See why "Trick Racing" gets left in the stack this week.

Stephen's Not Playing…

"Excitebots Trick Racing" (Wii)

Why he's not playing a game he kept bringing his Wii to work to play: Ever get in one of those phases of life when there's no time for games? Those times stink. Now is one of them. There's nothing game marketers can do to counter this, though it helps explain why so many are loathe to ship games in the summer months when people are on vacation, at the beach, in a movie theater and so on.

Tracey's Not Playing…

"Excitebots Trick Racing" (Wii)

Why she's making it a double whammy this week: Though I'm curious about these "tricks" I'll be able to perform with the Wii Wheel, I'm short on time as well. The only thing I've played this week is "Henry Hatsworth" on the subway and new "Left 4 Dead" DLC. I'm sticking with portables and old favorites until the whirlwind of this week blows over.

This week, puzzle games get no love. See why.

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Stephen's Not Playing...
"Art Style Aquia" (Nintendo DSi)

Why he's not playing the block-puzzle game he was obsessed with last week: There comes a time in a gamer's life when the music of the game he or she is playing can be heard even in silence, when the graphics of the game manifest themselves floating in the real world where elevator buttons should be, and when such a gamer falls a week behind in all of his/her podcasts. That is the moment when such a gamer needs to quit. Cold turkey.

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Puzzle Quest: Galactrix" (XBLA)

Why she's giving up on "Galactrix" even though she loved "Challenge of the Warlords": It's cheating! Okay, maybe not really, but I'm a few levels in and there have been some suspiciously good, ship-destroying drops for the AI pirates against me. Perhaps I just haven't gotten the hang of it yet. Or perhaps I need more patience and practice. But after the PC version didn't work for me (unrelated to the game -- my home computer is slowly dying) and the DS version's long load times (see Stephen's Diary), I may just put "Puzzle Quest" to rest for now and return to nursing my "Peggle" addiction.

Related Posts:
Game Diary - February 27, 2009: Bad 'Puzzle Quest' News
Game Diary - April 8, 2009: Drowning in 'Aquia'
Producer Says New 'Puzzle Quest' AI Doesn't Cheat
How To Spend Your First $10 In The DSiWare Shop

This week, Vin Diesel gets no love. Neither does plastic. See why.

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What Tracey's Not Playing...
"The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena" (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Why she's not playing the new installment in the "Riddick" series: Between this, "Wheelman" and "Fast & Furious," I've had enough Vin Diesel for the time being. I didn't play "Butcher Bay" either, so this week I'm opting to try "Godfather II" and "Puzzle Quest: Galactrix" on XBLA.

Stephen's Not Playing...
Any DS Games That Come On Cartridges (DS, DSi)

Why he's not playing games that come on an a few ounces of plastic: I'm downloading games to the DSi through DSiWare. These games are good. "Art Style: Aquia" cuts to the chase and gets to the gameplay so efficiently that I can have a satisfying session between subway stops. Can't say the same for "Avalon Code" or most other games that come on cartridges.

We weren't able to play many games during GDC last week but now we're back from San Francisco. So here are the games we could play, but aren't going to.

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Stephen's Not Playing...
"Fallout 3: The Pitt" (Xbox 360)

Why he's not back in Bethesda's clutches: I can't play any of the new "Fallout 3" downloadable quests until the third and final one raises the level cap. My character is maxed at level 20, so why would I play new content that doesn't let me earn new experience points? The third pack, scheduled for a May release levels the cap. I had asked Bethesda folks if I could be earning experience points in an unregistered way right now. They said "no." So I will wait.

What Tracey's Not Playing...
"Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust" (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Why she's passing on Larry's latest sleazy adventure: The last "Leisure Suit Larry" game I played was the original on my dad's work computer. I was 9 -- I've been traumatized ever since. I'm not that interested in seducing beautiful women anyway. At least not through the lens of Larry. Do people still buy and play these games? It seems like the kind of thing you buy and then promptly place in a brown paper bag...

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I decided the fate of the following games -- all of which were sent to me for free by game publishers -- this weekend:

"Star Ocean IV" - The three discs I found in this game's DVD case were already frightening me. Then I checked reviews which said the story was dull and conveyed in cutscenes that sometimes run 45 minutes. The combat system is supposed to be good. I tried it, but it didn't have a chance of hooking me. I put this in the giveaway stack. Rejected.

"Deadly Creatures" - One system crash of this spider-and-scorpion Wii original didn't deter me. I'm a level and a half in and have decided to see this one to the end.

"Hawx" - Two fun new ideas in this Ubisoft military flight game kept me interested for a few missions, but stunt-flying controls and emergency flight-path tunnel-vision weren't enough to compensate for this game's lack of Tie Fighters and Star Destroyers. I have a narrow range of interest in flight games. I put this in the trade-in pile, but, to be honest, I’m thinking of fetching it back. Rejected - with hesitation.

"EndWar" - Voice-controlled combat worked better than I thought it would. I hope the campaign's worth it, as I'm now planning to play this one through.

"PES 2009" - I'm told by the soccer fans that Konami's "Pro Evolution Soccer" is the greatest gaming franchise for that sport. I tried one match, but like all sports games, I don't feel motivated to learn it. I'm giving this one up. Rejected.

"Rune Factory Frontier" - This Wii-exclusive game presents the should-be-tedious gardening of the "Harvest Moon" games (same development studio) with some sort of dungeon adventure and a lot of dating. My gut tells me I should be playing "Persona 4" or "Fable II" (again) for some of those elements, but for reasons I can't yet explain, I'm giving this one the benefit of the doubt. I'll play more, but I'm expecting to lose my patience before hour 10. We'll see…

"50 Cent: Blood on The Sand" - I expected to roll my eyes. I didn't expect to be telling anyone who will listen that I will both try to finish this game and that I want more games like this. More on that in a future post, at least a week from now, once I'm back from GDC, play more and risk coming to my senses.

"Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip" - I tried this briefly on the Wii with the Balance Board, but that's moot. My wife loves snowboarding games. We're keeping it.

Did I make the right calls?

Which games are getting the cold shoulder from us this week?

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Stephen's Not Playing...
"Trivial Pursuit" (Wii and Xbox 360)
Why he's not in pursuit of trivia this week: I'm sure that EA's "Trivial Pursuit" video games are good for some people... those who don't have TVs but no coffee tables? Those who don't tihnk board games have good enough graphics? Those who have been waiting for a version of Trivial Pursuit that they really wish allowed them to play by themeselves (but still supports multiplayer, too)? I'm not any of those people.

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Resistance Retribution" (PSP)
Why she's not playing the portable game based on the hit PS3 franchise: Because I'm going to play another portable game based on another hit franchise (take a wild guess). I'm also intrigued by "Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure" so between that and finishing off "Resident Evil 5" before GDC next week, I'm a busy gamer. Plus, if I haven't gotten around to playing the other "Resistance" games yet, should I care that much about this one?

This week, Stephen and I are saying no to Wii games. Read on to see which ones, and why.

Stephen's Not Playing...
"MadWorld" (Wii)
Is it April yet? That's when the parade of new games will finally slow and I can catch up. If I only had a Wii, "MadWorld" would be a rain in the desert for this month. But I've got a PS3 and 360 whirring with games, plus a backlog even on the Wii of "Deadly Creatures," "Mushroom Men," and a half-finished "House of the Dead: Overkill."

Tracey's Not Playing...
"New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis" or "New Play Control! Pikmin" (Wii)
Why she's passing on two re-vamped versions of classic GameCube titles: No time for old games! Even ones with intriguing new controls. Between "Resident Evil 5" and "MadWorld," I don't plan on playing anything else for a while. Or doing anything else for that matter.

"Puzzle Quest: Galactrix" has tried our patience. See why.

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Stephen's Not Playing...
"Puzzle Quest: Galactrix" (DS)

Why he's quitting this anticipated puzzle-RPG: It's the load times. I tried to tolerate them. But I give up.

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Empire: Total War" (PC)

Why she's passing on this historical real-time strategy game: Even though "Empire: Total War" has received positive reviews, I'm going to have to skip this one. I don't play many RTS games, but when I do, I can only play one at a time. And I'm right now, I'm more interested in another RTS that came out this week. Sorry, "Empire" -- 18th century naval battles don't excite me as much as fighting the Covenant in "Halo Wars." (Not to mention, I've still got "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II" in the box waiting to be played.)

This week in "What We're NOT Playing," we just say no to continuations of popular franchises. We might be crazy. But you decide.

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Tracey's Not Playing
"Killzone 2" (PS3)

Why she's skipping the highly anticipated shooter: It's yet another sci-fi first-person shooter. I haven't gotten around to playing "Resistance 2" or even the first "Killzone" title yet so I'm going to pass on touching this for a while. Even if the graphics are great, I just don't think I need to get to this until there's a sci-fi FPS drought.

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop" (Wii)

The reason he's not mowing down zombies with a Wiimote: When Capcom announced "Dead Rising," it reminded me of something very shameful: I never finished "Dead Rising." No, scratch that, I barely played more than an hour or two of "Dead Rising." How can I get amped for a Wii version, when I haven’t touched the game it’s based on? This must be remedied soon.

Stephen's Not Playing...
"F.E.A.R. 2" (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Why he's not playing the solidly-reviewed first-person shooter: Let this game become the first of the 2009 games that I'd like to get to but can't. Combine genre fatigue with my need to still finish some major 2008 titles, and I just don't have room for Warner Brothers' "F.E.A.R. 2." I heard that the first one was good, so I'd like to play the new one. But now's not a good time.

Stephen's en route to the DICE Summit, so we're assuming he's not playing anything brand new for the rest of the week. However, Patrick and I are around, and there are plenty of releases to skip out on. But this week, we chose the same title. Here's why:

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Patrick's Not Playing...
"Street Fighter IV" (Xbox 360, PS3)

The reason he's not playing the biggest release of 2009 so far: Not since "Street Fighter II" and the original "Mortal Kombat" games have fighting games entertained me. Even though "Street Fighter IV" promises a return to the series' classic roots, so many of my good friends are genre aficionados that I'd have no chance against them without serious practice, something I don't have the time or patience for. Sorry, Capcom. Bring on "Dead Rising 2"!

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Street Fighter IV" (Xbox 360, PS3)

Why she's also with Patrick on this one: I guess you can tell that we here at Multiplayer aren't big on fighting games. It definitely is one of those things where we need to practice our skillz, and perhaps it should be the only game we're playing this week. But with "GTA"'s DLC, "Noby Noby Boy," and "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II" (well, for me anyway), I think I'd rather indulge in those for now. My apologies to Chun-Li. Maybe next week.