School is out for those that go to school as their full time profession, meaning the kids need something to do, so why not play video games. Normally the best time to get a major blockbuster in is November right after thanksgiving, but sometimes they come out with some decent titles for the summer months that you and the kids can enjoy.

Microsoft has Forza 2 and Shadow Run for the Xbox 360, and as soon as they get rid of the butt shot Halo for Vista should be fun to play. Of course, we are all waiting on Halo 3 this fall. It is all about racing, from what we hear, Forza 2 is very complex, you will spend some serious time just learning the game, oh, and did we say “custom car design”? The folks in Japan have already hit the street with custom designs for your car that you can get over the network.

Wii has Mario Party 8 that should be fun as well as “Big Brain Academy” in June, this should be fun for the whole family. So for those with smaller kids (Under 14), go get a Wii, and learn what “work life balance” is all about. There is nothing more fun that playing Wii Baseball with the kids in the living room. After a while, everyone wants to join in.

And on the bottom side, Sony’s PS3, they get Rainbow Six Vegas, and in July they get Liar, a fantasy dragon killing adventure.

The summer line up seems a bit thin, but that is probably for the best, play the game, then get outside and go visit the beach or its local equivalent. Do not forget to have fun though, there will probably be a few surprises along the way as the casual games market on Xbox Live keeps on picking up with some really interesting additions, and some great old arcade games from the past.