More fun than the real beach? Maybe...

It's time for our semi-regular whenever-we-get-around-to-it feature where a number of Nintendo Life writers share their weekend gaming plans. We may be getting further into the Summer months, but we still intend to spend a decent amount of time inside, curtains drawn, playing games. Unless we're on the road, which is when that 3DS comes in handy.

So we'll get to it now and we hope you'll do the same, so we can all snoop on each other's gaming sensibilities.

Damien McFerran

I'm on a full-on Game Gear binge this weekend, with retro classics Vampire: Master of Darkness and Crystal Warriors taking up the majority of my time. I've also downloaded Chibi-Robo Photography on my Japanese 3DS, which is a real hoot if you like trawling round your house looking for objects of a certain size and shape. I just need a little longer with it to figure out all the Japanese menus. As ever, the 3DS continues to be my go-to console these days; my SD card is packed with games I really should be playing.

Mike Mason

My wonderful town, Chaffin, is getting all my attention in Animal Crossing: New Leaf at the moment, so I'll likely be spending a good portion of the weekend on that. I may also get spooked in Luigi's Mansion 2, which I've been meaning to play for a good while. I've only had the time to play a couple of missions so far, but already it feels like Next Level Games has captured that Nintendo magic.

Tom Whitehead

I'm reviewing a dreamy 3DS RPG right now, but can't name it for fear of the Nintendo God known as 'Embargosus' striking me down from the skies above. When I'm not doing that, my plans are depressingly familiar; I still want to finish off ZombiU, and I still want to play episode three of Telltale's The Walking Dead on PC. Hopefully I can do both and stop mentioning them ad nauseam until the end of days.

Andy Green

After a long week I'll be spending a fair amount of time with my Wii U this weekend. I recently started LEGO City Undercover and I've been pleasantly surprised by just how good it is! It's got some solid gameplay and it's actually pretty funny as well! I just wish I'd picked it up sooner!

Naturally, my trusty 3DS will be by my side and I'm hoping to complete a couple of maps on Fire Emblem: Awakening — maybe I can actually continue with the main quest instead of dossing about with the many side missions! I'm starting to marry a few characters off now, which I'm not getting addicted to at all.

Of course I'll be playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf, my town needs some extensive development and I've got some turnips I need to sell. I turned down an offer of 140 Bells mid-week because I'm all about living life on the very edge.

Jon Wahlgren

Stuff keeps getting in the way of me playing Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, but gosh darn it I'll get through it soon enough! If only so I can move on to The Last of Us. I hear it's pretty good, y'all.

Realistically, though, it'll be another Animal Crossing: New Leaf extravaganza. Someone just built a house in my town! What kind of a mayor would I be if I didn't give them a warm welcome to Trash?

Orla Madden

It'll be slim pickings on the gaming front from me this weekend; I'm taking a step outside of my virtual town, Cydonia, in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and off into the big bad world to celebrate a joyous occasion with a good friend as she walks down the aisle and takes the plunge into married life.

Perhaps if I get a chance, I might jump into Fire Emblem: Awakening and begin marrying off some of my characters, as well as the odd battle or two. I've been taking my time with the game, and hope to complete Chapter 13 before the end of the weekend.

Philip J Reed

I managed to grab a very cheap copy of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, so that encouraged me to finally finish off Awakening. Which I loved more than words can express. In fact, the reason it took me so long is that I genuinely didn't want the game to end. I can't say that happens often for me! So, yeah, Shadow Dragon. I don't care if it's anywhere near as good as Awakening was...I'll be happy just to give another title in the series a spin.

I'll also be playing Pilotwings for review purposes, which should be interesting since I'm not sure I've played that game since it was new.

Then, of course, there's Animal Crossing: New Leaf, especially if Club LOL opens up this weekend as I suspect it will. Hey, speaking of which...I'm typing this on Independence Day, and my town didn't do anything to mark the occasion! Looks like I need to enact a Patriot Ordinance. First step...phone tapping.

Morgan Sleeper

I'm on a cross-country road trip this weekend, and that means that along with the sights and sounds of the American convenient, I'm getting to experience plenty of portable gaming in its natural element! I'll be playing Sonic Drift 2 for review - and to pick up some driving tips for the interstate — lots of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and one of my very favourite games of all time: Klonoa on the Vita. I still can't believe all this fun fits in my pocket; if SEGA ever comes up with a portable NiGHTS I might never need a TV again!

Dave Letcavage

Well, outside of my usual review duties, I plan on spending an obsessive amount of time doing barrel rolls with my 3DS, and exploring all of the cool features of my newly acquired PS Vita. No joke, I picked up a Vita just so I could play Hotline Miami and Retro City Rampage on the go. It's possibly the best decision I've ever made.

Oh, and I'm sure I'll also be playing much more Animal Crossing with the wife - I think she has developed a serious problem.

Stephen Kelly

My weekend gaming plans are totally up in the air, but I'll be kicking it off by bringing my 3DS to Video Games Live on Friday night. I've been to the concert several times before, but it hasn't shown up again in my home of Houston, Texas for years. It's been glorious each and every showing in the past, so I'm quite beside myself with excitement to see it this year. There will be many glad tidings in the land of StreetPassing, I can tell you that much. When I finally get back home, World of Warcraft may take over my life for a little while, or perhaps I'll get back to Fire Emblem: Awakening. Or I might just sit in a dark room and enthusiastically hum rock/orchestral renditions of One-Winged Angel like I usually do after the show.

Gaz Plant

Grand Slam Tennis 2 (PS3) - In between watching Wimbledon and tennis coaching sessions, I've been spending a fair amount of time playing EA's HD tennis game. It's probably safe to say that I quite enjoy the sport...

GT Academy 2013 (PS3) - I never really fell in love with GT5, and from this early demo, the same can be said of GT6. It's still an utterly soulless experience in my eyes, but there's something compelling about shaving off another couple of tenths around majestic Silverstone!

Martin Watts

I'm planning to have an evening of 64-bit multiplayer goodness over the weekend. The line-up will likely include Snowboard Kids, Gauntlet Legends and Tetris 64. The latter has created some tension in the flat lately, with most matches feeling like the lead-up to some sort of nuclear apocalypse. Otherwise, I'm currently really into growing flowers in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I've no idea why, but I find it very relaxing, so I'm sure that's what I'll be doing in-between all my work.

Lee Meyer

In addition to collecting Cluck-A-Pop tokens in Game and Wario, I plan on joining the Pilotwings club this weekend! I (foolishly) missed out on Pilotwings and Pilotwings 64 when they were first released, but Pilotwings Resort was one of the first experiences I had on my 3DS and I enjoyed it greatly, so I can't wait to download the newly released Wii U Virtual Console version!

Tim Latshaw

A long weekend leaves plenty of opportunity for gaming, and why not go for something deep like Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward? That should blend well with my regular bouts of Animal Crossing. Aside from that, I might try to unlock more vehicles in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Dylan Newcome

Being bedridden* actually has its benefits, as it gives me a great excuse to catch up on some games. I'll be performing the usual mayoral duties in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, trying to make my way through Mega Man 1-4 from the 3DS Virtual Console, and exploring the single player games of Game & Wario.

*It's pneumonia, ick.

So, that's us. What will you be playing this fine weekend?