There’s a certain thrill of the hunt that takes hold when searching for the best user-made levels in LittleBigPlanet 2. Finding something amazing to enjoy later with friends and family is like returning back to the cave with a week’s worth of wild boar — or so I imagine.

But sometimes, you don’t have time to go digging. Your party is restless, and they demand entertainment. Never fear. Although LittleBigPlanet 2 has only been available for a week, I’ve scrounged up nine great custom levels that’ll keep you and your friends occupied for hours.

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CALL OF CUTY BLACK OP TIPS: Call of Duty: Black Ops is just a couple days old, but that doesn’t mean you need to head into virtual battle unprepared. You need tips for gathering XP and CoD Points, both essential for beefing up your arsenal with new weapons, killstreaks and attachments. Don’t think less of yourself for seeking out strategies for a military shooter — the U.S. armed forces impart the nugget of wisdom “Aim Towards Enemy” in rocket launcher instruction manuals — so think of this how-to guide for leveling up quickly and raking in CoD points as the gaming equivalent of friendly advice on how not to blow yourself up.

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One of Super Meat Boy’s most delightful flourishes is the way it ushers in each new batch of levels with the music from Dramatic Look. Why this allusion exists is anybody’s guess, but it epitomizes how Super Meat Boy, at times, wants to be about anything but itself. And for the most part, that’s okay.

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Medal of Honor is out now, and unlocking the best weapons, equipment, and facial hair in the frantic online component is priority one. We’ve spent time in the trenches as U.S. soldiers and unleashed mortar strikes with the Taliban Opposing Force to discern the quickest, easiest ways to rack up scorechains and earn the coveted “Tier 1″ designation. Don’t join the online firefight before reading this intel.

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The Colorado Rocky Mountains are going to get more game-like this ski season, with a new program that rewards skiers with achievements and other metrics as they ride. Epic Mix, which debuts Colorado ski resorts in November, uses radio frequency identification, or RFID. With an RF tag built into every lift ticket, the mountain knows where you ride, the lifts you take and the distance you ski, and Epic Mix doles out achievements based on your accomplishments.

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Halo: Reach just launched and we’re already obsessed with leveling up and scoring credits. Thanks to daily and weekly challenges, various multi-tiered commendations, constantly evolving user-made content, dozens of ranks and a store to spend the credits you earn from doing virtually anything in-game, Halo: Reach is far-and-away Bungie’s most complete (and addicting) addition to the Halo series. We’ve decided to put together a handy guide for leveling up your unique super soldier quickly. Keep the following tips in mind to get more credits (cR) and raise your rank faster.

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MINECRAFT REVIEW, BLACK OPS TIPS - You might say that Minecraft hit the big time today. Featured in a Penny Arcade comic — amusing even if you haven’t played the game — developer Mojang Specifications will surely reap thousands of new sales, despite the game’s alpha status and $9 price tag.

I’m fortunate enough to have been in on the joke — I use that term intentionally, and I’ll explain later — for a couple months now. I’ve dabbled in mashing mountains, cutting down trees and slaughtering a variety of fauna, all in service of building man-made structures in an otherwise pristine natural environment.

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Publishers don’t want you to buy used games, and neither do game developers. That’s no surprise, but I was taken aback this week to see some game writers arguing in opposition to the used game market, one that is dominated by Gamestop and, according to the logic of those opposed, doesn’t benefit publishers and developers at all.

Hogwash. Used video games may not result in direct profits for publishers, but the argument that they’re derailing the games industry relies on several falsehoods. Here are the arguments you’re likely to hear against used games, and why they’re bogus:

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The Metroid series is one of the most beloved franchises in Nintendo’s stable – and that’s saying something. To analogize it’s significance in a slightly blasphemous manner, it’s the “holy spirit” in a trinity that includes Mario and The Legend of Zelda. The well of dedication runs so deep that some…devoted fans have been in a fervor as a result of some big changes to the next installment, Metroid: Other M.

During my hands-on time with the game last week, I was able to get a brief glimpse of some of these changes. Keep reading for my thoughts on the introductory segments, the new control scheme, and if Other M is worthy of the Metroid name.

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