While most Christian films are low budget and show it, Red Line has great special effects, actors and is quite the thrill ride.  Unlike other Christian films, this movie is not preachy or tacky.  While it does praise virtue, the message it's trying to share is the insecurity of today's subway systems.  Red Line is about a terrorist attack on a su...

The Enervee™ Score for Video Game Consoles is calculated based on performance per power consumption. Current models range from 4.58 to 36.70 performance (scaled) per kWh. This number is converted into an easy energy efficiency rating from 0 to 100 (best). For Gaming Consoles, the CPU, GPU, and system memory components have the biggest impact on ene...

However...my two daughters really enjoyed My Little Pony Equestria Girls. The story teaches about the power of friendship as Twilight Sparkle ventures out to a new world and tries to reclaim her crown that was stolen from her in the Crystal Empire. The humor is good as Twilight Sparkle tries to adjust to becoming a human and fitting into a new scho...

I was recently sent a BluRay of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec While I'm not familiar with the books that this movie is based on, it does make me curious about them. Instead of introducing the main character (or plot) right away the movie starts off slowly by introducing the supporting characters and their roles in this early 1900'...

Today Microsoft has revealed its upcoming console, the Xbox One.  Unlike the Wii U, it has the full support of Electronic Arts and will be launching with their popular sports games FIFA, NFL, UFC and NBA Live.  Forza Motorsport 5 will also be available on the system.  Last but not least, Call of Duty: Ghosts (at 60FPS!) will be making an appearance...

Every week at my son’s preschool they have a show and tell for each letter of the alphabet.  Being the gamer geek that I am, a few of those weeks I sent him to school with a game box.  This week was the letter Z so he brought in the CD cover for Zork.   Needless to say it stood out from all of the zebras.  So looking over my game collection here’s some other possibilities…what are yours?  

A. Age of Empires series

B. Bit Trip Runner

C. Crayon Physics

D. Dance Dance Revolution

My seven year old got Cooking Mama for her birthday and we've all been playing that and have been doing cook-offs to see who can make the best dish.  While I have years of cooking experience, it doesn't make any difference in this title.  It was quite humbling to see that they could make better sandwiches than me.  Not to mention my failing at making rice.  I have since mastered sandwich (and rice) making but I have to actively play and practice to keep up with their scores.  Even though this experience has been humbling, it has been a great influence on my kids as they have been taking a greater interest in cooking and have started helping with mundane tasks like peeling and chopping carrots and potatoes (with supervision!).  This is a wonderful way to bond and teach kids how to cook.  Even if it involves getting whooped in Cooking Mama.     

We have owned several Nintendo products going back to the NES.  Our house currently has 3 3DS', a DS Lite, A GBA, GBA SP, Gameboy, SNES, N64 and our latest acquisition, a Wii U deluxe.  While we didn't pre-order it, we did get it within a couple of weeks of its release.  We paid the full $350 price and I'm a little miffed to read they Nintendo is now offering a Zombi U edition of the console that includes the deluxe console with a pro controller, Zombie U, collector's book, and a digital download of Nintendo Land.  The retail price is set at $389.  An additional game and controller for $40? I want in on that deal.  I'm disappointed that  early adopters are getting the shaft here.  The ambassador program for the 3DS was a nice gesture after lowering the price of the unit.  What will Nintendo do to appease their upset fans now?  I think this will be the last time I buy a product of theirs on launch.  

Source

I've been running Linux in one form or another on my systems since 2001 when Red Hat 7.1 came out. Since then, I have leaned towards Debian based distributions like Ubuntu or Mint. Linux is best known for being a free operating system alternative, especially for server environments, and a core component of Android. Now that Windows and Mac operatin...

While I didn't buy my Vita on launch week, I still paid full price for it a month or so after it's release.  I thoroughly enjoyed titles like Rayman Origins and Lumines: Electronic Symphony but have been disappointed in the lackluster choice of games available for the unit.   As awesome as the hardware is, without good software, the system is doomed.  As an owner of a hacked PSP, I was hoping that the Vita would broken from it's tight leash.  Sony has been persistent in removing every exploited game from their store and releasing system updates to close each loophole.  

Last week was an exciting week since there was a leaked kernel exploit that allows the system to play PSP ISO games.  Shortly after the leak, a major contributor stepped down for good. However, another known hacker has stepped up and made a public release of the custom emulator/firmware for the Vita.  The exploited PSP mini game has been removed from the store, but now is a good time to watch and see what other games are vulnerable to opening up this system against Sony's wishes.  

So with these possibilities comes great responsibility.  I for one own every game that I play. I realize that I am in the minority here.  If people continue to pirate games without giving what's due to the developers, the system is doomed.  If you have a curious mind and want to see what the Vita can really do, now is a good time to pick up a system (and some games and accessories for it!) and join the underground community.  

source: http://wololo.net/

My husband and I traded in our DS Lites and got a black and a blue 3DS on launch week.  For the most part we've been happy with our purchase.  Yeah, I would like to see better titles out but I've enjoyed Ridge Racer and most recently, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.  I'll admit that I've played mostly DS games on it than 3DS titles.  We appreciate the Ambassador games offered to compensate for paying full price. That was a nice selection of games.   I personally love the 3D camera and swap note is great for sharing Bible verses and encouragement among friends.  

So with all of these good features we didn't hesitate on purchasing one for our soon to be 8 year old daughter.  It was on sale for $100 less than what we paid for it and several family members pitched in for it.  No regrets right?  Wrong!

Just this week two videos irk me as a parent.  Even with parental control enabled my kids can watch a video of the song "The Fighter" which contains phrases like "Give them hell", "Imma d**n sure" and "Kiss my a**".  The video muted a** but the rest of the language was left intact.  These are not phrases I want my 8 year old repeating back to me.  

The other video that upsets me is the 3D version of Zamarat.  This video has a hairless green woman wearing a metal bikini with nipple covers and a metal G-string.  

Both of these videos are considered to be suitable for kids under 12.  My kids and I have watched many of the movies together and I find the mini 3D documentaries fascinating. My kids love the video game based movies, especially the Kirby one.  It's a bummer that I'll have to screen the movies from here on out.  Perhaps I'll have to remove the icon from the system altogether.  It's a shame if such drastic measures will have to be taken.  Nintendo, if you're reading this...please look over the videos before stamping them safe for kids of all ages.  Adding a rating summary would be helpful as well.

Sometimes we make things harder on ourselves than they have to be.  This is true in gaming as well.  I buy many of my games used and they often don't include the instruction manuals with them.  (Yes I do read them if provided).  I also tend to avoid reading FAQs unless I'm stuck. I'm more than halfway through Kingdom Hearts and I JUST started to eq...

There have been a lot of Kickstarter funded games getting heaps of publicity lately.  Have you backed any of them?  I like the concept provided that the good are delivered.  My husband and I backed the Shadow Run and Double Fine adventure games.  We passed on the Leisure Suit Larry and Ron Paul projects.  Have you backed a project?  If so, which on...

Having beaten Skyrim and not thinking too highly of Benny Hin, I found this youtube video absolutely hilarious.   I thought to myself, that would be an awesome avatar.  So I downloaded the movie using http://keepvid.com/ I then added text to the movie using Windows Movie Maker.   After the text was in place, I converted it to a gif using this free ...

Lately I've been playing with SwapNote and it's been fun sending notes back and forth between my husband and members of this site.  As fun as this system is, it can be abused by sending crude drawings or recordings containing profanity.  On the flip side, this can be a great way to share the gospel and uplift believers as well as sharing a verse or two with complete strangers.  I struggle with memorizing scripture but actually taking the time to jot it down helps rather than just reading it alone.   If you'd like to be a member of our 3DS Bible study post your friend code and let us know! 

I recently beat a game that had a questionable but unique love story.  I'm going to try and be vague so I don't give away spoilers in the game I'm talking about here.  The main characters in this title are two teenagers that are adopted siblings.  As the story progresses, they grow closer and are comfortable in each other's presence even in mixed gender bath houses. While they never begin a romantic relationship, they are encouraged to do so by many other characters in the game.  I'm all for a good love story but I found this one a bit awkward.  Perhaps my convictions stem from this verse in the Bible:

Leviticus 18:9 says Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

What do you think?  Do you find this relationship natural or awkward?  Granted genetically there no foreseeable issues here but I still find it going against God's law.  

I have been running ChristCenteredGamer.com/CCGR.org for over ten years.  In that time we have had our fair share of scoffers and trolls who don’t understand the purpose of this site.  It is not our place to tell people what to play or not to play, but rather to inform them of what is in a game so they can make an educated purchasing decision.  Last night I was having a blast playing the casual RTS game Fate of the Pharaoh.  Given the title I was expecting references to the Egyptian culture and gods.  Not surprisingly, I did discover references to Ra the sun god and was able to earn achievements for beating his times in each level.   No big deal, I don’t mind a bit of a challenge.  While I was playing through the levels, I saw some of my villagers worshiping their idols.  I had no control over it and wasn’t asked to participate, so I continued to play on.    When I reached level fourteen, the tables turned.  Instead of gathering materials and gold for my villagers, I had to gather these resources and give them as an offering to the goddess Maat to progress to the next level.  This is where I have stopped playing the game.  Why?  Because I feel it breaks the first and second commandments.

Exd 20:2 I [am] the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.   4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:  5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God…

 Will every Christian feel the same way?  Probably not.  However, those that will agree with me will be thankful for saving themselves $7 for this game.  For all of the non-Christians that visit this site, here’s a question for you:  Would you be equally upset playing a game not labeled as a Christian game but require you to acknowledge and worship Jesus to continue?  I bet the developers of that game would get a few complaints.  I understand that it’s not real and it’s just pixels and 1’s and 0’s etc, but so is pornography if you want to use that excuse.  If you get busted by your spouse for looking at indecent pictures I bet the 1’s and 0’s argument won’t work out too well. 

Digital or real, I don’t feel comfortable breaking the commandments of my Lord.  I refuse to play any game that forces me to pay homage to a god other than my own.  I hope you can better understand what we’re about and where I’m coming from.

In Him,

Here's what I'm playing currently: PC: Almost done checking out all of the classes in Dungeon Defenders.  I have a youtube video if you want to see what the game play looks like.    I'm half way through the adventure game Tales From The Dragon Mountain: The Strix, it's kind of a dud, avoid it.  I have Skyrim on pre-order, can't wait! Wii: EA Active...

I never owned one of these consoles but it was truly ahead of time and died a premature death at only 18 months on the market. It sported many innovations present in modern day consoles including multiplayer gaming, a web browser and portable hand held support.  The 480p resolution was impressive back then too.   Many of the popular Dreamcast game ...