Free-to-play titles always make me take pause before trying said game. The latest? MechWarrior Online. As much as I'd like to purchase a Founder's Program membership, I haven't (yet) been able to bring myself to hit submit my application. That might be changing though.

Summer storms rolled through my town last evening, knocking out my electric, so I took to Strikefleet Omega. It's the first free-to-play game I've actually tried. Learning the ins and outs was simple enough, and before I knew it four hours had passed. If MechWarrior Online can replicate Harebrained Schemes in-game purchase formula, where you can work to earn the same upgrades and ships or choose to purchase them for real money immediately, I might dive in afterall. Now, which mech to pick.

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• Garnett Lee: I'll be continuing my tense travels through the tunnels under post-apocalyptic Moscow in Metro 2033. And I couldn’t resist the urge to play a good JRPG any longer. After consideration, I've started a fresh play of Lost Odyssey—a game that seems to have grown in reputation substantially since its release.

• Andrew Yoon: I'm going to check out the LittleBigPlanet Karting beta. And I'm also playing New Super Mario Bros 2.

• John Keefer: With my kids away, I finished Mass Effect, imported my character into Mass Effect 2 and immediately began playing. I love how seamless the play is, complete with meeting characters from game one that remember my actions or getting mail from other characters I interacted with. It's like the continuation of the epic story. Can't wait to get started on Mass Effect 3.

• Alice O'Connor: The Olympics kick off a mere two miles from my flat tonight, so on Saturday I'll escape to a park in west London and pretend they don't exist.

• Jeff Mattas: I’m really glad I picked up an iPad before the summer dry spell for games. On that note, I'll be playing some more Fieldrunners 2, Dynamite Jack, Aralon HD, and Autumn Dynasty. I'll also be checking out the musical shooter Symphony, and spend some more time pointing and clicking through The Journey Down.

• Steve Watts: I might grind a few hours into Rainbow Moon and Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection this weekend, but most of my time will probably be devoted to Lego Batman 2.

• Ozzie Mejia: I'm off to Vegas for a couple of days. And if Shackers have taught me anything, it's to hunt down the Pinball Hall of Fame while I'm there.

• Tyler J. Smith: Fine, fine, back to interstellar travel I go. I'm beginning to sense a trend here. Strikefleet Omega, being as late as I am to the party, is one of the only mobile games to actually make me want to play it more. It's easy to sit down, do a system or survival wave, and come back later.