Heat waves, like the one we're experiencing in Minnesota, are a gamer's best friend. They give us a legitimate excuse to stay inside our artificially cool houses and continue permanently damaging our eyes by gluing them to digital surfaces. This weekend, we'll be watching some eSports, playing The Walking Dead, and one of us is even getting a puppy. Hot dog.

Jason Oestreicher: EVO. All weekend long. For fans of fighting games, this is the Super Bowl of tournaments. Instead of attending this year, I'll be tuning into the live stream from my couch.

Jeff Marchiafava: I plan to focus my weekend gaming time on AC: Brotherhood and Episode 2 of The Walking Dead. If I need a peaceful break, I will likely spend more time exploring and plundering the resources of a Minecraft world or two.

Kyle Hilliard: It’s hot outside, so I can’t imagine I will be spending much time there. Infamous 2’s Festival of Blood is on sale this week, so I hope to make my way through that. I also need to play Episode 2 of The Walking Dead. The baby has started crawling, so I will also be chasing her around the house. I need to make sure she doesn’t try and eat the cat’s food, which was her first destination when she unlocked the power of mobility.

Matthew Kato: Going back to Assassin's Creed: Revelations this weekend. I picked it up again recently, and after some initial unfamiliarity, I realized that the game had its hooks in me when I spent time just running around buying shops. That game has so many gameplay systems, you can almost get lost in it. Apart from that, I'll probably pop NHL 12 back in and try and engineer my own Parise/Suter double player bonanza for the Wild. Fortunately, this is one of the rare instances where real-life will actually be better than a video game. Finally, I'm hearing so many good things about Minecraft 360 and The Walking Dead: Episode 1, that I might buy those too if I've got the cash.

Andrew Reiner: My plan is to play The Walking Dead: Episode 2 for a couple of hours on Saturday morning, then roll right into my review of Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, a new Sega game for 3DS. Rhythm Thief's box reads: "Raphael has a secret identity as Phantom R, a thief famous for stealing art and retiring it without explanation. Will his life as a burglar help him unlock the secrets of his mysterious past or will his exploits end in capture?" The game apparently blends puzzle solving with "50 music-based minigames." Sounds mighty interesting.

Ali Rapp: My TV and Xbox are finally totally repaired (praise Stendarr!), so I can get back to beautiful, glorious, wonderful Skyrim. My partner decided to be a vampire in Dawnguard first, so I'll probably go the other way and stick with the Nords. I'm also about halfway done with my second playthrough of Okami. Have you ever played that game? It's so gorgeous it makes my eyes bleed. On Sunday, I'll be heading to an EVO party to watch the championships.

Jack Gardner: I will be seeing The Amazing Spider-Man, finishing up Final Fantasy III, doing my laundry, watching EVO 2012 and Firefly (Browncoats forever!), and getting a puppy. This is going to be a freaking good weekend!