It’s a strange world we live in where the changing of seasons isn’t so much marked by a shift in weather or temperature but a shift in our buying habits. Rather than the changing color of the leaves, fall is marked for gamers by the suffocating deluge of great games releases. Last week alone we saw Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, Quantum of Solace, EndWar and Valkyria Chronicles. This week it’s Mirror’s Edge, Red Alert 3, Wrath of the Lich King, Call of Duty: World at War, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Mortal Kombat vs. DC. And that’s just the AAA titles. Drowning would be putting what we’re going through lightly.

Because of this, we’re put into a rather interesting situation. Rather than playing the games we want, we have to choose which games to play now and which games to wait on. It’s almost a game unto itself, and like any great game it can be as simple or as deep as you want it to be. Sure you could just pick the games you want most and move on, but what fun is that? And herein lies the part where I explain to you why I haven’t played LittleBigPlanet;

I’m dying to play LittleBigPlanet. Like — dying dying. For once the chest pains aren’t exclusively related to my high-blood pressure and poor diet. But here’s the thing — if I play LBP now I’m not going to play anything else this holiday season. I know what I’m like, and having played the beta I know the potential LBP has to suck every last free minute out of me for the next hundred years. I had to think strategically, so I’ve chosen to put LBP off until the fall deluge of games is over. If not, you’re reading list of Jim-penned articles would consist exclusively of LBP raving and ranting, and while that’ll make great material during the dry spell in the new year, it’s not necessarily what you’re looking for right now.

So Sackboy, to you I say “sorry,” I had to make a grown-up decision. I waited more than a year for you. Another few months won’t kill us to be apart. It won’t be much longer now, as I’ve already tackled much of what I cared about this fall. The reviews of Fable 2, Rock Band 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift are behind us now, and while I’m currently knee-deep in Gears of War 2 and Bejeweled Twist, still looking forward to Left 4 Dead next week, and would eventually like to tackle EndWar and Prince of Persia, I can’t help but feel that the time for us to be together is almost here. Besides, some time to yourself will give you a chance to grow. When we meet you’ll have so much more to offer in the way of user-generated content than you would have at launch. I look forward to our time together with eager anticipation.

Oh - and Fallout 3 can eat my hog. You’ll notice it wasn’t mentioned in any of my ramblings. That’s because I’m only somewhat interested and completely aware of the time-commitment involved. Something tells me I can hold off on that one until I’m looking for something to kill time with next April. Besides, I’ve only just started playing the original one (still available for free), so I’ve got a ways to go before I feel the need to tackle number 3.

Before I write this review, I think it’s important for me to confess about the small love affair I had with the original MotorStorm.  Not only was it my favorite racing title of the past few years (sorry Wipeout!), but it’s the game that sold me on the PlayStation 3.  Before MotorStorm hit I was really on the fence about picking a PS3 up.  Would it be a success?  Would there be enough games that I couldn’t get on my 360 to warrant a purchase?  Would Blu-Ray win out over HD-DVD?  Back in March 2007 all those questions were still up in the air.

…and then I saw MotorStorm.  It was on a playable kiosk at my local FutureShop (it’s like Best Buy, only Canadian).  Within five minutes the question went from if I should buy one to how quickly could I afford it.

While the original MotorStorm had it’s detractors, it was easy to look past it’s flaws and enjoy the creamy middle inside.  Now, only 18 months later, MotorStorm is back.  But does Pacific Rift build on the awesomeness that came before, or just retread the muddy tracks it laid down in the first game?

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So beautiful… Should have sent.. a poet…

The fine folks over at Half-Masked have seen fit to document my nightmare with EA in comic strip form, and I’m tickled pink about it. I couldn’t be tickled any more pink if my skin were inside out and I rolled around in cotton candy. I’m the pinkiest. Thanks Half-Masked!

When I’d first heard about Soul Trapper, my interest couldn’t have been more piqued. An audio-centric adventure game that you played more with your ears than your eyes? Who wouldn’t be interested in checking that out? As far as new ideas go, it’s definitely something that breaks new ground in the video game market. But was it ground worth breaking? Read on to find out..

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Just a couple of quick notes for those of us that like whacking around silver balls;

Alien Crush Returns hit WiiWare earlier this week. It’s 800 points, and with the original on the VC at 600 points it’s not that bad of a deal. We haven’t had a chance to get our hands on it yet but you can expect a full review when we do. If you can’t wait that long IGN has a review up. They gave it a 7.8. Sounds about right from everything we’ve seen, but who can really say until they’ve tried it for themselves? Don’t forget to check out our previous Alien Crush Returns coverage, featuring our interview with producer Peter Dassenko.

In other pinball news, Kotaku is reporting that a new Pinball FX table is set to release on November 12th. The theme? Super Street Fighter II Turbo. I’m a big fan of the licensed tables idea, even if the Rocky & Bullwinkle one was a little cluttered. No price has been set yet, but you can safely assume it’ll either be 200 points or free as a promotional tie-in to the upcoming Super Street Fighter II HD. Either way, it looks AWESOME. Kotaku has a gallery up, so you can check out the full set of images there.

Still don’t own Pinball FX? Maybe Dan’s review can turn you around.

While most people would argue that the race to the presidency is largely over, the US government would still like for those of you over the age of 18 with a clean criminal record to get on your scooters and hobble on down to the voting booth tomorrow. And while video games shouldn’t be the only thing you vote on, they’re clearly something that’s on the list of things that matter to our readers. So what exactly have the candidates had to say about the issue? Here’s the recap;

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In a matter of months, the original Rock Band took the world by storm. Equal parts party game, skills challenge, and a music fans wet dream, it successfully bridged the gap between casual and hardcore audiences. For the first time in as long as I can remember, a new IP debuted that everybody could enjoy. That’s why it was so surprising to hear that the sequel would be on store shelves less than a year from it’s original release.

So was it just a quick cash grab, or did the team at Harmonix have the time they needed to make big enough changes to the Rock Band formula to justify a sequel? Read on to find out;

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