The stories for this week:

There are two requirements that qualify a game for this column.  As long as the game meets just one of the criteria, I'll use it.  The first is appeal to a younger audience.  Movie and television tie-ins meet this requirement, but there are certainly many other kid-friendly games too.  Second, any game that appeals to the more casual crowd, or even non-gamers, can be covered.  The game we have under consideration today fulfills both of these criteria, and does so admirably.  Boom Blox is appealing to children, and great use of the Wii remote means non-gamers will love it too. Boom Blox is similar to Pickup Sticks, stacking dominoes, and Jenga, games that almost everyone is familiar with.  The various levels are comprised of blocks, stacked up in rather impressive piles.  While goals for each level differ, you are usually tasked with hitting, shooting, or even blowing up blocks.  That's all there is to it.  Boom Blox's simplicity is very appealing, and is one reason why the game is perfect for  those who normally wouldn't even play a game.  You can pass the Wiimote to your grandma, 3 year old nephew, or even a time traveler who has never seen a video game before, and each of them will probably understand just what to do.

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!  PAX is A WEEK AWAY.

Just like we previously discovered, Dawn of War 2 is getting a brand new cooperative mode to go along with it's most excellent co-op campaign.  Announced today, The Last Stand puts players in control of a hero unit against waves and waves of enemies.  Players choose between a Space Marine Captain, and Eldar Farseer or an Ork Mekboy for their character.  Each one will have their own unique advantages and disadvantages of play - and together they create a well balanced team.

Recently we learned that the survival of Aliens: Colonial Marines depends greatly on the success of Aliens Vs. Predator. Fortunately for us, Gearbox's CEO Randy Pitchford is confident that Rebellion's Alien Vs. Predator is in good hands.

With music games this fall coming out that cover Rock, Pop, Classic and Techno music, you'd think the market is saturated enough.  But there's one genre that's been sorely missing from music games in general, and that's Rap/Hip-Hop.  Enter Def Jam Rapstar.

With the recent Xbox 360 price drop, retailers are going to be competing for your business.  That means kick ass deals for you.  Amazon has a very co-op friendly deal going on right now - purchase the Xbox 360 Pro with a 60GB hard drive for the new $249.99 price; and you'll get one of the following co-op games for free: Halo 3, Fable 2 or Halo Wars.  You choose and you also get free shipping!

I guess this is a morning for soundtracks, too bad this one isn't free like Invincible Tiger's.  The Trine official soundtrack is out and and available for purchase.  The price?  About 12 euros.  But you can snag the amazing main theme for free, and we do recommend that.

Velma was always the brains of the Scooby Doo gang.  She knew before anyone that the monster was really just some shmuck in a mask.  You'd always find her head buried in a book.  In the latest Scooby Doo!  Fright Nights trailer she's chucking those books at scary monsters, and with Scooby by her side in the game's two player co-op - well Scooby gets a treat of his own.

Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade this week.  Fierce dragon punches, five point palm exploding heart techniques and more delight your screen, in full 3d if you wish, while classic kung-fu inspired music satisfies your ears.

A few tidbits of news are still trickling in from last week's GamesCom.  Jay Wilson, designer for Diablo 3, told Joystiq that parental controls will be in the game.  In addition, the game will be edited for violence for release in some regions.

Stardock's Impulse looks to trump Steam's PC gaming portal and digital content delivery system by adding matchmaking into its newest update. The new update will bring like-minded gamers together by detecting each game that you play, constructing a profile based on how you prefer to play games, and suggesting other those other players.