A few hot titles and nice price cuts for the players

It's the season for football, falling leaves, and new video-game releases. And though all of us are feeling the pockets pinch a bit, there is no doubt we will dig deep for at least a couple of titles to keep us company through winter.

Publishers are fully aware of our unquenchable thirst for gaming, and there are some recent price cuts for gaming consoles that, combined, could boost game sales that have sagged this year.

While a couple of big titles won't meet their original release dates this year (Bioshock 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Ghost Recon 4, Starcraft 2), there still are some pretty heavy hitters coming up.

Among the hot titles is The Beatles: Rock Band, just released Wednesday.

Here are four games that look to be no-brainers in pure gaming pleasure.

- Rob Watson,
Inquirer video games columnist