Call of Duty: Black Ops The biggest name in military games gets its next installment on November 9 -- but how much do you really know about this hotly-anticipated, Cold War-era shooter? In a few minutes, you'll know plenty.

1. It might be a Call of Duty game, but it doesn't have all that much in common with Modern Warfare 2.

Yup -- different era, different characters, but most importantly, an entirely different developer. Black Ops comes from Santa Monica-based Treyarch, the firm responsible for Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, and (looking further back) well-regarded ports of the early Tony Hawk games. It's probably fair to say they're not held in quite the same regard as Infinity Ward,

Silent killer
As you've probably noticed, Microsoft launched its Kinect motion control
system this week -- and while you're rearranging your furniture to make
room for the space-hungry sensor, here's a timely reminder that playing
motion-control games can be hazardous to the health of your television.

It comes to us courtesy of an unfortunate Kinect owner, who...well, we'll let him tell it.

"A public service announcement," he says on his personal blog:
"Do not under any circumstances play Kinect Sports Volleyball at 1:30
a.m. while standing under a ceiling fan with a dangling chain for a
light switch. You could conceivably spike it into your year-old amazing TV, causing it to die with a rainbow LCD

MICROSOFT KINECT

Platforms: X360

Watch Kinect Video Thursday is launch day for Microsoft's new Kinect motion control system, and the line is already forming in New York's Times Square. The party kicks off at midnight -- and if you're one of the first 3,000 in line, you'll get a free Kinect, plus a game and a year of Xbox Live Gold. So what are you waiting for? Get down there!

What, you're still here? Suit yourself. We'll be bringing you plenty of Kinect coverage this week, as critics and consumers react to Microsoft's entry in the motion controller war, but if you're curious to see how the new system stacks up next to Sony and Nintendo's solutions, you can find out right here.

Get More Game Details | Buy

Kinect is watching. After a year and a half of hype, speculation, and one big name change, Microsoft's motion-control sensor has finally arrived. Thanks to its lofty promise of true controller-free gaming, analysts expect Kinect to be a pretty big hit this holiday season as it goes head-to-head with competing controllers from Sony and Nintendo.

But forget the projections -- we've had our hands on (or is that off?) a Kinect and a collection of launch titles for a few days now. While it's certainly wowed us with its sci-fi tech, you might not want to ditch your old gamepads just yet. Read on to find out why.

The Basics

Kinect is a motion-sensing camera for the Xbox 360 that lets you play games, navigate menus

Mob rules. Leave the game. Take the cannoli.

Such advice might have come in handy last weekend for notorious Mafioso Gerlandino Messina. Considered Sicily's number-two made man, Messina was apparently too busy playing The Godfather video game on his Xbox to notice that police were apprehending him, reports The Epoch Times.

At the time of his arrest, the 38-year-old was one of Italy's most wanted criminals. He had been on the run since 1999 for "mafia-type association and several murders" -- and we're not talking about his antics on screen.

Released in 2006, The Godfather video game let players experience key moments from the first film, culminating in becoming the head of New York operations for the

Cheaters never prosper It happens in every game - whether it's Monopoly, pro football or "Halo:
Reach". Inevitably, some hyper-competitive jerk tries to rig the game, ratcheting up his victory count by illicit means.

It's particularly bothersome in the video game world, but now the cheaters
are getting their just deserts as the developers of some of today's most
popular games - including "StarCraft II," "Red Dead Redemption" and
"Halo: Reach" - are outright banning the most egregious double dealers.

Blizzard has been leading the charge for much of 2010. In April, the company
banned an astonishing 320,000 "Warcraft" and "Diablo" accounts - issuing
30-day suspensions to first offenders and permanently banning

Racing into stores...sometimeOnce upon a time, eagerly awaited Playstation 3 racer Gran Turismo 5 was due to release this week.

As fans will doubtless have noticed, it didn't. In fact, three weeks ago it was delayed until some vague point "later this holiday season"
-- and Sony Europe later clarified gamers could expect the game "before Christmas." Typically, release dates need to be nailed down several weeks in advance to allow publishers time for advertising,
manufacturing, and distribution, meaning a November release looks
increasingly unlikely.

Or does it? GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi,  speaking at the SEMA car show
in Las Vegas this week, told auto enthusiast blog Jalopnik that not only
is Gran Turismo 5 finished,

So you've got a Kinect (and in case you don't, check out our 101 guide to find out if it's right for you), but no games. That just won't do. Here's a rundown of six of the system's initial launch titles. Get moving!

Hot:

Search for more on Dance Central Dance Central