This is gonna be short and sweet because the new apartment is still a Superfund site. I'm gonna have to live at IKEA for the next month. At least. I once thought about writing a screenplay about that, but then they came out with The Terminal.

At least the 360's hooked up and providing a welcome diversion from the clutter and crap scattered about. Priorities, right? But I'm gaming in a lawn chair perched in front of the TV because the couch is too far away and my old bridge commander chair is too damn big for the apartment.

Have an enjoyable and productive week. Here's some of what you missed.

GTA Multiplayer: Wait, I'm a Zombie?
Chocolate Rain on Mario Paint
Sexy New LEGO Indiana Jones Gameplay
A Pixel Cookie How-To
Designing the Single Player Economy
Capcom's Sushi Muse?

10 performers outfitted in medieval/space/fantasy armor re-create Bruce Nauman's 1973 work "Tony Sinking into the Floor, Face Up and Face Down". Performed in slow motion and combined with movements based on computer game death animations, this piece is accompanied by a high volume binaural beats reputed to induce out of body experiences.

Performance Information [Machine Project via BoingBoing] [image]

Ahoy gents! Well it's finally happened, I went and found an apartment. Last night, for the first time in five months I actually slept in my own bed. Now I get to attend to the exciting task of unpacking all my stuff, some of it I haven't seen since I got blown out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina over two years ago. Now that I'm settled in SF, it feels like I have finally come back home for good.

Some things you might have missed this weekend:

These guys played 48 hours of Zelda for Charity.

McWhertor talked to John Kolle about the future of the PSP.

It's time to get fat!

And now my fair fellows, I depart to unearth more forgotten about knick knacks. Hell, I might even lay in bed and read a book! Hope you have a great week, goodnight.

Ahoy, lads! Hope you both had a great weekend. Maggie had to head off to parts unknown due to some family business so I was all by lonesome taking care of things around here. Not that I mind, I did it for a long time before Maggie came, but you get used to someone else being around and her intellectual articles are a good balance for my free-wheeling stuff.

That said though, I have to register my annoyance with certain commenters who insist on coming in at 3am on a Satuday and saying things like "Must be a slow news day, this same article has been at the top for five hours." I suppose these people think we are some kind of automatons who don't require sleep or food. When my work is done I like to go actually have a life and maybe play some games. Perhaps if any of those people are reading this they will now understand, like the rest of our fine readers already do, that there are actually functioning human beings on the other end of the keyboard. Ok, rant finished.

Some things you may have missed this weekend:

K-mart broke the Mass Effect street date ten days early

Asian Hellgate: London players must say farewell to their characters

Valve is making an "official" plushie Companion Cube

By the way, if you are a Silent Hill fan, I would definitely recommend picking up Origins. I have been playing it at night with the lights off and headphones on and it's quite the terrifying experience for a handheld game. They really did a great job with it.

And with that I take my leave of you. I need to go recharge my batteries, tighten my screws and get an oil change. Holy crap, I really am a robot.

Hey guys. It was an odd weekend this one. Saturday seemed to be filled with news and fun stuff to write about while Sunday seemed to open up a black hole that sucked in everything around it including anything terribly interesting to write about. Odd how it works that way sometimes.

I'm in NYC again, this time to celebrate a friend's birthday and I'm starting to get quite used to the idea of being here. Of course, I will be leaving soon for SF so I'm trying not to get too attached. Speaking of moving, as it turns out, I will be taking a week long journey across the country with a friend, my dog and all my crap in a U-Haul so I will probably be away for a couple weekends come the beginning of December while I get myself settled. Gonna try and hit some sights along the way as well and I'm really looking forward to seeing the world's largest ball of twine in Muncie, Indiana.

Some things you may have missed this weekend:

This week's Arcade Flyer Art Saturday came with a special treat.

People are crazy for the L-block

Our own Crecente has a kind and generous black heart

Well, with that I'll leave you to your late night doings. Hope you have a good week and I'll see you next time!

Ahoy!
Sorry I'm getting in so late, but my flight was delayed from SF and there was no internet service past the security area, which I found rather odd, but it made it rather difficult to post. It's 1am here now and I'm about to pass out from exhaustion so I will make this short. GDC was cool, Video Games Live was amazing. I'll have a little bit more to say about it tomorrow when I can actually keep my eyes open. Some things you might have missed this weekend:

I got a hands on with the multiplayer for Phantom Hourglass, it was rather meh
I was actually more excited to play the new demo level of my favorite Flash game, Fancy Pants Adventure
Check out this great footage of Koji Kondo playing the Mario theme on the piano

Alrighty well I'm off to bed before I spend the night here on the computer and wake up with the impression of the keyboard pressed in to my face.

Hidee Ho! Hope you had a nice relaxing weekend. Things were pretty quiet around here so I decided to start trying to finish some of these games that have been sitting uncompleted for a while. This weekend I concentrated on Kingdom Hearts II which was really nice to come back to. I'm hoping to get at least two finished by the time God of War II hits next week.

Some things you might have missed over the weekend:
Some really incredible new Bioshock gameplay footage came out.
JayIsGames posted the finalists in their Flash Game Competition. You should check it out , there's some really good stuff on there.
Ivan Flores created some of the most amazing pieces of Samus fan art I've ever seen.
And this was just too cute for words

Next weekend I'll be reporting from San Francisco since I'm staying a couple of extra days after the GDC. So, until then, Sayonara!

Well, it was a great weekend. I finally hit a groove and actually got all of my articles done early enough in the afternoon that I was able to play some games. A little Zelda, some Wario Ware and my newest DS obsession, Final Fantasy III. Believe it or not, it's my first time playing a FF game. It's pretty fun, much more complicated than I thought at first. I've died multiple times trying to figure out how some of it works, but it's worth it since it's a pretty engrossing game.

We got a lot of game cake pictures in this weekend. I'm not sure what it is but it seems like we get at least three in every weekend. I didn't realize that there were that many game cakes out there. Guess I was wrong! I left a couple of them for you to do including a pretty cool Guitar Hero one.

Some things you may want to take note of:

• This touching eulogy to the Xbox
• Ubisoft is now in the business of making films
• The God of War II website launched
• Gabe and Tycho Pwn Jack Tretton

Shit, I actually used leet speak in a real letter. I am both embarrassed and ashamed. It's obviously time for me to head to bed where my DS anxiously awaits my arrival. Goodnight!

P.S. Images and comments are still a bit wonky.

The week is winding down and the Kotaku staff is just about to head on down to our local TGI Fridays for some artery clogging, cellulite building appetizers and mind erasing fruity cocktails. We'll hit on the staff, take in about 4,000 calories, then come home for some hair washing, toenail clipping and video game playing.

What will I be playing? I'll be keeping it strictly portable this weekend (and for the next few weeks) as my consoles are packed away, ready to be shipped to sunny Los Angeles, California. Fortunately, I've got Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 to keep me busy. The game is great, but I must admit that it's not necessarily my style. I'm almost physically incapable of managing three Mario toys at once, to the point where I've come close to blacking out from the brain straining combination of strategy and stylus control.

What are you playing? Video games-wise, that is. I'm quite aware that most of you are cranking up the Loverboy right now, ready to get buckwild, but you must be playing something fun! Let us know in the comments. Michael McWhertor

It is Friday. Bully has come out in Europe and, thanks largely to the tireless efforts of closet panty-wearer Jack Thompson, I have gone from disinterested in what appeared to have been one of Rockstar's throwaway games to very in the blink of an email icon proclaiming me the threatened subject of another of Jack's baseless lawsuits. So what the hell do you think I'm playing this weekend?

I find it decent so far. I'm not quite so enamored of it as Eliza is: to me, it seems relatively clear that it was toned down thanks to the publicity. Yet I also suspect that it's a better game for the outside scrutiny: it certainly does seem to me to be the last gasp of the GTA engine, wrapped up in slightly different trappings. I wouldn't be surprised if this was intended as a disposable Rockstar title. Yet the scrutiny, I think, helped focus it; they seemed to realize that the controversy meant that, no matter what they did with the content, the game needed to be excellent and well-written. And it is well-written. Like Crecente, I find the game's message — if there is meant to be one &mdash' rather muddled; Jimmy Hopkins seems rather transparently tamed. Luckily, I can forget all that, because it has a strong antagonist. Gary? A total fucking cunt.

What about you? What are you playing this weekend? Is it all Bully? Or have less high profile titles sneaked into your list? Florian Eckhardt

Well, I hate to say it, but probably World of Warcraft. But it's so boring when I say the same game two weeks running, so let's plumb the gelatinous depths of the old noodle more deeply, eh?

Actually, wait. I did buy Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow this week. It's like a better looking, slightly expanded Aria of Sorrow in a slightly better looking and expanded simulacrum of Dracula's Castle. Lucky enough, Aria of Sorrow was so good that's good enough for me.

What about you guys? What pristine, shimmering disc did you get your hands on this week? Let me know in the comments section. Florian Eckhardt

The beautiful Irish weather continues unabated even as I seethe. Instead of sitting in my basement, mastering my Dead Rising zombie disembowelments, decapitations, defenestrations, gelatinations, I'm forced to go outside and stroll in the sun, muttering obscenities under my breath. I resent every second in the sun, every molecule of darkened melanin bronzing my godlike skin.

The other day, I was walking in the park, when a small child skipping jump rope absent-mindedly accidentally hit me with his loop of rope.

"Sorry, mister!" he said with an innocent, earnest smile.

I twitched dangerously, "What did you say to me, you LITTLE FRICKIN' PUNK?" I gradually elevated the volume and shrillness of my voice with every phoneme until by the last word, I was screaming. A few hours later, local Gardai found his jump rope flossed through him and being used to dangle him squirming from a tree. In retrospect, I may have overreacted.

Such is my ill humor over the summer's insidious attempt to thwart my gaming. But the other day, something occurred to me: I have a DS Lite, hello! So I'll spend the weekend sitting in the cursed sun, playing Tetris DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters. On the former title, I need to get 200 lines to unlock Korobieniki... I got 199 lines last night, lost, and went on a Jack the Ripper style rampage in Temple Bar. On the latter: those of you who suggested that I really needed to use the thumb pad were dad right, and the helpful people at GAME on Dawson Street were able to supply me with one for free (it never did come with my DS Lite, apparently). So it's all good, although still cramps my hand fairly quickly; another criticism is the music really doesn't feel like Metroid.

Enough jabbering. What will you be playing this weekend? Florian Eckhardt

Over the past week, Ireland has been home to some depressingly nice weather. Cerule, cloudless skies and temperatures in the high 70's have found me basking in the sunshine like a gecko in my backyard until almost 11pm, which is sunset around this time of year.

Needless to say, I'm sick to fucking death of it. Good weather puts a great deal of pressure on someone like me to spend time outdoors, curled up with a good book, drinking a beer. It takes me away from vices like gaming. And just when I have Dragon Quest VIII spinning idly in the PS2, just waiting for my attention.

Luckily, the sky is grey and dour right now. I would like nothing better than a weekend of rumbling thunder and downpour, so I can guiltlessly tuck away into a gaming weekend.

You know the drill: this is your thread to tell us what you'll be playing, to brag about new purchases, to crow about virtual victories. Make the jump and join in! Florian Eckhardt

I'll be frank: it's a long time since I've gotten any. So this weekend, I will spend a lot of time slipping through Prey's gooey, dripping jelly holes, only taking breaks to occasionally IM Eliza innocent questions like "What are you wearing?" and "What would you say if I told you I wasn't wearing any pants?"

But the sad desperation of my forced chastity aside, I love Prey. Yes, the guys at 3D Realms are total idiots, and thirty seconds worth of microwave radiation aimed at George Broussard would cause him to melt like a 400 pound lump of feta cheese. But I really dig Prey's atmosphere, and that portal and running up walls jazz is a lot more fun a gimmick than it has any right being.

Your turn. What will you be playing this weekend? As a follow-up question, what do you think Eliza will be wearing it? Given how grotesquely overweight she is, my guess is Prey's Dyson Sphere. Florian Eckhardt

Tee. Jee. Eye. Eff. Man. What a week. But a weekend of couch-sitting, Cheetos-grazing and game-playing beckons seductively behind tomorrow's murky veil. So what will you be playing this weekend?

I will continue to play Diablo 2 wanna-be Titan Quest. It's... okay. It ain't no Diablo 2, though. In D2, the character tended to have numerous skills that you would switch between on the fly depending on the situation. It was very twitchy... a flurry of hot-key hammering to trigger different skills, only limited by your mana. Titan Quest, like Guild Wars decides to go for the cool down approach, which is less frenetic, and therefore a bit less interesting. Also, I only really ever seem to use one or two skills. It's a beautiful game and still quite good... but it doesn't drive me towards the same compulsion that Diablo 2 did.

Otherwise, I picked up a copy of Civilization IV for my Mac and I'm eager to revisit how much I suck.

What about you? Fly into our forums and start jabbering. You never know if this won't be the thread Crecente picks to scrutinize for a winner of today's contest, after all. Florian Eckhardt

With the purchase of my Black DS Lite, it's obviously going to be a Nintendo sort of weekend. My god, that screen is beautiful, isn't it? I honestly don't think I've seen a better screen on any device. Not only am I looking forward to taking my outageously overpriced used copy of Mario & Luigi 2 for a spin, but I plan on revisiting some old GBA favorites and see how they look on the new screen.

So what about you? This is your weekly opportunity to brag, chortle, exult, enthuse. We want to hear all about your prospective virtual adventures in the comments Florian Eckhardt

I hate to say it, but I'm gamed out. The E3 coverage last week has gotten me less excited by what's coming than burned out by what's coming. So I'm looking forward to just kicking back on the couch and reading exploitative 50's detective novels for the weekend. You know the type: where a hardboiled misogynistic gumshoe pumps round after round of hard lead into the intestines of a commie, lights a cigarette, then makes out with a "broad." Over the years, I've inherited a few hundred such novels from my father, and I feel obliged to consume at least a couple a year to carry on the literary bloodline. My sole gaming will probably be a few rounds of Guitar Hero and possibly some exploration in Resident Evil 4's "Separate Ways" scenario.

Still, I imagine our readers are quite a deal more loyal to our hobby than I am at this current moment in time. So what will you be playing this weekend? New Super Mario Bros. is out and of course that looks great. Otherwise, E3 time tends to be slow for major releases: it's a time for looking forward, which means gamers tend to spend their time looking back when it comes to what disc they plug into their console. So tell us in the comments what you're playing and how you're liking it! - Florian Eckhardt

Speaking of murderous mayhem, this weekend I fully intend on finally beating Resident Evil 4. You know Salazar, that midget undead conquistador? I shot him directly in the face with a bazooka. As my buddy Sven put it, "Somehow it's always the midgets that die like that." The aftermath of this triumphant kill was something to behold. After all, there's really only one thing to do when you've shot a toddler-sized little person in the face with a rocket launcher: scream "SUCK IT!" at the top of your lungs until your upstairs neighbors call the police. Which they did. And they say that gaming promotes anti-social behavior.

So what about you guys? What will you be entertaining yourself with this weekend? Let us know in the comments section.