TGIF: Gaming Trend’s Weekend Lineup

After trekking through the darkness of April, we’ve reached the Daylight and Child of Light at the end of the tunnel. Both new titles offer different experiences for gamers. One being a spooky survival horror game set in a (drumroll please) abandoned hospital, and the other a beautifully hand drawn 2D RPG about a little red-haired girl who … well, just go play it. Some GT staffers will be diving into these new titles, while others will be dusting off some old-school games. Here’s what we’re playing:

Josh Devlin, Reporter

Sometimes there are questions in life that you just can’t answer. What is the meaning of life? Is there a higher power? Why the hell did I decide to download World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria? We may never know the answers to some of these questions, and frankly, I don’t think I want to. Oh, and Peggle 2.

Justin Pauls, Staff Writer

I don’t think there are any Star Wars themed games I’ll be playing Saturday, which I suppose is not the best way to celebrate “May the Fourth”. Truth-be-told, my Star Wars fandom was pretty shallow to begin with and dried up with Episode One.

If I sink into gaming this weekend, it will be in Kinect Sports Rivals to finish up the review – an untimely achilles injury has hamstrung my ability to jump around. I just bought Child of Light on the Xbox One, which is a magical game and I love the second-player engagement and the art. Still have about a third of Tomb Raider to finish up, along with trying to find the fun in Crimson Dragon. On the PC side I’ll be taking a Diablo break, and instead get through Arkham Origins if I get any time.

We’ve had some nice weather recently, so I may instead just go outside and enjoy the sun. Who knows, perhaps I’ll finish up Winter’s Heart in my bid to get through the Wheel of Time (while lounging in a lawnchair, of course).

Stefan Alexander, Staff Writer

I don’t have anything really headlining my weekend gaming, so it’s going to be more of a potpourri of pick up and play. I’ll spread between upgrading my Assassin in Borderlands 2, earning rank in Mercenary Kings, and following the Paper Trail in Infamous. A lot of games just went on sale for PlayStation Plus so I snagged a ten-buck Vita copy of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z. I know there’s a lot wrong with this game, but as a fan of the show I’m embarrassingly hooked. Kamehameha! Have a great weekend folks.

Ron Burke, Editor in Chief

It’s gonna be 100 degrees in Phoenix this weekend. If there is a better reason to avoid the sun, I don’t know what that’d be.  I just finished up my review for TESO (look for that soon), but I’ll probably plink away at it some more this weekend.  I loaded up some Virtual Console goodness on my Wii U (Metroid Fusion?  Hell yes!) that should keep me occupied as well.  Gonna hit the books with Rocksmith 2014 a bit more this weekend as well.  I really need to do a follow-up to my review to show how far I’ve come!

To celebrate May the 4th, I’ll probably find a little time for KOTOR on the iPad as well.  Because, Star Wars.  Sounds like a good enough reason to me…

Lucious Barnes, Staff Writer

I have a lot of housework to do this weekend, and that normally makes me nostalgic to play some of my old titles. The Laboratory (what we named the room in my place where most of my consoles and PC are attached and arranged) is getting a reshuffle, so who knows what I’ll fire up. Jade Empire has already worked its way from my archive and into the hands of my girlfriend, while BAM!’s Way of the Samurai and Capcom’s Way of the Samurai 2 keep catching my eye…. sometimes even both of them.

If there is going to be a new title brought home this weekend, odds are it will be something random from the PSN Store or Xbox Live Marketplace… but I’m pushing for a copy of Diablo 3 if we decide for something a bit more substantial.

I’ve been picking up a lot of new games the past few weeks though, so it’s probably about time to pump the brakes on that increasingly hoardy habit and start actually playing the flipp’n things…

Keith Schleicher, Tabletop Lead Writer

A friend of mine has held a board game group for several years.  Originally we met once a year but later held it twice a year.  While I used to join them every time, after moving to Michigan it became harder to get together.  However, I am able to join them for this weekend and we plan on getting a ton of gaming in.  Here are the games that I hope we get to bring to the table:

Lords of Vegas, Defenders of the Realm, Level 7 Omega Protocol, DC Deckbuilder+Expansion, Rampage, Splendor, Gravwell, Tsuro of the Seas, Lords of Waterdeep+Expansion, Ascension: Storm of Souls, Escape, Ghost Stories, Kemet, Quarriors, Rampage, Via Appia, Dark Darker Darkest, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and Heroscape

While I don’t believe we’ll get all of these played, I believe that we will get a good portion of them in.  It should be a blast.

Games old and new. What are you playing to help brighten up your day? Tell us in the comments below.