How to Play Lego Video Games with Your Children

Playing video games with your children or letting your children play video games is a subject that’s been up for debate over the past few years. I believe letting your children play video games strengthens their dexterity, memory, and problem solving skills. Where others believe video games are a cause for distraction and violence. Over the past 4 years I have played the Lego series of video games with my children and have watched them develop their dexterity, memory, and problem solving skills to exceed their peers. They have also learned how to follow directions, work as a team, and important teambuilding skills.

Why Did I Choose the Lego Video Games Series?

Legos are easy for children to relate to.  Most children start playing with the toys at the age of three and even younger with the large building blocks. As my kids played the Lego video games they were able to see the objects come to life just as they created them in their imaginations when they played with the toy. 

We started off with Lego Star Wars and instead of trying to complete the missions or tasks in the game each of my kids would play a game within the game. What they would do is when they saw another character in the game they would try to make friends with it no matter if it were friend or foe. If it was an enemy they would run away from the character pretending to play tag. If it was a friend they would pretend to have a party or take them around the world they discovered while playing the game. They opened up a new world to me by watching them be creative outside the video games structured environment. Providing them the freedom to imagine, then taking the time to teach them to follow and focus on the game objectives provided them with increased learning opportunities.

The second reason for choosing the Lego video games series is because of the popular titles the series offers.  Lego video game titles include Lego Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones, Rock Band, and Harry Potter. Each of these games has helped my children understand the movies at a basic level helping them to enjoy the movie when they see it for the first time as they get older.

The third reason is the lack of violence or a decreased amount of violence. The games still include hitting, shooting and other forms of aggression, but when these acts happen the character being hit falls apart into many little Lego pieces instead of the blood and gore found in other video games. This provides the parent with a prime time to teach children about pretend violence and to do this in real life really hurts people. These video games give parents the opportunity to teach real life situations at a level a child can understand (or at least repeated enough to drive a point).

Taking the time to play with your children is an important part of parenting. Involving children in activities to improve their dexterity, memory, and problem solving skills can help children to succeed in other situations such as school. Video games are a perfect choice to improve these skills even with young children. Just don’t forget to get off the couch and play physical games with your children as well creating a well rounded environment of mental and physical stimulation.

Do you have any comments or questions? We would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment on your own experiences involving video games and your children.

Starting the Process for 20 Free Rock Band 2 Songs

If you are like me, anytime I get a new game I open up the box go right for the disk and never look at the manual.  If that is the case then you are missing the opportunity to get an extra 20 songs to play on Rock Band 2.

If you look on the back of the manual you will see this in bold face: BONUS DOWNLOADABLE TRACKS.

To start the process visit Rock Band’s bonus tracks web-site.  Once there you will be asked to enter your redemption code, which will be located where the x’s are in the middle of the Rock Band 2 back page as shown above.  After entering your redemption code enter an email address where you want receive a conformation email.

The next screen will ask you for some additional information.  When you finish entering your information click “send confirmation email”.

Next your confirmation email from the Rock Band 2 game registration should look like the below email.

If you didn’t request this action, please disregard this email.

Otherwise, click the link below to confirm this email address:

http://register.rockband.com/verify_email “Information Removed“

If you’re having problems clicking, you can also cut-and-paste the link into your browser’s address bar and hit ‘enter’.

Once you’re confirmed, you’re all set.

You might want to hold on to this email so that you have an easy way to get back to the Game Registration site. If you have any questions, please check out the Game Registration FAQ page at http://register.rockband.com/faq.html.

Thanks,
The Rock Band 2 Team

Once you click the verify email link, the Rock Band 2 Team will send you another email with your code for your 20 additional Rock Band 2 songs.

Thanks again for registering your copy of Rock Band 2. The 20 Bonus DLC tracks are now available for download!

Here’s your download code:

YYYYY-YYYYY-YYYYY-YYYYY-YYYYY

In order to redeem your code, please follow the instructions for your console (Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3). Please note that your download code will only work for the brand of console for which you purchased and registered Rock Band 2:

Xbox 360 users: go to Xbox Live Marketplace and select the Redeem Code option. Enter the code presented above to download your tracks.

PlayStation 3 users: select the PLAYSTATION Network option on the XMB (Xross Media Bar). Select the Account Management option, then select Redeem Codes. Enter the code presented above to download your tracks.

If you have any questions, please check out the Game Registration FAQ page at http://register.rockband.com/faq.html.

Thanks,
The Rock Band 2 Team

One of the most difficult steps to getting the 20 additional bonus tracks was trying to find out where to input the redemption code in the Xbox 360 marketplace.  I ended up putting the code at the same place I would as if I was redeeming or purchasing additional Xbox LIVE Points.

Enter the code from the second email after selecting the “Redeem Code” option.

You will then be asked to download the Rock Band 2 bonus tracks.  Before you download make sure you have 541 MB of drive space.  Select the “Download Now” option.

When the download finishes your 20 Rock Band 2 bonus tracks will be in your quick play menu.

Did this help you with the free downloads? We would love to hear from you. Please leave any comments or questions and we will try to help out.

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How to Rock Band 2

The 20 Free Rock Band 2 DLC Set List is as follows:

The 88 – “Sons and Daughters”
Authority Zero – “No Regrets”
Between the Buried and Me – “Prequel To The Sequel”
The Cab – “Bounce”
The Chevelles – “Get It On”
The Cocktail Slippers – “Give It To Me”
Dealership – “Database Corrupted”
Endeverafter – “I Wanna Be Your Man”
The Ghost Hounds – “Ashes To Fire”
Hollywood Undead – “Young”
Kutless – “The Feeling”
The Len Price 3 “If I Ain’t Got You”
Lesley Roy – “I’m Gone, I’m Going”
Opiate for the Masses – “Burn You Down”
Semi-Precious Weapons – “Magnetic Baby”
Shaimus – “Like a Fool”
Thenewno2 – “Crazy Tuesday”
Tickle Me Pink – “The Time Is Wrong”
Underoath – “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures”
X Japan – “I.V.”

Addiction to Rock Band 2

I know this title may sound confusing, but I want to explain a mistake I made a while back about games like these.  I am a video game junkie.  I enjoy games such as Halo, Elder Scrolls series, BioShock, Mass Effect, and now that I have kids the Lego series (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, Rock Band),  just to name a few.  So when Guitar Hero and Rock Band came about I was one of those gamers that said,  “There is no way I am getting mixed up in playing those games” … until now.

How it All Began

Recently, I decided to see a friend half way across the country because he wasn’t feeling well.  And that is all it took.  We stayed in for most of the trip and he convinced me to play a couple of songs from Guitar Hero.  Next, thing I know it was more than four hours later and my hands were starting to cramp because of all the songs we played through.  We played songs I had heard recently as well as songs I hadn’t heard for awhile.  My favorite songs, now classics, at least that is what they tell me on the radio, rediscovered once again.

Purchasing Rock Band 2

So, when I got back from my trip I immediately went out to Best Buy and bought the Rock Band 2 box set.  It includes the wireless drum set, wireless guitar, microphone (which I still haven’t used and probably never will), and the Rock Band 2 game.

Then I went out and bought the cymbals which include one or two, but the drum set can hold up to three.

Getting the Word Out about Rock Band 2

Why write a post about Rock Band 2?  The main reason is to tell other gamers who are like me that have written off Guitar Hero and Rock Band as a class of games that was beneath us “hard core gamers” that have dedicated our lives to first person shooters and Role Playing Games (RPG)s.  I’ve found after playing countless hours of first person shooters and RPGs that mixing in a little Guitar Hero and Rock Band allows me enough time away to refocus and enjoy gamming.  Oh, and did I mention, it is a great party game.

Apology to Guitar Hero and Rock Band Gamers

So, many apologizes for all the times I’ve bad mouthed those who have enjoyed this type of gaming.  It’s never too late to at least try and play Guitar Hero and Rock Band.  You may find out it’s a lot of fun, not to mention humbling after failing out trying to play past the harder setting.  It is also a great deal of fun watching your children try to keep rhythm to such great artist as KISS, Metallica, and AC/DC or dance to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Do you have additional ideas or comments to add about Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Please feel free to submit your comments and gamming ideas.