I really enjoy learning. When I realize I'm picking up new knowledge, I tend to get really excited...with notable exceptions of course. Yes, math class, I'm talking to you. However, some people like to be a little bit more distracted from the fact that they're feeding good things to their brain, and I totally respect that. Which is why I put together this list of games that hide their educational side a little more effectively than games like Brain Age. Those games can be great fun, but if you want your self improvement to be a little more subtle, these might be more your cup of tea -- the kind with lots of sugar.

Having played dozens of uninspired, boring, or outright horrible point-and-click adventure games in recent years, I was beginning to lose faith in the genre. Fresh ideas in adventure gaming seem about as scarce as intuitive, straightforward gameplay. While a few recent PC adventure titles have successfully proven there’s still some life left in the fine art of interactive video game storytelling, nothing has restored my hope quite like the magnificently executed Emerald City Confidential. Exploring the magical world of Oz through a dark and gritty crime noir lens is not only highly captivating, it shows how wonderful a creative and well-crafted point-and-click adventure can be.

I have a confession to make. Prior to one fateful afternoon roughly five years ago, my recreational gaming endeavors hinged almost solely on blasting heads open in sprays of pixilated, bloody guck, level grinding in countless digital dungeons for hours of stat-boosting bliss, pummeling opponents with fists of fury, and mounting strategic tactical assaults in full-scale war against a myriad of computer opponents. Years spent delving through the deliciously darker, grittier, and more violent side of gaming had permanently ingrained a craving for the stuff into my cranium. However, this all but fizzled once I was waylaid by the chipper inhabitants in Animal Crossing.

In real life it's pretty easy to run up and punch someone; in video games, not so much. Modern fighting games demand intimate knowledge of strange joystick movements and a commitment to learning often-complex gameplay systems. It's more than many players are willing to commit to, so it's no wonder that fighters have lost much of the widespread popularity they enjoyed in their '90s heyday. What's a fighting game developer to do?

Law and order is for wimps in the dusty plains and prairies of the Wild West. When disputes arise, they’re settled though the barrel of a gun. Needless to say, building a killer rep through deadly accuracy with a six-shooter holds far more weight than a badge. As the only gun-slinging lesbian cowgirl ‘round these parts, what’s there to do for kicks but to set out to become the baddest hombre in the west? You might just find love in the process. Grab your pistols; Calamity Annie is in town.

Whereas other forms of entertainment such as movies were born on the screen and then made their way into homes, video games began as a domestic activity. Moviegoers have always been able to experience movies with a big gathering of fellow fans, but there isn't a similar type of gathering for gamers. Part of the issue is the inherent differences between movies and games: Playing games with a huge group won't typically work. But luckily, some very smart people came up with something that can bring gamers together.

As gamers, we're pretty well aware of games based on films, as well as games based on films based on books, but numerous titles over the years have skipped that middle peg and jumped directly from the printed page to the interactive medium. Whether each has maintained the integrity, intelligence, or core concepts of the original work is debatable, but these titles offer the opportunity to feel like you're reading and playing at the same time. And really, who doesn't love multitasking?

As with any major media franchise, Microsoft's Halo video game series has all of the expected external merchandising accoutrements, from licensed books and comics to action figures, replica weapons, and its very own flavor of Mountain Dew. But the fact that we're more than seven years out from the debut of this massively popular cash cow and only now getting our hands on a spin-off game is somewhat shocking. It speaks more of careful, respectful planning than missed opportunities, and that sense of reverence for the source material is felt in every bit of Halo Wars, the spin-off in question.

A game in which you rotate colored hexagons with nary a badass soldier or half-naked temptress in sight may not seem like the ideal pack-in for a console eventually best-known for (though in no way completely defined by) big-budget shooters, yet that's essentially what happened with Hexic HD. Packed within every Xbox 360 hard drive unit (whether included with the system or sold separately), the simple puzzler may not aim for the Halo and Gears of War aficionados, but it serves another important function -- and manages to be completely brilliant in the process.

Last week was all about making the band, but while this week still sees some Rock Band and Guitar Hero deals, there are also a lot of other games on sale, from action to massively multiplayer to shooters to platforms to strategy. So what kinds of bargains can you expect to find?