Microsoft’s grand unveiling of their next huge product, Kinect (also known as Project Natal) just happened at the grand Electronic Entertainment Expo. We knew that the starting price for the Kinect is at $149.99. We also know the Kinect release date is in November 4. Microsoft also demoed how to control your movies, music, games, and other features on Xbox live.

First-time users will want to introduce themselves to Kinect. When you start calibrating your Kinect it asks you to choose a profile you regularly use and it will start what Kinect calls “the biometric setup.” At this moment the camera will be memorizing the shape of your face and body. You’re going to be asked to move around the room so the camera can get a good look at you to remember your features. After that you go back to the dashboard then you can make a gesture to go to the Kinect hub by raising your hand in the air and waiving it, the Kinect will recognize you and sign in to your profile.

When signed onto Xbox live you can raise your hand and a hand icon will appear on the screen as your cursor. You can use both your hand as 2 cursors and go over the app, it will warp to indicate that you’ve selected that app. You can flip thru your pages of apps just by waving your arm left or right to scroll through the pages of apps in your Kinect hub. After you have found what you want just hold your cursor over the app and it will launch it.

You can also use voice commands to launch apps instead of using your hands. Microsoft had this to say about the voice commands: ”if you can read it, you can say it and launch it.” To launch an app like ESPN you can say “Xbox ESPN” and if you change your mind you can say “cancel.” The voice commands sometimes didn’t work at E3 but that might be due to all the noise and people there.

You can also control your movies and music by using voice commands and gestures. Microsoft demoed it at the press conference, and explained that you can say “play”, “pause”, and “next” to control your movies as well as your music that can be played through the new zoom app. Like I said before, you can control movies with gestures as well. If you just want to get to the end of any movie you can just simply raise your arm and move your play position there.

Microsoft assured us that you can sit down while using Kinect. Microsoft would like for the player to be relaxed and enjoy playing Xbox, so you don’t have to be standing every time you want to use it.

Microsoft’s Kinect release date is set for November 4. From what I saw the voice commands and gestures worked better than I thought they would especially in such a loud and crowded place like E3. I’m excited to see Kinect on top of my TV and a bunch of people being awed as I control things with nothing but gestures and voice commands.

There has never really been a Wild West game made before for Xbox 360 or PS3, which is one reason gamers and critics alike looked forward to the release of Red Dead Redemption. There was a lot of media buzz and talk amongst gamers about the game. Many thought it would be great, many others thought it could not possibly live up to the hype. Suffice it to say, Red Dead Redemption more than satisfied the gaming community.

Red Dead Redemption

Rockstar Games, producers of the legendary GTA series, also made Red Dead Redemption. The engine is basically the same, with the same sort of gun controls, and a similar cover system. The games are also similar in the freedom presented to the player. In Red Dead Redemption, you can literally do whatever you want. You can follow the main storyline, or you can just mess around until you get bored – which won’t be for quite a while, considering all this game has to offer. For instance, if you don’t feel like doing a storyline mission, you can simply wander the massive map, looking for things to do. You can hunt, participate in contests, collect herbs, rescue (or kill) damsels in distress, and much, much more.

The Red Dead Redemption graphics are absolutely phenomenal. You can be entertained just by riding around the map, looking at the surroundings. You will notice as you continue in the game that as time moves on, so do your surroundings. If you are wandering around at night, you will notice the light from the moon lighting your way through the shadows. When dawn approaches, you will notice a glow coming from the east, and you can even watch the sunrise if you want. The horse graphics are very good, despite the fact that that part of the engine had to be completely re-done, as GTA’s vehicle engine simply could not adapt to the western setting.

Red Dead Redemption is rated M, and for good reason. This is not a game you want your young kids to be playing. Between the massive bloodbath battles and the hogtying of innocent civilians, this is not really a “family appropriate” game. Just like GTA, getting drunk in this game is not only possible, but also very fun. But be careful – drink too much and you may pass out! Or, maybe you’ll just get into a fistfight with the entire bar.

One of my favorite parts of this game is that you can choose your path. With Red Dead Redemption’s Honor system, every choice you make affects the future of your game. If you save civilians and do the main missions, your honor will be high, and you will receive benefits such as discounts at stores. If you kill innocents and break the law with people watching, you will loose honor, essentially starting the path to evil.

The Good:
-Amazing graphics
-Hours and hours of gameplay (20+ hrs JUST for the main storyline)
-Detailed and fun storyline
-Sandbox gameplay
-Ability to choose your destiny
-Good selection of weapons, outfits, horses, etc.
-Great replay value
-Huge map, lots to explore

The Bad
-Hunting/gathering gets boring quick
-Auto-aim makes gameplay too easy

The Ugly
-A few minor glitches

OVERALL: 9.5/10