Yikes. Are the writers of MTV Multiplayer really passing on three of the biggest video games of the year?!

Well, not really. In reality, each of us is passing -- for the time being, at least -- on one of the biggest games of the year. We all plan on playing these games eventually.

Here's why.

Tracey's Not Playing…
"Fallout 3" (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Why she's passing on the highly-acclaimed action-RPG even though she loved "Oblivion": As much as I'd like to play this now, I've got too many games on my plate and I just started "Fable II." Sure, I could try to play both but I feel like most people are choosing one big October RPG over the other. While Patrick chose "Fallout 3," I'm going to have to go with "Fable II" for now and get back to "Fallout 3" later. Are you guys playing both simultaneously?

Stephen's Not Playing…
"LittleBigPlanet" (PS3)

Why he's not playing a game he knows he'd like: The servers have been down since hours after launch. Sure, I could be playing the developer-made levels, but I'm most eager to see the madness that other people create. First the game is delayed, which pushes the server activation day back a week. Then the servers get turned off because of "glitches." When will "LBP" be ready for me to enjoy in all its glory?

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Fable II" (Xbox 360)

The reason he's not playing the Peter Molyneux game he's very excited for: This fall, gamers have to make choices on what to play. Sometimes this means picking one game over the other. That's what happened to "Fable II," unfortunately. "Fallout 3" and "Fable II" arrived at my desk within 24 hours of one another, but the setting of "Fallout 3" was far more appealing and interesting to me. Plus, I wanted to find out if I could like an open-world game as much as the rest of the world seems to. Here's hoping I made the right decision!

With Stephen en route to San Francisco today, one can only guess what game he might be passing on this week. But no worries, Tracey and I are here.

The fall gaming season is in full swing, which means we're getting pickier and pickier about what games we decided to spend time with.

See what tough decisions we had to make this week...

Patrick's Not Playing
"Fable II" (Xbox 360)

The reason he's not seeing if Peter Molyenux got it right this time: There are two major RPGs coming out in October and, unfortunately for "Fable II," I choose the other one: "Fallout 3." Given the state of the world right now, "Fallout 3"'s setting is simply more interesting to me. I will play and finish "Fable II" in the near future, but with only so many hours in the day, it will have to wait until I finish exploring the wastelands. Sorry, Peter.

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009" (Wii)

Why she's not working on her abs with Jillian: Although I was diligently using "Wii Fit" at least once a week for a while, I haven't used it lately. And from what I've seen of "The Biggest Loser," this woman is brutal. But as far as Wii Balance Board games go, there was "We Ski," and now there's "Wii Music," "Tetris Party" and "The Incredible Maze" -- all more casual titles. Later, we can expect to go boarding with "Shaun White Snowboarding" and "Skate It." But do hardcore gamers really want to get physical with the Balance Board? What games are you looking forward to for the BB?

Wait, there's someone at MTV Multiplayer who isn't playing "Dead Space"?! Blame it on Tracey John, folks!

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Golden Axe: Beast Rider" (Xbox 360, PS3)

Why I'm not checking out this old school revival: It only took one bad press demo to convince me "Golden Axe" was worth missing out on. While games journalists are traditionally trained to try and give games the benefit of the doubt when they're seeing something early, the fundamentals of "Golden Axe"'s flaws were apparent immediately. These weren't going to be fixed before shipping. Plus, it doesn't even look like "Golden Axe." It looks like a mediocre "God of War" clone. Pass!

Stephen’s Not Playing…
“Rock Revolution” (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

Why he isn't supporting the revolution: It's not because I work at MTV, makers of "Rock Band." It's because I haven't even had time to get a copy of "Rock Band 2" this year, don't have room, if I do, to also keep "Guitar Hero: World Tour" in my apartment, and just had a copy of "Wii Music" land on my lap. If my music-gaming calendar is already more than full, whose isn't?

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Dead Space" (Xbox 360, PS3)

Why she's ignoring the survival-horror title that her co-workers are currently playing: Because I don't succumb to peer pressure! Or I'm a scaredy-cat. As much as I like the game's box art, I know it's going to be scary, and scary games (and movies) keep me awake at night. I just need some mental preparation and all the lights on. So this week, I just don't have the time... and I need all the sleep I can get after BlizzCon. Maybe later, "Dead Space."

How are we supposed to keep up with this many game releases each week?! Here's this week’s picks for what we’re not picking up to play…

Patrick's Not Playing…
"Fracture" for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

The reason he's not terraforming the planet: The word of mouth on "Fracture" has been iffy. Even though I had fun with the game's multiplayer when I visited the LucasArts' offices a few weeks back, in a fall gaming season where I'm already in the midst of playing several high-profile games and staring at a release schedule full of several more, potentially AAA-titles in the next few weeks, I don't have time for average.

Stephen’s Not Playing…
“NBA Live” and "NBA 2K9" and "NBA '09: The Inside"

Why he doesn't want you to pass him the ball: Why did I never start watching the "X-Files"? Because I didn't follow the series from the start and felt I learned about it too late to catch on. Why did I never start reading "X-Men" comics as a kid? Because my friends had started them before I heard of them and I assumed I was too late to catch on. Why am I not playing this year's crop of "NBA" games? Because these games have been evolving for years and I assume that if I started trying them now, I'd be too late to catch on and be any good at them. I could be wrong, but I often find that that's the reason it's easier to stay away from established series than to try a new, original game.

So many games, so little time. With that in mind, here are this week's picks for what we're not picking up to play this week...

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Silent Hill: Homecoming" on Xbox 360, PS3 pr PC

Why she's ignoring the newest game in the popular survival horror series: It's simple. I haven't played the other ones. [Insert gasps here.] I admit the series is a glaring blind spot in my gaming repertoire that I've been meaning to get around to. So should I begin with this one or start at the very beginning?

Stephen's Not Playing...
"WipEout HD" on PS3

Why he's already gone off-track: I tried it this past weekend. It looks great. It plays as well as I assume "WipEout" games should play, though that's a guess coming from someone who hasn't played much of the previous iterations. If all I have to say are positive things, then why am I not playing it? Because I have so many other games to play that, for me, a racing game needs to be put aside. I have adventures to experience, games with ends to reach. A racing game that requires dedication to learn is the kind of game I feel I can let wait. Personal genre taste, I guess. (Just don't ask how this explains why I've played a few minutes of "Burnout Paradise" every day that I've turned on my PS3 since I downloaded the game through the PlayStation Network.)

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood" on DS

The reason he's avoiding this potentially awesome RPG: BioWare + Sonic + RPG sounds like a recipe for success, but I'm trying to enforce a rule on myself this fall. I won't start a new game in a genre before I finish the last. In this case, I opened up "The World Ends With You" a few months back and haven't returned to it. I enjoyed the hour or so I spent with one of Stephen's favorites for 2008, but since I usually find myself dropping handheld games when I'm not traveling, "The World Ends With You" has remained locked away. But until I give that another go, "Sonic Chronicles" sits on my desk...waiting.

The games just keep on coming; we're up to our eyeballs with titles that we want to play.

With that in mind, we're going to have to say "pass" to the following games for the time being. Better luck next week?

Stephen's NOT Playing...
"TNA iMPACT!" on any console

Why this fan of pro wrestling isn't playing the latest pro wrestling game: Yes, I like pro wrestling. In theory. I don't watch Raw anymore. I don't watch Smackdown. I'm familiar with TNA. I like Ring of Honor. But my enjoyment of watching pro wrestling has never extended to me wanting to role-play it in a video game. Is this odd? The converse is true about other genres. For example, I can enjoy playing a "Pokemon" video game, but I have no interest in playing the card games they're based on. I like first-person shooters but I have little desire to go target-shooting or join the military.

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Baja: Edge of Control" on Xbox 360/PS3

Why he's not going off-road this week: Well, that's not actually true. The problem is that I've already picked the off road racer I'll be spending my time with: "Pure." Disney's ATV racer has captivated the "SSX" fan in me, and as someone who rarely plays racers, I choose carefully. This time, it's "Pure."

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Mega Man 9" on Wii

Why she's ignoring one of Patrick's most anticipated games: After having an IM conversation where my Multiplayer colleague described the game as "SO HARD," "as hard as Mega Man 1, probably harder" and "a fun built out of extreme frustration" -- I'm going to have to pass on this one. "Mega Man 9," I'll come back to you when I feel like getting my butt handed to me. Anyone else skipping out on this because they feel intimidated?

***

Readers, what titles are you avoiding this week?

We admit we don't have time to play every game that comes out, so some titles must go unplayed for logical (or idiosyncratic) reasons.

Check out the games we're snubbing this week, and let us know if you're with us or if we're completely out of our minds:

Stephen's Not Playing...
"Dragon Quest IV" on DS

Why he's not playing a legendary Japanese role-playing game: How many times must a man get burned trying RPGs that take hours to get interesting, are full of non-player-characters who have nothing important to day, require lots of item management, force the repetition of tedious battles? Note that I have no idea if "DQIV" sports these qualities. It might, in fact, be as refreshingly progressive as the excellent DS JRPG "The World Ends With You." But I won't risk playing many JRPGs and I don't trust the people who praise most of them. If more games in the genre trimmed the tedium, I'd be less cautious. But right now the genre leaves me singed. (Cue angry e-mails about how I'm an MTV guy who should just stick to playing "Halo 3".)

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition" on DS

The reason he's not drawing under the sea: For one, I accidentally passed on the original "Drawn to Life" game, so I still need to get back to that. The idea of generating your own 2D platformer is an interesting one, but I never got around to trying it. And while I'd love another shot at that, branding the series with a "SpongeBob SquarePants" moniker isn't the way to pull me back in. There's every reason to believe this follow-up is even better than the original "Drawn to Life," but because there's no appeal in the assets I'll be able to create my world with, I'm passing.

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Dance Dance Revolution X" on PS2

Why she's not steppin' to the special 10th anniversary edition of the game: As much as I enjoy rhythm games, I've never really gotten into "DDR." I tried really hard once (forget which version) to play it, but even on the easiest settings I was tripping over my own feet. I even saw "DDR X" set up at a Konami event yesterday, but was too daunted to try it in front of people. (Plus, this week I plan on being completely sedentary by playing "Warhammer Online" and possibly the enhanced version of "The Witcher.")

***

Readers, what are you NOT playing this weekend, and why? And will you be playing "Dragon Quest IV," "Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition" or "DDR X"?

In the season full of games we want to play, there will no doubt be some titles we'll have to neglect.

Here are this week's picks from our new release pile that are just going to have to wait...

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Spore" on the PC/Mac

Why he's avoiding the game everyone's talking about: Unfortunately, I actually do want to play Will Wright's latest, but upon popping in the disc, I discovered it's literally impossible for me to jump in. "Spore" requires that I upgrade my MacBook Pro laptop to the latest operating system, Leopard, something that I've been avoiding ever since the software dropped earlier this year. Playing "Spore" is a must, however, which means this weekend will be spent seeing what it's like to upgrading an operating system on a Mac. Please, don't be a painful as it is on a Windows machine!

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Cabela's Legendary Adventures" on Wii, PS2, PSP

Why she won't be gunning down virtual animals anytime soon: How can I "relive the greatest hunting stories ever told" if I've never lived them to begin with? Although I've played "Big Buck Hunter" at bars, I haven't been inspired to play any of the "Cabela" games; I think mowing down virtual people is generally more fun. Am I missing out?

***

Readers, what are you NOT playing this weekend, and why? And will you be playing "Spore" or "Cabela's Legendary Adventures"?

If we had time machines, we'd go back and play almost every single game that came out.

But we don't.

So that means some games are just going to have to wait. Such as...

Stephen's Not Playing...
"Stubbs the Zombie" for the Xbox

Why he would even think it's relevant to mention that he's not playing a 2005 Xbox game: I heard it was funny. Edge magazine devoted one of its great Time Extend features to it. It was released as a downloadable title through the Xbox 360's marketplace just a few months ago, and playing it fit into the slow patches this summer. But the autumn avalanche of games is already tumbling into my house, leaving "Stubbs," "The Club," and just a couple of other games left in my need-to-get-back-to stack. That stack won't be gotten back to until early 2009 -- if I had to guess.

Patrick's Not Playing...
"Shred Nebula" for Xbox Live Arcade

The reason he's skipping out on an XBL Arcade game during a summer of amazing ones: "Shred Nebula" is an overhead shooter. You can't count the number of old-school shooters on your hands and feet combined -- there's way too many of them. While I've heard some hardcore fighting fans are behind "Shred Nebula," when we're in the midst of a time in gaming where there's so much to be playing, the genre alone is enough to turn me off to trying "Shred Nebula." That is, unless I hear some buzz on it after it's released. Am I dismissing "Shred Nebula" too easily?

Tracey's Not Playing...
"Infinite Undiscovery" for the Xbox 360

Why she's ignoring an RPG even though she loves RPGs: With copies of two big September titles (namely "Spore" and "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed") at home now, I know I won't have the time this week. Or next week, even ("infinite" is in the title, after all). I'm also still working on "Jeanne D'Arc," and at the advice of a WWNP reader, I started "Too Human." Next in my RPG queue, "Tales of Vesperia." How can one prioritize what games to play during the next few months of big releases?

***

Readers, what new releases are you NOT playing this week, and why?

There's simply not enough time in the world to play every video game that crosses the desk of MTV Multiplayer.

We love games just as much as you, but 24 hours isn't enough!

Maybe technology will advance one day so we can make the days last longer, but until then, here's your look at What We're NOT Playing this week…

Stephen’s Not Playing…
“Mario Super Sluggers″ on Wii

How he resisted this latest Mario title: I lent this game to a friend who loves baseball games, and he texted me a day later to say he didn't want to give it back. But he did give it back and now it's just sitting on my desk. I enjoyed "Super Mario Galaxy" and "Mario Kart," but I think I may be Mario'd out for the current 12-month period. I also don't care for baseball games. Guess I should give it back to my friend, huh?

Tracey's Not Playing…
"Helix" on WiiWare

Why she's not spending her Wii points on this game: I'm already tired from just watching videos of this game in action. If I want exercise, I'll turn on "Wii Fit." If I want a music rhythm game, I'll turn on "Rock Band" or "Guitar Hero." For some reason, this particular combination of both doesn't appeal to me. To boot, I'm not a huge fan of trance. Sorry, "Helix."

Patrick's Not Playing…
"The Last Guy" on PS3/PSN

The reason he's not saving the world: There is too much going on right now! Tomorrow, I'm headed off to the Penny Arcade Expo, I just started playing through "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction" because of "Quest For Booty" and "Too Human" is staring at me from across the room. "The Last Guy" demo sounded like a good time, but there are other worlds that need saving first.

***

Readers, what games are you not going to touch this week, and why?