What we are playing is a weekly column that appears each weekend. Various staff members let the world know what games had them hooked the past week and which ones they look forward to.

John Laster – I played [redacted] and saw [redacted]. It’s going to be an incredible year
for XBLA Fans. Oh and Mutant Blobs Attack on Vita is amazing. I also had the awesome opportunity to see some of the amazing stuff Signal Studios has in the works, and I had a blast playing through the first half of Haunted Temple Studio’s upcoming game Skulls of the Shogun.

Ross Adams – All [easyazon-link asin=”B003O6C9LK” locale=”us”]SSX[/easyazon-link] for me at the moment, got it on Thursday and have been playing it non stop. Controls excellently and all the RiderNet/Leaderboard implementation it amazing, makes it super addictive.

Shawn Saris – After playing a mind blowing amount of [easyazon-link asin=”B003O6EBRA” locale=”us”]Final Fantasy XIII-2[/easyazon-link], I am now working on [easyazon-link asin=”B004EW7LSY” locale=”us”]Binary Domain[/easyazon-link]. Aside from that I am just keeping myself distracted with [easyazon-link asin=”B003O6E986″ locale=”us”]Forza Motorsport 4[/easyazon-link] and [easyazon-link asin=”B003O6G5TW” locale=”us”]Battlefield 3[/easyazon-link] until Mass Effect 3 makes its way into my Xbox.

Todd Pantier – I made a mad dash through [easyazon-link asin=”B000OLXX86″ locale=”us”]Mass Effect[/easyazon-link] this week and am working on making a similar run through [easyazon-link asin=”B001TORSII” locale=”us”]Mass Effect 2[/easyazon-link] in prep for Tuesday. Bet you can guess what my post is going to look like next week…

Christine Mitchell – I’ve been finishing up my final [easyazon-link asin=”B001TORSII” locale=”us”]Mass Effect 2[/easyazon-link] run along with the Arrival DLC for the first time. I also played some Beyond Good & Evil HD while waiting on Mass Effect 3. I’m sort of enjoying it but having to battle with some terrible camera angles.

Ryan Reynolds – I spent most of my gaming time this week prepping for Mass Effect 3 with my [easyazon-link asin=”B001TORSII” locale=”us”]Mass Effect 2[/easyazon-link] playthrough, but also enjoyed some Kinect Adventures and Fruit Ninja Kinect with my little sister. I’ve also been chipping away at [easyazon-link asin=”B0050SYXSW” locale=”us”]The Gunstringer[/easyazon-link] and got a few rounds of [easyazon-link asin=”B002I0H79C” locale=”us”]Gears of War 3[/easyazon-link] in as well.

Nick Santangelo – I started the week off by wrapping up [easyazon-link asin=”B0044SA70M” locale=”us”]Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning[/easyazon-link] on Sunday. The ending was a bit weak, but I absolutely loved the game, possibly even more than Skyrim. Speaking of which, it was back to [easyazon-link asin=”B004HYK956″ locale=”us”]Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[/easyazon-link] after clearing Reckoning. It’s only taken me about four months and 80 hours of gameplay, but I’m finally closing in on the end of the main quest. Hopefully I can get through it before Mass Effect 3 launches on Tuesday.

Craig Hart – I started the week off by finally trying out [easyazon-link asin=”B0053BQREE” locale=”us”]WWE ’12[/easyazon-link]. The gameplay mechanics are greatly improved, but the RTWM is still boring and repetitive. After a few days of WWE ’12, I moved on to [easyazon-link asin=”B003O6C9LK” locale=”us”]SSX[/easyazon-link]. The beloved franchise returned after being dormant for almost five years. I enjoyed the solo World Tour mode, but the online competition is what makes the game incredibly addictive. Competing against your friends online and racking up credits is extremely satisfying. I only wish that EA included a split-screen mode.

Matt Liparota – Not too much gaming for me this week, I’m afraid. I did play a bit of [easyazon-link asin=”B004HYK956″ locale=”us”]Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[/easyazon-link] and I dusted off [easyazon-link asin=”B000XJNTPG” locale=”us”]Brutal Legend[/easyazon-link] for a bit, but I’m really just gearing up for Mass Effect 3. That game cannot get here soon enough.