Mountain Biking - Brand-new Giant Talon 29er 1 front shock rattles

I just bought a Giant Talon 29er 1, so far I like it. During the test right I didn't notice this but after about an hour or so of riding I noticed the front shock rattles, during normal riding its fine, jumping over curb or putting a little more force, you'll hear it. And also when you're stopped if you just lightly pick up the front end and set it down it sounds like the spring is vibrating inside. And also at a dead stop with the front brake on you can feel a little bit of play. I called the dealer and they said this is absolutely normal for a spring-loaded shock along with a little bit of play in the front end. Is this normal?

The rattle/noise is absolutely NOT normal. As to the "little bit of play", cheaper forks (eg. SR XCT) will have that, but if you can actually feel it clunking when you rock it back and forth then that's not normal either.
What fork is it?

Are you sure its the fork? It could be the headset a little loose. Whatever it is, its not normal.

The front forks are SR SunTour/Giant. I tightened the headset so I think I'm good there. The more I ride I'm definitely starting to believe there's a problem. When jumping off the curb the chain slapping on the rear chain stay is just as loud as the rattling coming from the front end. When riding and using the front brakes you can slightly feel a little bit of play.
I called the dealer, that is when they told me it's normal, I'm definitely going to bring it in tomorrow and having them look at it.

Depending on whether you got a 2010, 2011, or 2012 model, it would seem you either have a XCR, XCT, or Raidon fork (all are Suntour). At least that's what I'm coming up with. It looks like Giant went from a decent entry level fork to a really cheap one and then to a much better $300ish fork, all in the space of 3 model years (maybe not in that order).
So which one do you have?

I believe it's a 2011. It's the same bike that's on the giant website (link below). I just bought the bike yesterday; I rode my other bike to the dealer and rode this bike home. I'm going back to the dealer today and get my other bike and the documentation.

From the giant website this is what it says about the fork: SR Raidon 29" (Custom for Giant), Alloy Steerer, 15QR w/ Lockout, 100mm Travel.

Again thank you for all of your help

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/talon.29er/7377/44105/

That Raidon is a ~$300 fork - not top of the line, but not cheap either - it shouldn't have any real slop in it.

@scyclops, Again thank you for all of your help, I'm noticing if I make certain adjustments it lessens the rattling sound. And I'm noticing the little bit of play is in the front fork at a dead stop when I apply the front brake and I rock the bike forward and back I can see just a slight bit of play (moving back and forth) in the fork, Small enough i think the front end is actually loose. This is my first time with disc brakes and they hold tight so I could possibly see this is acceptable….Correct?

Yeah, a very small amount of lower flex with the brake locked is probably ok, but as I said before, if you can feel it in the bars then I wouldn't accept that. The noise issue still doesn't seem right, my concern being that it could be a sign of what might turn into a premature failure of the fork, but that's your call.