Want to play for Madden 09 City Championship?

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg County public library is sponsoring a “Madden 09” tournament on the Xbox 360. Three preliminary rounds have been completed, but there are still five to go. Times and locations for the tournament are:

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1-4 p.m., South County Regional, 5801 Rea Road, 704-416-6640.

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1-4 p.m., Mint Hill, 6840 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, 704-416-5221.

Monday, Nov. 10, 3-7 p.m., Freedom Regional, 1230 Alleghany St., 704-416-4221.

Saturday, Nov. 15, noon-4 p.m., Main Library, 310 N. Tryon St., 704-416-5200.

Saturday, Nov. 15, 1-5 p.m., Matthews, 230 Matthews Station St., Matthews, 704-416-5000.

You have to register because there are only 16 spots available at each location. Preliminary winners will get prizes, and the finals will be held 1-4 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Main Library. The city champ wins a $50 gift card from GameStop.

‘Blitz: The League II'

Looking for an alternative to “Madden” to get your football fix? Acclaim's “Blitz: The League II” debuts this week.

This version has a new story mode written by Peter Egan (who scripted ESPN's “Playmakers”). The game includes precision-aim tackles, player-controlled touchdown celebrations (cool), plus the return of intentional late hits. Football legend Lawrence Taylor, the former Tar Heel star, returns as the game's cover athlete and star linebacker for the New York Nightmare.

2 new titles for WII

Namco/Bandai games has released two new titles aimed at getting kids off the couch and moving around by playing the Nintendo Wii.

“We Cheer” allows up to four players to create cheerleaders and perform cheers using your Wii-mote as pom-poms.

“Active Life: Outdoor Challenge” has more than a dozen minigames, including river rafting, mine-cart racing and log jumping. It comes with a specially designed pad that you put on the floor and jump on.

Design your own game

Coming this holiday season is Microsoft's new Community Games service, which will allow game players to become game makers. It's being called the YouTube of videogaming. You'll download the Game Studio development tools, for free, and then start designing. For $100, you can join the XNA Creator's Club so your game will be reviewed by other community developers. I'm figuring a few people will create some titles that will become massive hits – and make them massive bucks.

Video fun for girls

Always glad to see titles aimed at girls. We don't have enough. EA Casual Entertainment is releasing two this week.

“Littlest Pet Shop” (Wii, PC, DS) is a pet simulation aimed at 6- to 10-year-old girls who will adopt pets and earn Kibble Coins to feed them by solving puzzle games. It's inspired by Hasbro's Littlest Pet Shop, popular among girls.

“Boogie SuperStar” (Wii) allows girls to sing current hits into a microphone and do dance moves that are captured on screen using the Wii's motion-sensor technology (that little bar that sits on top of your TV). Popular artists like Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Rihanna and Kayne West have songs in the game.