As usual, this is a pretty hit or miss week. But it is exciting because of the big release, more Renaissance-era assassinations!

11/15/10
NBA Jam (PS3)“He’s on fire.” If that didn’t make sense to you then you are too young and don’t know your video game history. If you never played basketball as a big-headed Beastie Boy or Bill Clinton then you have no idea why this game exists. For shame.

11/16/10
Marvel Super Hero Squad The Infinity GauntletI may not have cared much for issue 11 of the comic book, but this kid’s title is just too cute to pass. It’s in my GameQ.

National Geographic Quiz! Wild LifeI’m not sure how this game flew under my radar until now. I’m a trivia buff, a gamer, and I’ve always liked National Geographic. The fact that I didn’t know it existed does not bode well. Clearly a $30 trivia game is not going to be as hyped as many of the top tier games, but I would think I would have at least heard the name. I’ve had more exposure to some of the obscure anime-based games.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
If you played the first two Assassin’s Creed games (the awful PSP version doesn’t count) then you’ve probably been anticipating this one. The player continues as Ezio, building an army of Assassins in the war against the Templars. Further into the future, the game promises to reveal more of Desmond and his rebels. It also adds multiplayer for the first time in the franchise. That concept has me smiling hesitantly. I’m not sure how well that will work in this series but the previews I’ve seen hold promise.

Apache: Air AssaultThis is another game that went under my radar (which is punny because it’s about helicopters). I’ve never been a flight sim player and I have no idea if that’s actually what this is or not. I hated Tiger Heli as a kid too. If this is your cup of tea, please enjoy it.

Dance Dance RevolutionThis week seems tailor-made to make me feel old. First the NBA Jam thing, then a game that makes me think of Tiger Heli, now a game that I know I’m simply incapable of playing because of my ancient body’s decrepitude. I’ve tried these games once or twice in arcades and literally fell off the platform. If you’ve been itching for this series on your PS3 I hope you enjoy it before you get old and feeble like me. Then again, I’ve got to give a little credit to XBox just because it’s due. If your choices are jumping around on yet another peripheral while waving your arms holding glowing lollipop dildos, or just hooking up a camera and playing Dance Central from a proven developer like Harmonix, I think I know where I’d go (assuming I actually had a 360).

EA Sports Active 2I didn’t even know there was a first game in this series; I’m guessing it was for Wii and now EA is jumping onto the MOVE and Kinect availability for this iteration. Personally I don’t understand the “fitness gaming” concept. I have a gym membership so my PS3 is used for actual games and movies.

Need for Speed Hot PursuitThis is a pretty tried and true racing series. If you’re even kind of interested in racing games I’d suggest you at least put this one in the GameQ. It’s no Gran Turismo 5 I’m sure, but at least this one actually comes out.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1I have a confession to make: I’ve never read a Harry Potter book. I’m planning to read them after all the movies are done. Everyone keeps telling me how the movies ruined it but I’m enjoying them. I figure this is a good way to like the movies, but still be able to enjoy the more expansive story once I do read the books. In the meantime, the only game I’ve played is the LEGO version. I keep looking at these games with each movie and consider playing them and never do. Now they’ve turned it into a first-person shooter with the varied spells filling in as weapon selection. Not being a fan of FPS, I’m not sure if I even want to play this game.

CreateI’ve seen bits and pieces about this game occasionally but haven’t learned much about it. Just reading about it now it seems intriguing. I’ve enjoyed Little Big Planet and ModNation Racers because of the user-created features. This looks to be a puzzle game with the same concept. Definitely seems worth playing if not buying. Into the Q.

11/18/10
Zumba FitnessI think I’ve already editorialized enough on fitness gaming. I could go off on trendy exercise concepts with this one but why bother? If you buy it, have fun. If you don’t, you’ll probably have more fun.