WRUP: He has the power to rear-project major cities edition

Alas, Mystery Science Theater 3000, you were too beautiful for this world. Also far too expensive, which is what killed you. (Pretty much all of the show's budget went to licensing terrible, terrible films, which seems odd as they're sort of thing that would seem cheap.) Sure, there's the occasional clunker like Catalina Caper or Hamlet, but then you get Red Zone Cuba or Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders or Girl in Gold Boots. And you can get an awful lot of the episodes on Netflix streaming. I'm just saying.

Unlike the source material used for MST3K, this installment of WRUP does not feature horrible technical glitches, failed special effects, or glaring problems to indicate that the producers just don't care. Instead, it features the Massively staff talking about what its members will be up to over the weekend and their favorite MMO combat abilities. So click on past the break to check that out, let us know your own plans in the comments, and repeat to yourself that it's just a Saturday feature and you should really just relax.

Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I will be jamming on some Faxion Online for Rise and Shiny, trying to figure out more of Travians, building up my fortune in Illyriad,, and exploring the closed beta of Gods and Heroes, which looks awesome so far.

My favorite combat ability has to be any type of feign death. I used to use it to win PvP duels in World of Warcraft all the time and have found it handy in almost any game that features it.

Brandon Felczer (@bfelczer): This weekend I am going to be mostly playing First Life (Second Life's predecessor) as I will be attending a huge party my parents are hosting to celebrate my graduation from San Diego Sate University — GO AZTECS! That is going to be keeping me pretty busy, but I do plan to jump into Star Trek Online to test out the new Remastered Missions to get the new rewards. I may also have a few minutes to jump into RIFT too!

My favorite combat ability is the Tactical Team power that all Tactical officers get in STO — this power allows you to call in reinforcements who beam down and fight beside you until they die (they're redshirts, so you know they are going to die eventually, lol). I love to couple Tactical Initiative, an AoE power, with this to reset all of my powers and allow me to call down another set of reinforcements. Imagine getting five players next to each other and doing this over and over again. Let's just say dozens of redshirts die each time.

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): Some friends have suckered me into trying out RIFT, and I'm actually having a really good time playing it. There are no mechanics in it that I haven't seen in other MMOs, but they're put together extremely well and with a surprising amount of polish. I'm looking forward to logging a little more time in the game this weekend to see what the areas are like outside of Freemarch. I may end up just switching off the UI and exploring for a while; it's a very pretty game.

My favourite combat ability has to be feign death. A lot of MMOs incorporate a feign death-style ability, and it's an absolute god-send for travelling through areas packed with enemies or for bypassing content. It's hands down one of the best utility abilities, right up there with invisibility and short-range teleports.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): Busy weekend for me, but I hope to sneak in some City of Heroes, maybe on Monday!

I'm going to be predictable and pick a City of Heroes power I've been using a lot lately: Hurricane. It works beautifully in the right hands and is a disaster when misused, but either way, few other games plant you in the middle of your very own swirling storm cloud of debuffing, knockbacking, squishy-protecting goodness. Plus it looks awesome. And it can rock you.

Eliot Lefebvre: This weekend is my anniversary with Ms. Lady (well, Friday, but it might as well be the whole weekend), so we'll be playing some Final Fantasy XIV together as well as heading out and having fun together. Other than that, I'm going to tool around in City of Heroes and fuss about with some game demos on Steam as I contemplate whether anything's worth buying.

It might seem silly and low-key, but I've always loved the Hundred Fists ability from Final Fantasy XI. I never played a Monk that much, but I loved popping that cooldown and watching myself just start hammering on my target. It was just so pure and without artifice.

Jef Reahard: ArcheAge beta for me and a bunch of yard work.

I don't really care enough about combat to have a favorite ability. I guess I'd have to echo Beau here and go with feign death, particularly the Star Wars Galaxies Smuggler variety (or maybe Low Blow — nothing like going for the enemy's junk).

Jeremy Stratton (@Jeremy_Stratton): I'm visiting some long-time friends of mine this weekend. The weather is amazing, and cookouts are in my immediate future.

I don't know that I have a favorite-favorite ability. Stuns are neat, especially coupled with a neat graphical effect. I like the freeze spell in Runes of Magic. It freezes enemies in a chunk of quartz-shaped ice. You can't really stay and admire it, though, if you're freezing an enemy to get away from him!

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): I'll be out on the road this weekend to visit my folks, so the only game I'll get a chance to bring with me is Guild Wars! That's OK; I need a bit of a gaming break anyway.

As for my favorite combat ability, Gang War from City of Villains comes to mind. It feels so over-the-top crazy to suddenly summon a dozen or so minions to help you out, and I never got tired of the rush it provided!

Karen Bryan (@JayeRnH): I'm playing Grilling and Chilling this weekend. If I have a chance, I'll sneak in some Pirates of the Burning Sea, EverQuest II and RIFT. I was even thinking of popping back into Age of Conan, but that's probably up in the air unless the weather doesn't cooperate.

As for my favorite combat ability, that's easy... Trueshot!

Matt Daniel (@mvmatt): I'm gonna be spendin' some time at the lovely Pensacola Beach for Memorial Day weekend. Aside from that, I'll be playing some ARGO and some CoH.

As far as my favorite ability is concerned, I'm going to have to agree with Patrick and say stealth. Aside from that, any sort of Shadowstep-esque ability. Anything that lets me teleport to my target for a quick and quiet assassination is OK in my book.

Patrick Mackey (@mackeypb): I'm looking to move out soon, so a lot of my time this week(end) will be spent apartment-hunting. My game time will probably mostly include StarCraft II, Magicka, and possibly some Champions Online, but there won't be a whole lot of that.

My favorite combat ability in an MMO would have to be stealth. It doesn't matter what kind; it doesn't matter what game. Choosing your engagements and ruining other peoples' tactical assessments (and making people cry imba) never gets old, ever.

At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!