Truth be told, I've yet to actually dabble in the Wii game, despite intentions to do so previously. But this weekend, Mario, Luigi and a pair of Toads and I will be hopping about wildly in the Mushroom Kingdom. It will be part fun, part work as I consider New Super Mario Bros. Wii for end of year game awards.

And if I'm being completely honest, I may start up a new Demon's Souls character, one capable of wearing more feminine items like those Silver Bracelets. Can you guess which title might already be in the lead for my game of the year choice?

Enough about me. What are you playing this weekend?

I've also got some more New Super Mario Bros. Wii to play, helping me make those all-important game of the year judging decisions that we love to do during the holidays. While I play some of the year's bigger titles thinking about how deserving they are of consideration, I realize that the game's that occupied most of my time this year are quite old. Dead Space and the original Left 4 Dead have probably seen the most playtime on my consoles, but Demon's Souls is getting up there.

And it probably will be one of the games I play the most in 2010. Or so I'm thinking.

Anyway, any thoughts about your own game of the year choices? And what are you playing this weekend, anyway?

Other games on the menu this holiday weekend include Demon's Souls and Borderlands' new Zombie Island of Dr. Ned downloadable content, two time investments that I'm happy to commit to. That's a lot of grind, though, so I may need some sort of downloadable chaser to wind down with.

I'm passing on fighting the Black Friday crowds this year—I've already got enough to play anyway—but did anyone out there in Kotakuland score some games on the cheap today? Playing 'em this weekend? Hit us in the comments and let the world know!

So into the Nexus I will go, armed with my Knight and a heavy dose of fear, as I harvest souls for the long-delayed Kotaku review of From Software's PlayStation 3 sleeper hit. As a chaser, I plan to let go with a little more Left 4 Dead 2, my multiplayer game of choice. I've enjoyed my time with Modern Warfare 2, but I like laying waste to zombies with my friends.

How about yourself? Will you leave any helpful warnings for me in Demon's Souls? Perhaps be the Ellis to my Coach? Or do you have alternate gaming plans this weekend?

More Modern Warfare 2. While it seems everyone on my Xbox Live friends list is playing that game and that game only, I'll be playing it mostly friendless on the new PlayStation 3 version of the game that just arrived at Kotaku Towers. Given this week's server snafu affecting PS3 owners, it's worth adding that version to our upcoming Online Status Check.

How about yourself? Any way you can scare up a pre-release retail copy of Left 4 Dead 2 so that I may kill you in it? Let us know your gaming plans by commenting in this here thread, y'all.

Being a huge fan of the first Left 4 Dead, I'm dying to stop working and play the thing, kill me some Southern fried zombies. Of course, any questions you have that would like addressed in an upcoming review, let me know in the comments or shoot me an e-mail. The same for Modern Warfare 2, folks.

I'll probably have to brush up on my Call of Duty 4, just to make sure I'm remembering the multiplayer experience for proper comparison, but even I'm not sure I can take this much gunplay in a 48 hour period.

How about you? What's your game plan for the weekend?

Away doing what? Away playing a video game for an upcoming Kotaku review, two days that might have looked like two days off, but was two days worth of work. Work playing a video game, but still work. This weekend, I'll relax playing a video game or two.

I'll also take part of my weekend to play another upcoming PlayStation 3 (OK, multi-platform) game that I'm not sure if I'm supposed to mention. But it involves stabbing people. And that should be fun.

What about you? Playing anything you're permitted to name this weekend?

My PlayStation 3 will get a little attention as well during my days off, as my long missing copy of Batman: Arkham Asylum has been returned to its rightful owner, me! Since we'll be readying review round-ups and holiday buyer's guides in just a few weeks, I'd better play one of the games that everyone was going bat-gaga over this year, should I need to argue for against its quality.

In the downtime, I'll be playing a little more Borderlands, a little more Drawn To Life, and sleeping in a bit.

What about you? What are you playing this weekend? Hmm?

While I've not spent enough time to weigh in on it yet — I'm only about a dozen races in — I'm guessing I'll have some nice things to say about it upon review. Another game I could very well be playing this weekend is Gearbox Software's Borderlands, despite what seems like a concerted effort not to get me said review copy of that shooter RPG. Thank goodness for alternate means!

Oh, and I'll also play a little more Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter in between the eating, sleeping and blinking I plan to squeeze in. Oof!

What about yourselves? Hit us in the comments with a big old list of what you're playing this weekend.

Forza Motorsport 3 for another. And, time willing, I'll get a little Left 4 Dead "Crash Course" DLC time in this weekend, now that a slightly used Xbox 360 replacement has appeared, only slightly reeking of permanent marker ink. Maybe something else will show up today and pleasantly surprise me. Borderlands, maybe?

What will you be playing this weekend?

Those days are soon upon us as the autumnal equinox hit this past week. And further, my birthday is Sunday, when you can do any damn thing you please. So for me, I'm gonna break out some games I have not made progress on in a long time, and a few that I bought a long time ago but never played.

I might also fight the urge to buy The Warriors: Street Brawl. I loved the original on Xbox; love the film too. I know it's gonna disappoint me but I have the points laying around and I'm a sucker for a bonehead-stupid impulse buy. Hell, I bought MLB Stickball last year.

Enough about my bad purchase habits. What are you playing this weekend?

What other games will I play? Let's see, there's "Cabella's Extreme Catshit Scooping," as Sunday is chore day; plus also "iPhone Jailbreak 3.1." I'd like to get an achievement - and tethering - unlocked in that. Other possibilities include "The Sims: Prospective Downstairs Tenant," where I hard sell the place beneath me to any hot college women looking for an apartment - one showed up today wearing cheetah-print high heels, no lie - and badmouth the place to anyone who tells me they have a dog. Especially a dog smaller than my cat. Although they're useful for "Ray Guy's Championship Chihuahua Punting," which I hope to review some day.

How about you?

Instead, watch for a review of Bowser's Inside Story next Monday, when I should be wholly evacuated from King Koopa's bowel, ready to heap praise upon and a little bit of scorn. With the rest of my weekend, the one not spent attached to the DS, I'll maybe squeeze in a little Gran Turismo, maybe a little Demon's Souls, maybe a little more Shadow Complex. We'll have to see how it all shakes out.

I may just wind up playing some rummy. But what about the Kotaku readership? What are you playing this weekend?

That would be two PlayStation 3 games, Guitar Hero 5 and Demon's Souls, which will definitely be getting some Labor Day extended weekend attention. Reviews for both should be due posthaste, but honestly it's the promise of Bowser's Inside Story that has me most excited. Nothing about Neversoft and Atlus' offerings, but I'm a big fan of Nintendo's more casual RPG series.

How about yourself? Any three-day weekend gaming plans?

It was actually just the solution to my broken drum set and the need for a second Rock Band guitar, plus the addition of Rock Band 2 to my library. I've been living on a steady diet of on-disc tracks and downloadable ones since the game's release, but an Amazon sale made it worth having shipped for free to my house.

Long story short, that's what I'll be playing this weekend, when I have a spare minute. It's tax time for people like me, ones who filed extensions in the face of frightening returns. C'mon, refund!

What about you? Doing tax preparation this weekend? Or are you just playing games?

Oh, don't give me that look. I can only take advantage of that early Gamescom showfloor access once per day, just enough to get my hands on the two classes I haven't yet played, the Wizard and Witchdoctor. I suppose I'll get to play something else at Gamescom that isn't Diablo III. New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii maybe. Perhaps a little Uncharted 2 single-player. But it will mostly be a game of avoiding being crushed by German gamers.

What about yourself? What, besides Diablo III, might you be playing this weekend?

That means I'm going to have to get creative with my use of the Friction Dampener, as some areas are still cleverly locked out to me. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to do a quick speed run after I fully finish the game, seeing how my level 20 character handles himself in a second play-through. Expect a full review next week.

I'll be digging through the Nintendo DS library looking for something to play on the plane to Cologne, maybe giving Final Fantasy III or Advance Wars: Days of Ruin another go.

What about you? Playing anything good this weekend?

That's just to cleanse the palette, as I'll be digging into a few downloadable titles I've recently picked up. That includes things like PixelJunk Monsters and Space Invaders Extreme. I've also had an itch to recharge the PSP for some Phantasy Star Portable, a game I didn't get to spend much time with. But considering we're heading to Gamescom in less than two weeks, I'll need something portable to play.

It's a long flight, so I may need to invest in a back up PSP battery... While I contemplate that, let us know what you're playing this lovely weekend. Put it right in the comments.

But I'll definitely be making a few minutes for Fat Princess and Shadow Complex, maybe a little Call of Duty 4. Since we have visitors at Kotaku Towers West this weekend, it's going to make lazing around on the couch, controller in hand, a little more difficult. Same for next weekend, unfortunately.

Let us know what's on the gaming agenda this weekend at your tower.

There's plenty to play on the convention floor, with Activision, EA, Sega, Sony, Ubisoft, Namco Bandai, SOE and many more bringing their E3 builds for the public to play. We've already played most of this stuff, but a second go certainly isn't going to hurt. I'm trying to get back on TMNT Smash-Up, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

I may be playing a little more Bayonetta tonight, but may also just be ogling it at a distance.

How 'bout yourself? What are you playing this weekend?