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I capped my night off tonight by playing a demo of soon to be released game Destroy All Humans, an eye catching title if I’ve ever seen one. Since no one asked, I’ve decided to share some quick comments on the preview:

Any demo that begins by tossing cows automatically gets an A+ from me. I intend to keep this rule in place for the foreseeable future.

The demo is rather short. It comes in at about 10 minutes. While you get to do some rather fun stuff (did I mention cows?), the demo doesn’t give you enough time to draw too many conclusions.

The destructible buildings remind me of Mercenaries. This is a good thing. This is also unsurprising.

The ability to throw farm equipment around, like the random truck or tractor, reminds me of my childhood.

“And I’m not green!”

What I saw looks good. I want to see more.

I’m glad you asked. During the massive gaps in both time and space between my postings over the last couple months, a lot has been going on with the kids.

For example, Chase is rolling over. He’s actually been doing it for a couple of weeks now. As of two Sundays ago, the date of his dedication, he’s been rolling over with a passion, using it as a means of transportation that we’ve termed log rolling. An ability that weeks ago simply worried dad and mom whilst he twisted and turned in his bed is now a source of freedom and a means of escape. That twinkle in his eye as he raises his head and gets his knees under him is his way of telling me that crawling won’t be far behind.

Cambell, on the other hand, is singing, a lot. He started in earnest when the wife decided to place a CD of children’s Christian tunes in the truck. He absolutely loves this music, and finds the time to carry the tune Jesus Loves Me or The Lord’s Army along with him wherever he goes. The only problem is that this particular CD hasn’t left its new home since. I’m starting to get concerned that the truck won’t start without little children singing in the background.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly proud that my kid loves to sing and, even better, loves to sing songs about God. It’s a little startling, in that you just don’t expect him to be able to do something like this at such an early age, and — it must be said — it’s absolutely adorable. But, there’s only so many times you can hear the Christian version of If You’re Happy and You Know It before you want to jump from a moving vehicle. I don’t know how many more times I’ll survive the current play list.

Not to be left out, Chase has begun to speak. I’m very proud that he has chosen his first word in this world to be the nickname of his old man. “Dada” is pure music to my ears. It’d be even better if it wasn’t often part of one demand or another. “Dada, pick me up! Dada, I’m hungry!” I’m, of course, doing just a little bit baby to English translation here.

I don’t know how it happened but Cam has taken a sudden liking to Barney. He’s oblivious to my objections, which are thickly concealed and almost surely a result of how far this particular purple dinosaur was pushed down my throat when I was doing my babysitting more than ten years or so ago (Yikes! Has it been that long?). I don’t really have a problem with this, even though my subconscious has always considered the child’s carnivore to be just a tad evil. The fact that I’m often the recipient of “a kiss from me to you” helps. It helps a lot.

That’s the quick rundown and, as I’m sure will always be the case, it skips a lot of stuff — from irrational fears of the drain to carrots between the toes. There’s only so much time in the day to fill this area with wonderful stories of my kids. The rest of it I’ll likely try to spend sleeping.

GamerDad, one of my frequent stops along the information superhighway, has just relanched. As a reasonably recent gamer dad, I’ve found it to be a great resource and one that I highly recommend.

I’m a big fan of their review system as they take the time to discuss both whether or not the game is good and whether or not the game is good for kids. These are completely different concepts. I’m happy to see them treated as such.

The discussion of each game’s “kid factor” is especially nice. While they do provide an age appropriate rating system to each game that goes above and beyond the standard system in place by the ESRB, I’m happier that they take the time to write some actual text on the subject. For the most part, these decisions need to made on a per child basis. I don’t need the government or a review board to tell me what my kid can do. I can make that decision. Help me make a good one.

My enthusiasm for the site is undoubtably colored by the fact that I know some of the main folks behind the site — they often find themselves on the competing end of an Xbox live matchup or two — but don’t let that stop you from visiting. If your kid plays games — and if you have a kid, the second part is essentially a given — it’s great that the internet is around to help you make good decisions about what they play when they’re playing.

In the swirling world of links we call the internet, the opportunity to share humour is rife. Allow me to share a quick chuckle.

I can’t dance would make Phil Collins proud.

This woman is likely looking for work.

Is this the true purpose of the internet? Maybe so.