WRUP: The after-con illness and misery edition

So basically every single person working at Massively is currently dead. Or dying. Or just worn out after a weekend of conventions and madness followed by cookouts followed by a normal work week. So this weekend would be an excellent time to sit back and relax for a while, and possibly cough up a lung or two while sitting in the bath. Hey, everyone needs a hobby outside of gaming.

Of course, plans for a relaxing weekend spent entirely within a warm pool of water will likely be stymied by the fact that there's a closed beta approaching a conclusion for Final Fantasy XIV, the newly free-to-play Lord of the Rings Online, and the usual assortment of gaming mayhem that our staff indulges in whenever we have a spare moment. We also checked in on what everyone thought was the real show-stopper from the now-concluded PAX convention. Read on past the cut for our weekend activities, and let us know in the comments what you'll be playing for the weekend!
Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I will be hunting crazy looking animals in Planet Calypso all weekend, as well as writing a couple articles. Also, my wife and I will be searching for a new static group game for our social network, MMOvoices. It's been a long search.

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): With my internet connection being down for a few weeks there, I missed all the PAX excitement. This weekend will likely be spent catching up on work, doing a little development on a game project and running heroics in World of Warcraft. My EVE corpmates are going mad without me but I doubt I'll get any time to play with them this weekend.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I'm terribly boring — I expect to be sneaking into City of Heroes this weekend whilst trying to turn my new apartment into a home. As for the bonus question: I felt strangely disappointed by PAX. Our staff did an amazing job covering the con, but it seemed like the major games didn't offer up many reveals — at least not enough to match the mounting hype. Still, it's impossible not to be excited after the Star Wars: The Old Republic Revan vid and the footage of Guild Wars 2!

Edward Marshall: I'll be spreading my time around in World of Tanks, Fallen Earth and Might & Magic Heroes Kingdoms. I guess my favorite PAX revelation was any and all info on Star Wars: The Old Republic. Anything that has to do with both Star Wars and BioWare must be nothing but great news.

Eliot Lefebvre: I am attempting to resist the siren's call of the Final Fantasy XIV beta over the weekend, at least somewhat — I'll just have to do everything again once it goes live, so I have to restrain myself from playing too much. I will be diving into alignment-changing bliss in City of Heroes without regret, however. As for the PAX news... oddly, not much came out that didn't re-affirm games I was already planning on playing and watching. I just wish I had been there for some hands-on goodness.

Greg Waller: This weekend I'm checking out Lord of the Rings Online and the new F2P stuff they're offering. I'll also be playing Warhammer Online (no big news there!). And my favorite PAX reveal? Well, all I can say is that Firefall has me STOKED!

Jef Reahard: Not a lot of gaming for me this weekend. What little free time there is will go to the usual Age of Conan / EverQuest II suspects, and there might be some EVE thrown in there as well.

Jeremy Stratton (@Jeremy_Stratton): I'll be starting an adventure in Lord of the Rings Online, of course. I'll also spend some time looking for a guild to run siege wars with in Runes of Magic. Then it's all school work.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): I'm working all weekend, so no gaming for me (sad face, solitary tear running down my cheek, etc.). However, I've been tremendously enjoying the recent update to Lord of the Rings Online and have plans to give Guild Wars another shot after being enraptured by Guild Wars 2 at PAX. Been there, done that, am wearing the t-shirt!

Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): I'm headed into LEGO Universe this weekend and patching up Vanguard for the next edition of Choose My Adventure. Outside of that, I'll probably remain ridiculously addicted to Civilization Revolution on my iPhone when I can't be at my gaming computer. As for PAX: I was busy partying down at Dragon*Con!

Ryan Greene (@ThatGayNerd): I just got the Final Fantasy XIV beta client up and running, so that'll probably consume my weekend with hours upon hours of frustrating confusion. Why is performing even basic tasks so needlessly complicated?