http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcPHtoAk6f4

So I was contacted by 2k Games yesterday and asked if I would not mind taking a sneak peek of Spec Ops: The Line. I thought about the question for exactly 1 second and yelled, “Yes!”

Today, I am heading up to the London Hotel to meet up with some folks from 2k Games. I am also hoping that folks from Yager Development will be there as well. And I don’t mean that in a bad way — I think the staff at 2k Games are rather awesome but there is nothing better than speaking with the developers of a game.

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I don’t have any assets to post in this article but I did run across the official E3 Spec Ops: The Line trailer. The gameplay looks rather tight and the sound track is awesome. When speaking with one of the 2k Games representatives, he told me:

Think of it like SOCOM but with a much more intense story… that really has the player asking themselves if they are doing the right thing or the wrong thing.

No, tell me it ain’t so — a game with morals

Well, all I can say is that I am super excited to check out the game play. I will keep you guys (and gals) posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ5xTgPKE34

Ray and Zev look at ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), which gives ratings for software on almost every platform. We love this organization, and feel that it gives parents and families better understanding of the choices for their children.

Price:

• Free

Stats:

• Is a non-profit, self-regulatory body established which assigns computer and video game content ratings
• Established by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)

Pros:

• Empowers consumers and parents, to make informed decisions about the computer and video games they choose for their families
• ESRB Rating Search App
• ESRB Rating Search on web site
• List of sites that offer digital literacy

Cons:

• none really

Ramon B. Nuez Jr and Zev Mo Green give our 5 Kinect family game night picks for the holiday season.

1. Kinect: Disneyland Adventures
2. Kinectimals Now With Bears
3. Fruit Ninja Kinect
4. Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
5. Xbox 360 Kinect: Sports Season Two

Stats:

All these games require Kinect

Pros:

Kinect: Disneyland Adventures

• Love walking around Disney and hugging the characters
• Taking pics was cool
• Characters will sign your book
• Jump-in co-op mode nice

Kinectimals Now With Bears

• Love playing with the bears -Great graphics

Fruit Ninja Kinect

• Just pure fun with the family or party

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster

• Very interactive

XBOX 360 Kinect: Sports Season Two

• Incredibly fun and golf is addictive

Cons:

Kinect: Disneyland Adventures Kinect is necessary

• Some movements are complicated with Kinect (i.e. paddling a boat)

Kinectimals Now With Bears

• None really but may be boring for older kids

Fruit Ninja Kinect

• None really

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster

• A little bit difficult to navigate through the stories

XBOX 360 Kinect: Sports Season Two

• Kinect did not always react to voice commands

@ZevMo from @dadsontech spoke with Bradon Gill from Next Level Games at the New York City ComicCon Sega Booth about their upcoming release, Captain America: Super Soldier (PS3, 360) which will be available in 2011.

Yesterday Microsoft invited us to a private preview of Kinect for XBOX 360 — at the beautiful MPE Penthouse. Now we have been invited to a handful of private previews this past year. What made last night such a pleasure was being able to see a very polished Kinect sensor. We were met by a handful of Microsoft Entertainment and Devices representatives — they were very eager to show off all the refined features. Throughout the salon Microsoft had a number of Kinect stations setup for demonstration. We started off the night with Video Kinect.

Microsoft explained that XBOX movies can be accessed either through NetFlix or Zune – which supports 1080p streaming and 5.1 surround sound. The Kinect philosophy is – “a controller free experience.” So after a number of hand gestures Harry Potter begins to play. As the movie starts you immediately see a scroll bar pop up. This scroll bar is controlled by simple hand gestures – which allow you to stop, fast forward, play and rewind a movie. It was impressive to watch how easy and accurate the sensor was.

Please ready the rest at the Huffington Post.

I was invited to a private Project Natal sneak peek. The event was held at the beautiful EZ Studios in New York City. I met with a member Project Natal product team. She gave us a brief explanation of the Natal vision and gave us only a few technical details:

• RBG camera
• depth camera
• Current games will not be compatible with Natal

Read more at The Huffington Post…

The prices of HDTV’s has fallen significantly over the past few years. So much so that mainstream shoppers have been purchasing HDTV’s in record numbers. Due to the rapid adoption of High Definition Television’s and the death of analog HD broadcasting — media companies like Netflix are pumping out (digital) HD content. Today, 1080p is the most sought after resolution for broadcasting as it is considered “full high definition.”

Read complete story — Huffington Post

“All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live,” Microsoft said in a statement on Wednesday.

The timing of this announcement corresponds with the release of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” This is one of the most anticipated Xbox games of the year. COD is a very profitable franchise for Microsoft and means big sales during the holidays; as such Microsoft is coming down hard on pirated copies. This is self evident by the actions Microsoft took this week. They explained that anywhere between 600,000 and 1 million players who use Microsoft’s Xbox Live gaming service will be cut off from the service. Why? Because gamers have modified their 360 or played games that were illegally downloaded from file-sharing sites, according to Microsoft.

In its Xbox Live “Terms of Use” Microsoft says that players are to use “only authorized software and hardware to access the Service,” and that they agree that their software and hardware “have not been modified in any unauthorized way.” Microsoft takes piracy and hardware modifications very seriously. I understand the consumer argument “but it’s my 360.” In Microsoft’s defense – we are using their services so we have to play by their rules.

We need to monitor our family’s media experience. Parents must take an active role in ensuring that our family’s experience is age appropriate. The Xbox family understands these concerns and they give parents the controls necessary to manage the media experience.

This is why Microsoft and Best Buy, which is the nation’s largest children’s media advocate, is encouraging families to Get Game Smart. This is a new public service campaign designed to help parents and kids maintain an open dialogue about age-appropriate media use.

The 360 Family Settings Allow You To:

• Create and manage a Child’s Profile
• Limit the amount of time the console is used via the Family Settings
• Block video games and movies based on ESRB and MPAA rating systems
• Block online access entirely
• Manage and approve a child’s Friend’s List
• Block specific online users
• Block visibility of your child’s account to online users
• Restrict or Block the use of the Xbox Live Vision Cam
• Restrict online purchases
• Restrict the type of advertising your child sees, based on game and movie preferences

These are the top 5 tips for managing media use from Get Game Smart:

• Get on the same page with your kids about healthy media habits
• Encourage balance with activities that keep your kids active and busy
• Set priorities – school work and sports come before video games
• Get involved – play video games with with your children to learn about their behavior online
• Set limits – use game rating to select age appropriate content

Ultimately, it is our responsibility to protect our children and not technology. We must talk to them and encourage them to speak to us. I understand that most families have working parents. That just means we must be even more diligent with the conversation with our children.

On Tuesday, October 27th, Xbox 360, MTV Games and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment hosted a Family Game Night at NYC’s Element Night Club.The event was designed to bring families together so they could enjoy a night with The Beatles; well virtually at least. It was a real pleasure watching kids and parents alike jam with “The Beatles: Rock Band.” The Rock Band library currently has 45 Beatles songs plus all the newest songs from the complete “Abbey Road” album. We also had the exclusive opportunity to preview “LEGO Rock Band” before its release on November 10th.

The guest of honor was Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The Microsoft family is offerings a charitable partnership with MSF. The charity single of “All You Need Is Love” was released exclusively through Xbox LIVE. All proceeds from the song will benefit Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

So while the kids jammed and the parents reminisced about younger days – I had the great honor of speaking with Matthew Spitzer – President of the US Board of Directors. Dr. Spitzer joined MSF in 1999. Throughout that time he has been passionately involved with MSF – establishing primary care services in Tibet, working as a field coordinator in Sierra Leone, coordinating a response to the epidemic dengue in Cambodia to finally becoming president.

It was an excellent conversation. I have to admit that my knowledge of MSF was limited. After Matthew took the time to explain what MSF does – I had a much more complete understanding of their mission. What resonated with me the most was that MSF operates independently of any political agendas. They are simply focused on helping the people.

It was great to hangout and watch famlies jamming to the Beatles. It was a pleasure to speak with Spitzer and to learn about all the good that MSF is doing around the world. This is one of the best events that I have attended this year.