WRUP: Fox Van Allen and Michele Morrow return to The Fourth Hour

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff 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!

About a month ago, Michele Morrow and I teased you with the first episode of The Fourth Hour, what we hoped would be a really epic, regular video series on gaming. And indeed, we still have plans for it. It's just that life happened in a very severe and intense way over at the Morrow household, and we had to put off taping for a while. (More about that later.)

Thankfully, though, Michele has worked through the personal cataclysm, and we finally got a chance to sit down this week to tape a new episode of The Fourth Hour. It's still in editing, but we didn't want you to go without. That's why we're going to share with you our camera test that we ran as a warm-up. And if last time's outtakes were any indication, it's going to be just as good as the full episode -- if not better.

This week's bonus question: Now that the Mists of Pandaria release date has been announced, it's time to decide. Are you buying a physical copy of the game, or are you going to just grab a digital download this year?

Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) Finishing up the move from Fargo to Minneapolis. Lots of movers and an absolutely ginormous U-Haul. Digital deluxe for me!

Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) I'll be plunking along on The Witcher 2, which actually has turned out to be pretty entertaining thus far, although the combat is slightly more complex than I'm used to! Also messing around on live, possibly checking out a few more things here and there on beta, and sorting through stuff around the house for Goodwill -- because oh my gosh, we have a lot of crap sitting around here. As for release, I haven't decided yet. It depends on when the servers go live for play. I'd like to get the box CE, but I may settle for digital edition for one account and then picking up the box CE after I'm done with my mad leveling spree for account #2.

Chase Hasbrouck (@alarondruid, @alaronmonk) I'll be dipping my toe back into some raiding, just for fun, and possibly a little work on profession alts. Lots of writing to do, too. Standard digital edition for me -- not much of a pet/mount collector. Can upgrade later if I decide I really want it after all.

Daniel Desmond (@antigen) Believe it or not, I think the Steam sale really wore me out. I might dabble in some more GTA IV, maybe live-tweet some more Dead Space ... Maybe just some good old-fashioned sleep!

I'm leaning towards the barebones digital download for myself. I'm not big on pets, and mounts that are that readily available tend to lose their appeal (to me, anyway), so I don't see a reason to spend an extra $20 right now.

Daniel Whitcomb (@danielwhitcomb) I'll be playing my N7 Paladin and N7 Fury in ME3 Multiplayer for Operation Overwatch. Beyond that, I'll probably play a few more rounds of Binding of Isaac, maybe see if I can beat a challenge or two. I also have some personal writing I want to catch up on, so I'll set some time aside for that.

As far as MoP goes, I am very, very tempted to just grab the digital deluxe. No fuss, no mess, and I get my pet and mount. I'm pretty big on digital downloads too, as my Steam and Amazon accounts can attest. On the other hand, I have every other expansion CE (no vanilla CE, alas), so there would be a nice continuity in adding another CE box to my collection. I'm still debating with myself, in other words.

Dawn Moore (@dawnwow) I want to get some practice with PvP again, so I'll be running BGs this weekend. I want to make a serious attempt at realm-first priest this time around, and I need to be ready for the world PvP I'll encounter while I'm at it. As for the release date, I'm going to have to get the digital download because I'm not sure where in the world I'll be when the game launches. It's a shame though, because I always like having a hard copy of the game.

Fox Van Allen (@foxvanallen) I'll probably hang with Mat McCurley, get some brunch, hit the gym, and otherwise enjoy 48 solid hours of not having to work. I'll probably be getting a physical copy, since I'll be down at the launch event in Irvine. You can't get a digital copy signed by Blizzard, now, can you?

Joe Perez (@lodurzj) Actually getting out of the house -- to go play some Magic: The Gathering. Since the new core set came out and with Ravnica coming back, I figured why not? As far as MoP goes, I'll be getting a physical copy. I need to keep my shelf of CEs going; otherwise, it will just look really weird.

Lisa Poisso (@LisaPoisso) I'm going to be experimenting with some alternative leveling tactics this weekend -- namely, archaeology and gathering. I find tooling around while gabbing in guildchat to be quite relaxing (my guild rocks!), and I'm usually too busy lurking about in Stealth to say much, so we'll see how the new angle works for a lazy weekend. As for release day, I'm all about digital releases. Less waste -- better for us all!

Matt Low (@matticus) Counterstrike: Global Offensive! Getting both digital copies: one's the deluxe, the other's the standard.

Matt Rossi (@matthewwrossi) Still doing writing over at the personal site. Already got the digital deluxe edition. I'll probably never go to a store again for WoW. The last time I went to a release event was Wrath of the Lich King, it was cold, cramped, and full of people loudly and
boisterously debating the merits of this or that class in PvP, and a fist fight broke out back of the line (well behind me) over someone's blood elf paladin, who apparently was an infamous griefer and who had corpse camped the character of a man who turned out to be the size of an enteleodont. Always be courteous when you corpse camp, I guess ...

Matt Walsh (@rhidach) Kind of a blast from the past, but I've been playing SimCity 4 a lot ever since getting it off the Steam sale. Having a blast with that. Might also play Arkham Asylum a little. I'll be getting the digital standard version. I don't really care to spend extra money for a pet and a mount.

Megan O'Neill (@slowpoker) I might PvP with my guild or do alt Dragon Soul runs. We got a bunch of new recruits who ought to feel welcome and we're trying to keep down the burnout while we push Spine 25-H. I still have beta things to do and outside of WoW; there might be some Bastion/Skyrim going on.

Digital deluxe, probably. Cataclysm was digital for me too, even though I still have my vanilla, BC, and Wrath boxes.

Olivia Grace (@oliviagrace) Some PvP, on both live and beta, I reckon. Having done a post on all the mounts purchasable for real money, I reckon £10 is a good deal for a mount and a pet, so I've gone for the digital deluxe edition for that reason!

Robin Torres (@cosmicgeek) It came from the Blog's Scavenger Hunt on Friday night with fabulous prizes! Saturday night we are going to a zombie party. The Spawn is either going as Zombie Princess Leia or Zombie Fairy. Otherwise it will be pet battles when I can and tons of Pirate Fluxx with The Spawn otherwise.

Digital deluxe download for me. We have all of the other boxes, but I'm happy with doing without this time around.

The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend!