it can find your aura. After leaving your finger there for a moment or two, the game alerts you to remove your finger because you aura has been found. I am not really sure this does anything and of the other people I asked to play the game, my 11 year old son and a 17 year old girl, they both asked me to put my finger on the screen so they could see if they could get a different aura. I am not sure if it does anything either, but it’s fun. Like a mood ring of days gone by.

There were more Polemon to choose from for beginners and partners, but there aren’t all types of Pokemon included, such as ghost, dark or psychic type.

The mystery starts in a storm at sea. The graphics are great as the storm crashes and tosses the ship. The Pokemon you chose before is washed up on shore after slipping off the ship. Your first mission is to gain back the missing treasure. This game is exciting. I really wanted to find that treasure.

Like other games from Nintendo I have played in the past, I find this game very family friendly and it would be interesting to anyone of elementary school age. I took it to work with me and the high school girls there really enjoyed playing it as well. If you have a Pokemon fan in your house, I would recommend putting this game on your family’s Christmas list.

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Amp app pulled from iTunes!

October 23, 2009 · 2 Comments

It’s true. Pepsi has pulled their offensive iPhone app from the iTunes store. I can once again consume Gatorade. I no longer have to search for an alternate cup in the lounge at work because the ones we have say “Pepsi” on them. I don’t have to carry my own fuel during marathons just in case the race uses Gatorade.  This afternoon I breathe a sigh of relief and utter a quiet “Thank you, Pepsi.” It’s just hard not to add “It’s about time.”

The boycott is over. Thank you, Pepsi, for doing the right thing.

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Microsoft goes retail

October 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I am not a shopper by nature and going to the mall is not something I ordinarily do by choice. However, yesterday was the grand opening of the only Microsoft retail store in the world and I wanted to be part of the action. I am an Apple fan, but I realize that Microsoft owns a huge piece of the computing world and it is smart to be aware of what is available. So, off to the mall I went with my two boys in tow.

Luckily, the information signs in the mall had already been updated to include the Microsoft store so, although we parked far away, we could find the store with little difficulty. We saw the queue of people before we saw the actual store. There was a festive mood in the air and those metal barricades that are used to keep spectators off a marathon course were set up to keep the line separate from the passersby.

We skipped the line.  I couldn’t spend hours in the mall.  I just wanted to see the store.  When we got up to the store front, we couldn’t get close. There were at least a dozen police officers in uniform and countless other private security officers. There were some media people in front and it looked like they were very ready to handle any unruly crowds. I snapped some photos on my iPhone.

My boys and I climbed up on top of a bench to peer over the crowds and look inside. Besides the faux aquarium banner all the way around the store, it looked like another major computer company retail store. There were the same clerks in solid color-coded t-shirts. There were the same tables with product displayed. There was the same poster showing thumbnails of hundreds of applications. Maybe they weren’t applications, but it looked like the poster I saw at the Apple store earlier this week.

I saw a big poster for Windows 7. Or, as I like to say “Vista Gold.” It’s a little inside humor because in software testing, software versions are labeled alpha for the very first version that is tested, beta for the next version that is tested more widely, but not generally released to the public and so forth. The gold version is the one that is released for sale and from everything I have read, Windows 7 fixes all the problems with Vista. I’d like to give it a try.

My son helped me down from the bench and the three of us walked off down the mall feeling like we had been a witness to history.

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Why I’m boycotting Pepsi

October 18, 2009 · 8 Comments

I am boycotting Pepsi.  I won’t knowingly buy Pepsi products, including subsidiaries such as Gatorade, Izze, Naked Juice, Frito Lay, Quaker Oats and Tropicana.  This is no small deal.  As a marathon runner, I regularly drank Gatorade.  But I am angry and I have to put my money where my mouth is.

Pepsi has a new energy drink called Amp.  As part of their sales effort, they have created an iPhone app called “AMP UP Before You Score”. The “AMP” app was developed for PepsiCo to help men be duplicitous with women in order to manipulate them into having sex.  There are 24 different female stereotypes that the men can choose from and get pick-up lines that will work with that type.  The “score” in the title does not refer to basketball. The app includes a feature to keep track of sexual conquests and to brag about them to others. Their apology said they are sorry if it was offensive.  That just makes it worse.  What happened to the sincere “We are so sorry.  We made a terrible mistake.” This app is just as offensive as if Pepsi had made an “AMP UP before you burn” app with tips on how to target 24 different ethnic groups with acts of terrorism.

I will not knowingly buy or consume any Pepsi product (including their subsidiaries such as Gatorade, Tropicana and Quaker Oats) until this app is pulled an an apology is issued because the app is offensive.  Corporate America should not persist stereotypes of degradation.

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Texting teens

October 4, 2009 · 2 Comments

Recently, I received in the mail “Toe to Toe With Your Teen: A guide to successfully parenting a defiant teen without giving up or giving in” by Jimmy Myers. Dr. Myers runs The Timothy Center in Austin, Texas, which is a counseling practice that “focuses on helping adolescents and families find God’s solutions to life’s challenges.” In the interest of full disclosure, I should state right up front that when someone tells me they can help me find God’s solutions to life’s challenges, I get a little nervous.

In the cover letter to the book, Dr Myers warns “Unrestrained access and usage of social networking technology not only opens our kids up to cyber bullying, and unhealthy levels of social involvement, it also gives sexual predators and pornographers a fertile field of young minds to exploit.” At first I thought this was preying on the fear of the unknown that many parents have, but then he goes on to say “Setting down a set of rules, which both the parent and the teen can agree to and live by, is essential to guiding families through these potential mine fields.” Yes! It’s about setting limits. Kids need limits. They need to know what they are. And parents need to know that kids will test those limits.

The other day at work I heard someone quote a parent who said “Trust, but verify.” And I remember a colleague who used to say “You’ve got to INSPECT what you EXPECT.” Thinking back on it, I wondered if she was saying all employees act like teenagers. Rather, it’s because teenagers act like humans, only more so. Setting appropriate limits, talking about what the rules are, and then verifying that the rules are followed, seems like a pretty good approach to me.

But back to Dr. Myers. I found I enjoyed his writing style. I like the personal anecdotes he includes. The “Have a Seat on the Couch” sections at the end of each chapter give practical exercises to encourage further contemplation and discussion. However, the level of teen rebellion he is dealing with is so much more than I have ever had to deal with. I don’t know if this is a helpful book or not. I’ve never had these issues. Yet.

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Mothers against “intexticated” driving (MAID)

September 28, 2009 · 4 Comments

Last Thursday, I was accidentally invited to go to Seth Joyner’s house to hear about a new company called WebSafety.com.  I say “accidentally” because someone got an email who got an email, who sent it to me, so I went.  I was impressed by Mr. Joyner’s passion for this product.  He believes in it and it shows.  His co-presenter was Father Damian.  I regret that I didn’t get his full name, nor did I write down his religious affiliation, but I do recall hearing that it was “orthodox”.

WebSafety.com states their cause “to keep our children safe.”  They showed a number of slides with statistics outlining the depth of the problem.  The most striking to me was that according to the FBI, there is a 100 percent chance of a child meeting a predator in a chat room.  Chat room?  Who uses “chat rooms” any more?  That statistic is from 2000.  Almost 10 years ago.  In fact, all of the statistics used during this portion were of similar vintage.  Their assertion was that things have gotten worse over time, not better.  I am not so sure.  I would like to see the current statistics.

The product uses text matching to trigger alerts to parents.  This is very similar to the filtering that is done by Club Penguin to keep kids safe in that massively multiplayer online game.  I asked about the schedule of updates, because “textspeak” changes so quickly and kids jargon morphs more quickly than their parents can spell www.urbandictionary.com The presenter, Father Damian, had no knowledge of a set schedule, but referred to Erin Jansen, an expert in online communication who is on the board of WebSafety.com.  But how often does she update the database?  There was no clear answer.  At Club Penguin, more than half their workforce is devoted to rooting out new twists of phrase and lingo that suddenly mean something nasty.  Mr. Joyner said that there was no substitute for taking your kids out for pizza and talking to them.  Listen to them, he said.  I couldn’t agree more.

On the issue of sexting, in which a teen, usually a younger teen girl, sends indecent pictures of herself to another via text message, WebSafety.com says it can stop it and prevent your kids from getting a felony.  Sexting is a felony and I don’t think many kids understand what that means or how bad it can be.  It means they will need to register as a sex offender and have a felony on their record.  According to Father Damien, sexting is stopped by WebSafety.com because they recognize the type of chat that leads up to the sexting and will alert the parent.  That’s a little bit like your alarm company calling you while you are at work and telling you there is a break-in at your house.  You might be lucky enough to get the police there before all your valuables are gone, but maybe not.  Mr. Joyner implored us to keep the computer in a public place – not the child’s bedroom.  We should also use parental controls or blocking software.  I thought of the free parental tools that come with the Macintosh computers.  Mr. Joyner had obviously given this a lot of thought.  He knows this is a problem.  He knows we need a solution.

But this was only the beginning.  WebSafety.com understands that the computer at home is only one part of the digital equation.  Virtually every teenager in America has a cell phone these days and texting while driving is a huge problem.  Teens call it driving while “intexticated” and it kills two times as many teenagers as driving drunk.  Just last week I had heard a story on NPR and watched one on PBS on the very same topic.  Were those boys who blew through a stop sign at 90 miles per hour and right into a school bus last week texting?  I don’t know, but what a tragedy for their friends and family.  According to WebSafety.com, they can stop speeding, too.  How do they stop it?  By sending a text message to the parent, who can then enable or disable the texting on the phone.  How do they stop the kid from going so fast?  There are speed alerts available, but the parent can’t make the car go slower.  They can just react after the fact.  Or call the police.

The product doesn’t work on all phones.  It will only work on “smart” phones and not on the iPhone.  Father Damian said this was because the iPhone wouldn’t allow background processes.  This is true, but with 30 million phones sold, one would think WebSafety.com would be hot on the trail to figure it out.  It works on Google phones and the popular new “My Touch”.  Mr. Joyner eloquently stated that for something this important, switch your cell service.  He has a point.  This is a problem.  As the number one killer of teens, I don’t need convincing it is important.  But there are other ways to help.  The Zombak Personal Locator is one option to solve the location problem.  Google Latitude is another.  The features aren’t as slick, but I don’t need to get my kids different phones.  My cell phone provider offers parental tools to block the texting.  I would be surprised if all cell phone providers didn’t have similar tools.

Now the price.  For a single license, the annual fee is $249.  That’s for one device.  It was unclear if this is the child or the parent, but not both.  For $499 per year, you can have up to 7 devices covered by WebSafety.com.  Given that I can do for free or for a nominal charge from my cell phone provider much of what they are purporting to do, it did not sound like a good deal.

Father Damian said he wanted to reach all those “mad moms” out there who would be passionate about this problem.  Because he was offering us an opportunity to get in at the ground floor.  For only $49, all we had to do was sell the product to two friends who would sell it to two friends who would…  Father Damian told us a funny story about a vitamin shake that tasted awful but had an amazing compensation schedule, so who cared if it didn’t taste good?  I wasn’t laughing.  I was getting sick.

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