Just ahead of this week's launch (that's a week earlier than planned which is nice) the Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo is now available for download and playing on XBLIVE.

I'm not sure it's your cup of tea and I can't believe I just said cup of tea but the game is at the very least intriguing because it's sure to be banned somewhere in the world so you should try it out just so you know when someone says something stupid about the game and video game violence in general you'll be prepared.

Read more: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Demo Ready on XBLIVE

Microsoft and Bungie unveiled the special Limited Edition Halo Reach Xbox 360 and it looks mighty fine. The unit comes with a spiffy Halo-inspired color scheme, matching controllers and of course the game. This is the latest gen Xbox 360 with a big 250GB hard drive and the latest built-in Wi-fi. Taking it a bit further than usually done with limited edition Xboxes, the Halo Reach version uses Halo sounds for the On/Off button that while a small gesture certainly add to the machine's mystique.

The price is right for this beast at $399 but I have to quibble with the lack of the better Halo Reach bundle. Why aren't they offering the limited edition Reach with the Limited Edition Xbox 360? Seems like they were more concerned about hitting that magic $399 bundle price they love so much.

Pre-order today from Amazon and get release day delivery - Use this link.

Read more: Bungie Unveils Halo Reach Xbox 360 Limited Edition 250GB

Microsoft is running a special "contest" by selling Gears of War 3 avatar items with this fateful decision hanging in the balance "The fate of Carmine lies in your hands! For the first time in franchise history, Epic Games and Microsoft are giving fans the chance to decide the fate of a character in “Gears of War 3.” By purchasing avatar gear on Xbox LIVE Marketplace" The money will not be going into Microsoft's bank account though, they are donating all proceeds to Child's Play Charity which is nice.

Starting July 29th you can buy a Save Carmine or Carmine Must Die shirt that will decide this character's life or death.

Read more: Buy Gears of War 3 Avatar Shirts and Decide the Fate of One of the Characters In the Game

Microsoft dropped the official Kinect details on the world today and introduced the Kinect Xbox 360 bundle.

The bundle will get you a newly refreshed Xbox 360 Arcade with a 4GB memory cards, Kinect and a copy of Kinect Adventures for just $299.99 which keeps Microsoft's existing $299 price point intact. Because Kinect is "controllerless" you only get one controller for the price.

Of course if you have an existing Xbox 360 you can just pick up the stand-alone Kinect Sensor with Kinect Adventures! for $149.

Release date for both is November 4th so start thinking about your excuse for buying or not buying it. I won't be buying it because it's lame but maybe I'm just lame. The jury is still out on that one folks.

Read more: The Real Details Emerge - Kinect Bundle and Stand-alone Priced

I've got the latest Xbox LIVE most played list for the week of July 5th and you guessed it - the list looks remarkably unchanged from the previous week. The top 10 full games list contains the same cast of games as the previous week with the exception of the Crackdown 2 demo which has dropped down to 11 because the game has been released (and shows up at #17 this week.)

There is one new entry on the main list - Blacklight: Tango Down and it hits at #10 and #1 on the Arcade list which is unique enough to mention.

Read more: Blacklight: Tango Down Sneaks Into Both of the Latest XBLIVE Top 20 Lists