It's so hard to be a parent who wants to make sure their kids have a good balance of their favorite video games and enough sunshine and outdoor activities.
And it's even harder when the parents themselves love those video games. We bought an Xbox 360 earlier this year and bought Guitar Hero III (including two GH guitar controllers). We became slightly obsessed with the game after playing it at an aunt's house and thought it was a good way for us to all be able to do something together.
Don't get me wrong. We're an outdoorsy family who love to go to the Illinois River, Lake Tenkiller and the local streams and creeks. We have a huge backyard so we're out there quite a bit either letting the kids swim in their little pool, practicing t-ball, playing an impromptu game of kickball or just hanging out as the kids play on the swingset. So we get our fill of outdoor, PHYSICAL activities but I must admit we love our video games. Especially on days like we've had in the past three weeks. It's been in the high 90s and either rainy or too muggy to get the pregnant lady (me) and the toddler (Logan) out in the heat. Excuses, excuses, right?
Back to the game, we enjoy getting caught up in good-natured battles on the guitar, which is designed like an electric guitar with five frets (green, red, yellow, blue and orange buttons), a strum button and a whammy bar. The guitars are small enough so that the kids' small hands can play on them so we all play one another and at the same time it broadens the kids' musical knowledge. (another 'plus,' I might add.) The GH III game features music from bands like Guns 'N' Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Heart, Pat Benetar, Foghat, KISS, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Metallica. (and much more)
Just as we got comfortable on the GH III format, the brand new Rock Band game emerged and promised to be bigger and better than Guitar Hero.
So of course, we HAD to get it. Rock Band is an awesome video game that allows players to either play guitar, bass, sing (on a real mic) or play drums on a drum peripheral. Since there are four of us who can play (Logan just likes to watch us and bob his little head to the music), this was perfect for our family and fake 'band.'
I like to play guitar, Jake plays bass and the twins trade off between drums and singing. They know more songs than most kids their age and work up a sweat hopping around and dancing. The track list for the game is also awesome (although there are some bands who are noticeably absent) including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Metallica, Nirvana, Weezer, Bon Jovi, Blondie, Aerosmith (who has their own Guitar Hero game coming out at the end of this month), Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stone Temple Pilots, All American Rejects and many, many more. The best part about the game is that the game releases new songs online for download each week and players can connect their xbox 360 to the Internet and download these new songs to play.
I have to admit I love it. It's fun, interactive and innovative. When you're starting your 'band' you can customize a character to your tastes, so my character's name is Chris and she's brown-skinned and fashionable. ;)
You can pick a body type, hair style, clothes, tattoos, jewelry and make up and a lot more.
For those who don't want to play in a band but go solo, that option's there too. You can go on a solo world tour to earn fans, money to spend in the Rock Shop and gain clout as a rocker.
It's a great way to get the whole family involved and we enjoy ours and it's worth every penny.
