A new direction for Mario?

It's been a long journey for the What Games Are You Playing This Weekend series of articles. What started with such excitable promise became an irregular, grumpy visitor to the Nintendo Life servers, before a stern telling to brought it around to its new regular fortnightly slot. After last time's Sweet Sixteen shenanigans, adulthood is around the corner.

Does that mean we should all put on headsets, go for headshots and yell obscenities at random strangers we're playing against? Not really, as that's something often done in teenage years, anyway. We don't think we'll ever be too old for some colourful Nintendo gaming, regardless, as fun is the name of the game; we may dabble in more realistic or violent games, of course, but Mario's pretty violent himself. Just ask PETA.

That's enough of this meandering intro, anyway. Below are the weekend gaming plans of a fair few Nintendo Life staff members, with our regular visitors from Pure Xbox also joining in.


Tom Whitehead

I have a couple of review games to work on, namely Breath of Fire II and 'EMBARGOED'. I also intend to continue my painfully slow but wonderfully enjoyable progress in Pikmin 3; I really am quite rubbish at it, which is unfortunate for my legions of Pikmin. I'll also continue with The Last of Us, which is the polar opposite of Pikmin 3 but equally enthralling.

Andy Green

This weekend I'll be catching up with Pikmin 3. I've finished the game once before but I started again from the beginning in an attempt to get all the fruit! It's truly a great game and it's fair to say I'm addicted to it!

Speaking of addiction, I'm still playing through Fire Emblem: Awakening and I really want to spend some quality time with it this weekend. I'm making good progress and I'm hoping to get a couple of chapters under my belt by the time Sunday draws to a close!

Of course I'll still be dipping in and out of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I want to get a new Public Works Project started. What should I go for?

Ron DelVillano

This weekend is all about Muramasa Rebirth for me. It's a great looking game that works so well on the Vita. Seriously, stop talking to me. I'm trying to play this game. Tom. Stop emailing me.

Morgan Sleeper

I'm in the middle of a cross-country drive at the moment, so I'm hoping for lots of StreetPass hits to use in the excellent new Plaza games - I'm getting rather proud of my gardens in Flower Town! I'll definitely be spending some passenger seat time in my Animal Crossing: New Leaf town of Twinseed, too - it's comforting to be able to keep returning to the same digital town during the big real-life move! I'm also hoping to play some more Layton Brothers: Mystery Room and Luigi's Mansion 2 with my fiancée. They're both as fun to watch as they are to play, and great ways to relax after a full day of driving!

Dave Letcavage

I’m afraid there’s not much Nintendo gaming on my schedule this weekend. Tonight I have a date with my wife, a massive pizza, and Journey. I actually haven’t played the game yet, so I’m pretty excited to learn what all the fuss is about. Beyond that I’ll probably get in a little time with NHL 14 for 360, and maybe finish up Life of Pixel on Vita. Who knows…I’m even debating taking a couple days off to rest before GTA V shows up and consumes my life. That one's gonna be a monster.

Stephen Kelly

After giving Pikmin 3 and Rayman Legends a try (the latter of which impressed every fiber of my being), it's time I return to my beloved pair of MMOs for this weekend: World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2. I used to think playing two online RPGs at once was sheer madness, but these games have found very different places in my heart to settle, and there's room to share.

Despite a weakened challenge that reduces my enjoyment level to ashes, World of Wacraft has some of the most wonderful world design I've ever seen, so I'm perfectly content to wander Azeroth and put on my imaginary role-playing gloves to bring a character or six to life with my fellow players. Guild Wars 2, on the other hand, offers all the best things about questing with solid, exciting gameplay mechanics that I can sink my teeth into; its hit-or-miss setting and poorly optimized engine can easily be excused for that.

Swapping between these two monstrosities will keep me busy for many weekends to come, I should think. But did I mention how Rayman Legends is brilliant on the Wii U in every way possible? Because that's important.

Gaz Plant

Rayman Legends. That's all that needs to be said really. Honestly can't see it being beaten for the Game of the Year award this year, it's just that good. Nintendo should take note - this is how you make a creative platformer!

Ken Barnes

New Little King's Story (PS Vita) - Free via PlayStation Plus, so I'm going to see what all the fuss is about. Missed the original version, so hoping that it impresses.

NHL 14 (Xbox 360) - My beloved Maple Leafs gave away the series against Boston by conceding 3 goals in the last ten minutes in the real world. I'll be looking to right that wrong and win myself a Stanley Cup or two.

Daytona USA (Xbox 360) - After writing about it for Pure Xbox on Wednesday, I've become re-addicted to this racing classic from Sega. Still absolute rubbish at it, but I love it all the same. Dayyytooooonnaaaa!

Tim Latshaw

I'll be playing a game that tends to be very popular despite a mixed reception among players: Visiting Parents. It's like a life sim, minus the "sim" part. The first part starts off kind of slow as you clean your entire apartment to provide the illusion that you do so regularly. Once the parents arrive, you keep them happy by catching up and showing them the sights of where you live. Difficulty varies by what version of the game you own, and absolutely no other games can be played until Visiting Parents's end credits begin to roll.

Thomas Jones

This weekend I'll be unraveling another mystery as I try to catch up in the Professor Layton series. I just finished The Lost Future, or the Unwound Future (whichever you know it as) and this weekend I'll be moving onto the Specter's Call... or the Last Specter (take your pick).

Besides that I'll be carrying on with my playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.

I'll also be sure to check into Pallet, my Animal Crossing town, because, apparently, being Mayor, it's my duty to pull up the weeds... what a glamorous job.


So that's what some of us are playing this weekend. Share your plans in the comments below, it's the polite thing to do.