This mob will ruin the furniture, probably

It's party time, Nintendo Life readers! Or should we say PARTAY? It's the sweet sixteen celebration of the What Games Are You Playing This Weekend feature, which we're sure is a thing because we saw it on MTV once. The idea is that we find some wealthy parents, get followed around by cameras while acting like spoiled brats because we can't have party plates made of solid gold, and then end it all by saying how memorable and special the PARTAY was. Trust us, it's going to be great.

The only problem is that none of the Nintendo Life staff have parents willing to bankroll an extravagant party at this stage in our lives, seeing as we're all adults. And MTV didn't reply to our proposal that they film us playing Nintendo Land for two days.

Alas, we can still talk about our weekend gaming plans, PARTAY or not. And we have plenty of them, with a diverse group of NL contributors weighing in, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of our Microsoft sister-site Pure Xbox, Ken Barnes. Was that a shameless plug for another site on our network? You betcha!

Damien McFerran

After what seems like an eternity, I'm finally getting my teeth into Rayman Legends. Despite having played the demo and the challenge app, nothing is overly familiar - it feels just as fresh and exciting as when myself and Tom played it last year at the Eurogamer Expo (and gave onlookers much to chuckle about as we messed up the co-op segments repeatedly). While the GamePad elements can feel a little tacked-on a times, I don't recall being as captivated by a game in ages. Rayman has had such an impact that I've been forced to abandon Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 - which should speak volumes.

Tom Whitehead

About half my weekend will be spent away from home, so I'm planning to tackle Fire Emblem: Awakening, which is fiercely difficult in the later stages and prompts many soft resets; I do love a bit of Bike Rider DX in short bursts, too. When at home I'm going to continue my second playthrough of The Wonderful 101 in normal difficuly — now that my team is more powered up — and get rather intimidated by The Last of Us on PS3.

Andy Green

This weekend's gaming will be a bit of a mystery. Some of the Nintendo Life gang are getting together on Saturday night so I'm expecting a fair bit of multiplayer action! Wii U is mandatory when you have a few people in the same room so Nintendo Land will naturally feature heavily. Mario Chase is immense with five people and Animal Crossing Sweet Day is still one of my favourite mini-games of all time. Also, Martin will be there so I imagine the N64 will feature a lot! A night of GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark and Mario Kart 64? I can't argue with that.

I'm sure we'll fit some 3DS gaming in too and I'll be looking to take my revenge on Thomas who persistently destroys me on Mario Tennis Open. Single player games may take a backseat but I'm sure I'll find time for Fire Emblem: Awakening. There's always time for Fire Emblem. Always.

Jon Wahlgren

Any spare moment I have, which won't be many between PAX and Bumbershoot, will go into review time for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It's huge.

Orla Madden

It'll be all about handheld gaming for me this weekend as I'll be away on holiday in sunny Spain. This will give me a great chance to finally complete Fire Emblem: Awakening, I'm entering the 17th Chapter and loving every minute of it. I'll use my free time to collect some bells in Animal Crossing: New Leaf to pay off yet another of pesky Tom Nook's home loans.

Another game I'm taking with me is Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. I purchased it a week after its release and it's shamefully been sitting on my shelf unopened. I look forward to joining Donkey Kong in his crazy adventure, I played the original on the Wii and from what I remember, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Morgan Sleeper

I'm starting to pack up for an upcoming cross-country move, but a three-day weekend means lots of gaming time no matter what! I'll be continuing my nightly before-bed EarthBound routine (thanks to the GamePad's excellent range & my house's cooperative floor-plan), and planting new buds in Twinseed's extensive flower-path system will keep me happily busy in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. My fiancée's been playing through Layton Brothers: Mystery Room too, and I've been having a great time playing along from over her shoulder - hopefully we'll get through a few more chapters before the weekend's out!

Time permitting, I'll also be playing as much as I can of my latest addiction: Tails' Skypatrol. It's tough as nails and hilariously unforgiving, but I'm totally smitten with the unique gameplay and the amazing soundtrack. I've been playing it on the GameCube's Sonic Gems Collection, but also praying to the SEGA gods for a 3DS VC release; I'd love to try this on the go!

Dave Letcavage

My weekend is going to be LOADED with Rayman Legends, TMNT: Out of the Shadows and Cloudberry Kingdom. Maybe I'll even bust out the N64 for a few hours as Blast Corps and Jet Force Gemini have been calling my name. As usual so much to play, so little time.

Stephen Kelly

I finally have my hands on a copy of Pikmin 3, but I have a feeling that might get pushed to the side thanks to a new contender for my free time: Guild Wars 2. The free trial last weekend hooked me, and after years of watching World of Warcraft (in my eyes) decline, this is just the thing to get me back out in the gargantuan world of MMOs. Without a monthly subscription model I basically have an all-access lifetime pass to one of the greatest RPGs I've played in years, so I'd better get this out of my system before too many excellent games start bombarding me with release dates. So much to play! It's a fun problem to have.

Gaz Plant

After many months of delays and many, many hours sunk into the Challenge App, I'm looking forward to finally giving Rayman Legends a go this weekend. That is of course if it's not delayed again, but Ubisoft wouldn't do that right? I mean, it's out now, so they wouldn't be so brash as to pull it from sale? RIGHT?!

I'm also hoping to put a bit more time into Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. I'm enjoying it immensely, and while it has been a bit overlooked these past few weeks, it's a game that I find endlessly entertaining.

Ken Barnes

The Wonderful 101 — Bought it on launch day, and haven't had a half of a second to be able to try it out, so far. Given that this and Bayonetta 2 are the two titles that I'm most looking forward to on the console, I can't possibly wait any longer.

Saints Row IV (Xbox 360) — Dubstep gun. Nothing more to be said.

Rayman Legends (Xbox 360) — After playing through the game for review and finding that it was absolutely superb, I'm determined to pick up all of the achievements. I dare say that this will take me until I'm at least 63, given my distinct lack of skill.

Martin Watts

This weekend I will yet again be on my travels and the 3DS will be coming along with me.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've had Paper Mario: Sticker Star since release and have yet to play it! I've been waiting for the right moment where I won't be distracted by other releases, but I think that's not going to happen for a long time given the impending release schedule for both Nintendo consoles.

When I am at home, I'm hoping to carry on with my playthrough of Chrono Trigger — I absolutely adore the game's soundtrack and combat system!

Lee Meyer

Animal Crossing: New Leaf has become less of a "What games are you playing this weekend?" and more of a way of life — isn't it weird how I stress about making everyone in my little village happy? This weekend I'm going to continue to play Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, in anticipation of the Wii U sequel coming in December. And on the non-Nintendo side of things, I'm currently addicted to Bookworm Heroes!

Tim Latshaw

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 has become a surprisingly welcome part of my routine, although it certainly helps that no one is around to see me do the moves in the dance classes. I think I'll spend my long weekend clearing some backlog, including Rhythm Thief and Kirby Mass Attack, but I've also been spending some quality time with Skullgirls. I don't usually "get" fighters that much, but this one seems to click for me.

Dylan Newcome

I'll be spending what little time I have free plucking away at my second run through of Pikmin 3. I'm also planning on playing more online matches of Light vs. Dark in Kid Icarus: Uprising with my trusty Skyscraper Club at my side.

Thomas Jones

This weekend I've taken a break from Animal Crossing. Out of boredom and frustration. Nothing seems to be going on in my village, no one's moving in, and I can't get my annoying animals to move out. Damn you, Peewee! Also, the Nooks insist on never selling anything new. All I want is an industrial wall for my Metal Gear Solid themed room. Stop trying to sell me illusion walls!

Instead I'm devoting some time to Super Mario 64 on the DS. I can't believe the "remake" of the original is 8 years old. I remember playing the mini games with my friends back in college with our bulky silver DS's. I must be getting old. But, it is a game that, I am ashamed to admit, I haven't gained 100% completion with. So over the next few weeks I'll be trying to rectify that.

Aside from that, I'll continue to slowly progress my way through The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. I'm currently on Moonlit Grotto, the third dungeon. At this rate, I'll be playing for ages. Excuse the pun.

So that's what we're playing this weekend. Let us know what you'll be diving into in the comments below.