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Do you have a video game console in your home? If you do, no doubt your child has brought home a game from a friend, rented a game from the local video store or they are pressing you for a few bucks to buy one at the store. How do you know if the game is suitable for your family? A quick glance at the video game ratings on the boxes can be a big help.

The ESRB or Entertainment Software Ratings Board was founded in the mid 90's to help guide users by assigning content ratings to computer and video games.

Video game ratings have two different aspects to them, an age rating which is listed on the front and a content description that is listed on the back.

There are six age ratings symbols that could be listed on the front. The following is a listing of the different age ratings.

EC (Early Childhood) - Games with this rating are intended for ages 3 and older and do not contain inappropriate material.

E (Everyone) - Games with this rating are intended for ages 6 and older and may contain minimal cartoon or mild violence or may contain very small amounts of mild language.

E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) - Games with this rating have content suitable for those 10 and older and may contain mild violence, mild language or some suggestive themes.

T (Teen) - Games with this rating are intended for ages 13 and older due to violence, suggestive themes, minimal amounts of blood or some strong language.

M (Mature) - Games with this rating have content suitable for those 17 years of age or older due to intense violence, blood, sexual content and/or strong language.

AO (Adults Only) - Games with this rating are only intended for those 18 years of age and older due to prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.

If you see a game with an RP it stands for Rating Pending and the game is waiting for a final rating prior to the games release.

In addition to the age appropriate ratings on the front of the box, there is a content description on the back of the box. There are over 30 content descriptions to help you determine what your child is being exposed to. Some example descriptions are Blood, Comic Mischief, Edutainment, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Real Gambling, and Use of Drugs.

It is important to note that even though a game receives a rating, that rating is for single player gaming. One of the more attractive aspects of today's video games is the ability to play them online with others from all over the world. Many games allow use of a headset or even a video camera. Whenever you play a video game online (just like when you play a group game at school or a board game at a party) your child may be subjected to things out of your control such as inappropriate language.

As a parent, video game ratings can be a great help to you, however it is important to not just rely on ratings on the side of the box. Also make sure to spend time watching or better yet playing the game with your child or participating in an online game to better determine what is appropriate for your child.

For more http://familyhometheaterguide.com/Video_gaming_guide_for_parents.html

The Family Home Theater Guide is an informative guide to home theater, with a particular emphasis on family entertainment. Jared has a wife and three children that love to experience the magic of the big screen in the comfort of their own home.

AP - A spacewalking astronaut accidentally let go of her tool bag Tuesday after a grease gun inside it exploded, and helplessly watched as the tote and everything inside floated away.

Are you a certified fan of Xbox 360 Games? I am sure you can no longer wait for their upcoming games. So here are just some of the games to watch out for.

This June 2008, some of the games released from Xbox 360 were Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure, Kung Fu Panda, the Incredible Hulk, Top Spin 3 and Battlefield: Bad Company (which just got released last June 25). For the months of July, September and October, Xbox 360 games to be released are NCAA Football 09. NHL 09, Rock Revolution and Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over mutant. NCAA Football 09 is an Xbox 360 game to be released on July 15, 2008. This game allows gamers to break in and out of moves by giving the user more control and instant influence and responsiveness on the field through the game's all-new Break Away Animation Engine. NCAA Football 09 game will focus on a wide collegiate style gameplay which features unique animations. If this is the kind of game you like, wait for a couple more days and you will be able to break out speed and your maneuverability in the game.

By September 2008, NHL 09 game is expected to be released. This game is the successor of NHL 08 which earned a lot of praises. The game is packed with innovative controls, added depth and new features. For those who are familiar with the game from its previous versions, you are guaranteed for satisfaction with this new one. The game even includes a Be A Pro game mode that lets the player see the view from a dynamic 3rd person camera. It has a performance tracker grading the progress of the player in more than 50 categories so you will be guided as to which skill to improve to become the next superstar on NHL.

Is there a rock star hidden inside you? You will have the chance to show that in the Rock Revolution Xbox 360 game to be released on October 2008. Get to the Jam mode of the game and be able to create your own music in a state of the art multi-track studio.

To be released in October also is the Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant game. The game shows Neo Cortex taking over the world one brain at a time. Cortex and Brio created a new kind of evil which is a text messaging, do-anything device with the ability to control both mutant and bandicoot minds. Crash must be able to free his friends from it and save the day.

More Xbox 360 games are on their way so just hold on tight and you will get to enjoy them soon.

Mike is an expert on obtaining free gaming consoles such as the free xbox 360. Mike has created an in-depth step by step guide on how to obtain free consoles. Check out his guide on claiming a free xbox 360.

AP - Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. "This technique has great promise," said Dr. Eric Genden, who did a similar transplant in 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. That operation used both donor and recipient tissue. Only a handful of windpipe, or trachea, transplants have ever been done.

I have been playing this series of games for more years than I care to remember, and when I first heard about the impending release of this game, I was ecstatic. This was enhanced by the unbelievably gorgeous graphics used for the teaser trailer for the game, and my heart skipped a beat.

However, this is all before the actual release of the game, and for me, I guess it proved that the hype-ing up of a game, and movie for that matter, does not necessarily guarantee a great game.

Undoubtedly, those reading this have read reviews of the game from games magazines and websites, that state just how 'amazing' this game is. These are undoubtedly the same individuals who said that Halo 3 was brilliant, despite the fact that in fact, the Halo series is a poorly programmed video game that is only as popular as it is due to the fact that Microsoft makes it. But I will write about my opinion on the Halo series when I next get the opportunity.

You see, the truth of the matter is that Unreal Tournament is in fact, not a very good game at all. Putting aside the glitchy graphics and textures, the actual game play is no where near as good as previous games, and in fact there are even some game modes that are missing or have been modded, and it is for this reason that the game does not succeed in appeasing me. In fact, it left a sour taste in my mouth that could only be diminished by playing Alone in the Dark.

This game was delayed for about a year, which in itself is ridiculous when you consider just how poorly made the game actually is. Sure, it uses the unreal 3 engine, but if this is what we are to expect from this engine, then I am seriously considering boycotting most other games that utilise this engine, unless I see that they are using it to its full potential, otherwise, well you end up with Unreal Tournament 3.

One of the other issues that I had with the game was the fact that they have tried to give a game that is basically based around death matches, a storyline. This concept is ridiculous. If I wanted a storyline, instead of just beating the crap out of the nearest opponent to me, then I would just throw in Gears of War into my 360. Basically, they should have left the stories to Unreal, and not Unreal Tournament.

Now, the greatest criticisms I have with this game are the graphics. I don't care what anyone says; this game is 100% NOT pretty. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that it is ugly. The textures are flat, the characters lack any sense of reality, and everything is shiny. The game is no where near as pretty as it pretended to be in the teaser trailer. And believe me, I know pretty when it comes to video games, and even with the best settings on my HDTV, this game is still appalling.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. There are some redeeming points for this game, though not enough for me to want to keep this travesty of an unreal game on my shelf, but you never know. Whilst it has in fact mutilated the Unreal Tournament game, this is still basically a game of death and destruction, and if you are looking for a game where you can kill twenty people in about 10 minutes, then I guess this is the game for you.

I certainly (in hindsight) wouldn't pay full whack price for this game, but about 30 is an acceptable price. Though be warned, this game is set to disappoint, which it has done many of my friends who have been fans of the series for many years.

My advice to one playing this game is to not listen to the hype and false reviews written in magazines. Do not expect this game to compare in any shape, way or form to its' predecessors, as quite simply it does not, and will leave you ever so slightly dead inside.

Kristen Barghout

Blog: http://www.animezonecentral.com

I am a professional programmer, with a keen interest in all things related to anime and video games. I don't just like certain genre's, I like all genre's, and will always give my honest opinion.

I can't always find the time to post my articles here, but if you visit my blog, there is lots of news and reviews, so please check it out.

AP - Target Corp. said Monday it will aggressively cut prices to give consumers bargains during the holiday season, after weak sales of its apparel and home offerings led third-quarter earnings to fall 24 percent.

The World of Warcraft offers lots of leveling guides, but you need to make a choice regards to which one is best and suitable for you, you have to settle on one particular guide, since the number of guides available in the market are enormous.

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E! Online - Consider this a sign of the Apocalypse: Frontrunner Brooke Burke scored lower than Cody Linley on tonight's Dancing with the Stars. Scary, right? And yet we know the 11-year-old girls of the world have good cause to celebrate during recess tomorrow!