Mass Effect for the PC is being manufactured as we speak and it'll be ready for North America on May 28th and for Europe on June 6th. As previously noted, the checking of keys every 10 days or so has been removed so that's good. If you pick the game up for the PC, don't forget to sign up in the BioWare Community area for your free download of Bring Down the Sky add-on. [READ MORE]

Here's what we're playing this weekend.  Let us know what you're playing in the comments.

Elliot Bonnie
My GTA IV habit will be hard to break, but maybe DiRT, No More Heroes and Mario Kart can help out a little. If not... its back to Liberty City.

Sean Colleli
I'm still putting GTA IV through its paces, and while it's much better than any of the previous games, it still has some of the old problems that bug me. I'll be playing more Mario kart Wii, which is turning into a hard game to review, and then I'll continue my trip through feudal Japan in Okami.

Charles Husemann
My plans of getting an early start with Age of Conan were shattered yesterday when Gamestop informed me that my pre-order didn't get me early access to the game so this weekend will be spent playing GTA IV, Team Fortress 2, and futzing around with the preview of Kung Fu Panda Activision sent me.

Randy Kalista
When you invest blood, sweat, and tears into an MMO, one that really nails your online realm cravings, it can be hard to fathom playing anything else. Likewise, when you come up for air from MMO submersion to rediscover single-player games, it can be hard to imagine returning to the ol' massively-multiplayer cirque du soleil. I've been offline for some time now, but I'm tying a rubber tube around my arm, tapping away at the vein, and getting ready to grind the IV needle under my skin one more time with Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne: Hellbound.

Matt Mirkovich
More of The World Ends With You, the endgame for this game is extensive. I've also got Flat Out: Head On in the PSP which feels like a mish mash of Burnout and Twisted Metal. Hell it shares the Head On name with Twisted Metal. Not much GTA time as I'm in the middle of traveling, but I can't believe that ********* killed ***** with the ******** while hopped up on *********. Man that scene was intense.

Nathan Murray
I've decided that I will be trading in my titles that I just cant seem to finish to make room in my game library. I've been avoiding Lost Odyssey and Overlord and I've rented FEAR Files and Rome the first season. I am also currently playing through Skate for the second time. Why can't I quit you San Vanelona?

Tyler Sager
Still plugging away at Universe at War on my end. I might also be giving the latest GalCivII expansion, Twilight of the Arnor a whirl.

Rachel Steiner
No Grand Theft Auto IV for me, I'll be playing better things ..AKA Mario Kart Wii.

John Yan
I will be playing with Resume Maker and Job Hunter MMORPG.

Here's the debut trailer for Dracula:Origin the upcoming adventure game that's supposed to suck (your blood).

SEGA and Platinum Games have become partners. Platinum games will be the development force behind three new Sega inspired intellectual properties MADWORLD, Infinite Line, and Bayonette. There is also a fourth title yet to be announced and Sega has dropped the name Shinji Mikami.

MADWORLD is slated to be released for the Nintendo Wii and is a third person action game with "...a unique black and white style..." Oh and one of the weapons in the game is a chainsaws so I don't think it will get below a Teen rating. "entertaining sports commentary", "irreverent humor", and "over-the-top violence" could make this game hit or miss but one thing is for sure it will be unlike most of the kiddy "come on grandma let's go play" games that have come out for the Wii so far.

Infinite Line (working title) is a RPG for the DS and will give players the ability to build space ships. Lots of spaceships. More than 150 spaceships and over 200 characters could make this the most immersive RPG handheld title yet. Or it could make it incredibly complicated and too bogged down to be fun. We won't find out until next year.

Bayonetta is a "stylish and cinematic" action game coming out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the year 2009. It features a witch facing off against "angelic enemies". Almost feel like I'm going to Hell just for typing that. Theological funnies aside the game will focus on action so it might just be as easy to picture yourself as a ninja facing off against demons, oh wait... [READ MORE]

Soul Calibur was the game that convinced me to buy a Dreamcast back in the day.  The combat was fairly easy to learn but took a while to master and the graphics were drop dead gorgeous.  I used to own the guys at work with Kilick and Cervantes except for the weird guy who liked to use Voldo all the time.  Anyway, these ten new screens from the Xbox Live version are looking pretty good so far and I think this will certainly be a good warm up for Soul Calibur IV when it's released later this year.

Undeniably GRID is looking to be pretty if not pretty fun to play. Code Masters released this new trailer that showcases some of the tracks located in Japan and focuses on street courses and drift racing. You get a real feeling of bone crunch when you see the way collisions are done. Yet another racing game that I will play simply to destroy my collection of pretty cars. Muah ha ha ha. [READ MORE]

OCZ is touting to be the first to offer DIY notebooks. While notebooks have become more customizable in the recent years, I wonder what OCZ has planned to really make this a DIY solution. Having the ability to swap out CPU and video card would be great start and I am hoping OCZ's solution offers this. Just purchasing a notebook from Dell a few weeks ago, you're already given plenty of options to choose from so I guess we'll see what OCZ has in store to improve on this. [READ MORE]

Yes it looks like Guitar Hero IV is going the Rock Band route and adding drums and singing. So how do you make it different? Why move one pad to the cymbal area and add another cymbal. Joystiq has a picture from Game Informer showing off a prototype. This just means another drum set I need to keep in the living room because I bet this thing won't work with Rock Band. My house isn't big enough to hold all these faux instruments.

Sierra Online has let the bunnies run loose and soon they will be running right onto your Windows PC. Boogie Bunnies is a causal match three puzzle game that recently came out on Xbox Live Market place that "...revolutionizes the popular genre with... wacky critters full of personality." The game didn't get horrible reviews on the Xbox 360 so here's hoping mouse controls, improved graphic capability, and more memory space make this port onto PC a real winner. Cost is $19.99, rating is E and the game is out now. Oh and there is a FREE TRIAL . [READ MORE]

Demos

• A new demo lifts off for the combat space simulator, Heresy War.  (That first one's at AtomicGamer; this one's over at Strategy Informer.)
• A block-tastic demo of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is mirrored over at AtomicGamer.  (Or you can grab it at Strategy Informer; your choice.)

Articles

• Xbox America conference called Anthony Deluca, producer of Top Spin 3.
• The Cooler Master Centurion 590 is a "new release for under $70 that looks to be jam packed with the features you are looking for."
• "Obviously, it's not the first choice for enthusiasts..."  TheTechLounge reviews the ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB Video Card.
• Cryptic Studios has added concept art origin pages for Defender, Doctor Destroyer, Menton, and Ironclad in Champions Online.
• "This motherboard might offer something extraordinary."  Here's Digit-Life's review of the Sapphire PURE CrossFireX 790FX Motherboard on AMD 790FX Chipset (Socket AM2+).
• Techgage looks at the punch-packing Hypersonic Avenger AG12" Notebook.
• AtomicGamer reports on some more time spent int the just-finished open beta of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.

Videos

• Age of Conan Femme Fatale Video (WMV HD, WMV SD, WMV Web); Alone in the Dark Facade Sequence Trailer (QT HD, WMV HD); Skate It Wii Controls, Nintendo DS Controls (QT); Sins of a Solar Empire UK Teaser Trailer (WMV); Gears of War 2 Gamers Day 2008 Trailer (WMV HD); Fable 2 Gamers Day 2008 Video (WMV HD); FaceBreaker Steve Trailer; Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Trailer (WMV HD); The Incredible Hulk 2008 Trailer; Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise Trailer; Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One Trailer (WMV HD); Exteel Game Mode Video; Line Rider 2: Unbound TechDawg Trailer (QT); Ninja Gaiden 2 Gamers Day 2008 (WMV), Leap (WMV High, WMV SD); Too Human Co-op Video, Gamers Day 2008 Video (WMV HD).

Screenshots

• Gears of War 2 (X360); Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Next gen, Wii, and cinematic shots); Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (X360); Velvet Assassin; Alone in the Dark; Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (X360); FlatOut Ultimate Carnage (PC); Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals (PC); Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 1 (PS2) [European release]; Falling Stars (PS2); PixelJunk Monsters (PS3) ["Encore" expansion]; Numen: Contest of Heroes (PC) [monsters]; Heresy Wars (PC) [demo shots].

Thanks to Xbox America, Techgage, TheTechLounge, Cryptic Studios, Digit-Life, and Strategy Informer for today's news roundup.

Blockbuster is hosting a 24 hour Guitar Hero 3 tournament at one of their Dallas, Texas stores.  It goes from Friday the 16th to Saturday the 17th, with Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert starting the ceremonies.  A donation of $5 will get you unlimited playtime, and even better, your donations go to improve children's education in Dallas.  Oh, and there are some cool prizes for the winners too.  I wish they were doing one of these in Columbus, although I probably wouldn't make it out of the medium bracket. [READ MORE]

If there's one thing Requiem: Bloodymare does in a gratuitous fashion, it's make things awful bloody when it comes to dismembering monsters with a +5 Vorpal Sword of Cuisinart.  If you're itching to get in on that action, open beta sign-ups began yesterday, with gameplay commencing on May 15th (just five days before Age of Conan takes the MMO world by storm).  We've got seven new open beta screenshots to tempt your morbid palette. [READ MORE]