Our worst fears have been realized: Skynet is real and robots are taking over society, beginning with the game that put ArenaNet on the map, the original Guild Wars. 

New quests made available to Guild Wars players as part of the Wayfarer's Reverie

With so many players interested in the Guild Wars 2 closed beta test, it's no big surprise that not everyone can participate. As a sad consolation prize, ArenaNet has released an exclusive "Thank You" video on Facebook with some in-game footage of the game many of you won't be playing for a while. A round of emails also went out to players thanking them for signing up, which has lead to a lot of misinterpretation and general sadness that they were not, in fact, the beta invites themselves.

If you don't have access to Facebook, a Reddit user has kindly uploaded the video to Youtube for your viewing pleasure.

It's a new race spotlight from the folks over at Guild Wars 2, and today's species to come under the microscope is... the Jotun! These fiercely proud giants were once a race of powerful beings, possessing powerful magic and strength. Unfortunately, after beating back all other hostile forces, the Jotun ultimately turned on themselves, waging civil wars based on lineage and blood purity.

These days, the Jotun are (cliche incoming) a shadow of their former selves, as they still possess their strength and massive size, they have all but lost their magical prowess. The Jotun were a race in the original Guild Wars, but they possessed a more savage and unintelligent look. Now, with their transition to Guild Wars 2, the Jotun have taken on a new past that serves to inform their more intelligent and proud nature. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!

I'll be honest, I don't think I played enough of Guild Wars to really understand the details of these changes. All I really know is that Elementalists are getting some pretty significant revamps in Guild Wars, all in the name of improving their viability in PvE while providing new playstyle options for PvP.

Perhaps the most important change would be the addition of "Doublecast" skills. These skills are exactly as they sound, with the Elementalist being able to cast a spell on both himself and his target. To add these skills in, many old skills were reworked, including Double Dragon, Energy Boon, Gust, Mirror of Ice, and Stone Sheath. As to how top-tier Elementalists will utilize these skills in PvP remains to be seen.

All in all, it's great to see Guild Wars still getting major balance changes, even with GW2 gobbling up most of ArenaNet's attention and resources. Hopefully GW Elementalists will also be pleased by this update.

For all you Guild Wars fans out there, ZAM has a holiday surprise for you! We're giving away 10 Wintersday 2011 costume packs to anyone bold and creative enough to claim those prizes! All you need to do to enter is follow @ZAMOfficial on Twitter and then hit us with what you plan to do in Guild Wars over the holidays! It can be as simple as "I'm going to play Guild Wars," but YOU GET NO CREATIVITY POINTS THERE.

Be sure to tag your entries (one per person!) with the hashtag #ZAMHolidaysInGW to be eligible to win! The deadline will be Thursday, December 22nd at 9:00am PST. We'll announce the winners then and send you your Wintersday 2011 costume package codes!

And the contest is over! For you lucky ten winners, you should be receiving a Wintersday 2011 costume pack code to be redeemed in the NCsoft Store via twitter! Be sure to check your messages if you see your winning entry! Check out what players are doing in Guild Wars this holiday season! Gluttony and snowball fights seem to be leading the pack... Excellent! Here are the winners in no particular order!

@Kejima1: "I do snowball battles with my friends because there's no snow in Berlin and we bestow each other with some items"

@JohansenRasmus: "My winter holiday in GW is going to be one big sugar rush while I run around trying to save the spirit of christmas:-) #ZAMHolidaysInGW"

@Haldidbarn: "I finished GWAMM and 50/50 HoM, so I'll give away little gifts and a few ecto to guildmates & random players :)"

@MattLariv: "I'll be honouring the gods in the most dangerous, nay, perilous, combat created by mankind: snowball fights."

@moosefaces: "I plan on getting a ton of snowman summoners and making a huge trail of them in a highly populated zone hehe."

@_Ameranth: "I plan 2 consume many a fruitcake & eggnog to rack up those sweets & drunkard title points! Also: presents!"

@jersir: "I'm gonna dye all my armors and weaps white so I can play a snowman without drinking a tonic in Lion's Arch!"

@LilyPeachyKeen: "I will surely eat many many fruitcakes and drink eggnog. Oh yeah, sweet, SWEET eggnog."

@Mashaiasu: "This holiday I'm gonna trow snowballs at EVERYONE AND THING ALIVE ! ...or undead! I'm looking at you Lich..."

@GWKarasu: "I will be getting drunk and stuffed in order to finally finish my GWAMM title. Man, the sacrifices I make.."

NCsoft is celebrating Halloween in Aion, Lineage II, City of Heroes and Guild Wars. Here's the schedule:

• Aion's Harvest Revel.Oct. 26 to Nov. 9. This year the Harvest Revel stars the witches of Sanctum and Pandaemonium, tasking you with harvesting souls. Reward bundles for these quests include Sugarcrook’s Sack, Witch’s Sack, Witch’s Hoard, Witch’s Surprise and more. Each bundle contains a number of possible prizes – including Halloween costumes, scrolls, amulets and Harvest Ale.
• Lineage II's Halloween Treats. Begins Oct. 26. Your highest level character per server, per account will receive a Halloween Hat, a Halloween Gift Box and a Golden Jack O’Lantern Mask 7-Day Pack.
• City of Heroes – Dr. Kane’s House of Horror. Through Nov. 2. This event will add even more panache to the existing Zombie Apocalypse and Deadly Apocalypse, as you venture into a nightmarish mansion full of danger. Take on the doctor’s zombie horde as you make your way through this terrifying house of horror. Will you be able to stop the doctor from creating a zombie army?
• Guild Wars – The Mad King Thorn. Through Nov. 2. Once a year, Mad King Thorn and his spooky cohort visit the land of mortals for a creepy celebration full of holiday quests, the Costume Brawl PvP event, Halloween-themed guild vs. guild battles, two new costumes, and lots of other tricks and treats.

While many players are anxiously anticipating the release of Guild Wars 2, NCsoft and ArenaNet have launched the second chapter of the original Guild Wars' Winds of Change trilogy! If you're not familiar with the Winds of Change series, it's part of the Guild Wars Beyond feature that helps bridge the storyline between the two games.

Winds of Change part 2 features 11 new quests and numerous hidden scenes, as well as five new respawn zones to choose from: Bukdek Byway, Shadow’s Passage, Shenzun Tunnels, The Undercity and Sunjiang District. You can browse through a new batch of screenshots from the update in our gallery.

With everyone on the edge of their seats, waiting for the day Guild Wars 2 gets a firm release date, ArenaNet has decided to ease the pain of the wait with their new free content pack, Winds of Change, for Guild Wars. In Winds of Change, players will make their way to Cantha, an exotic land filled with exotic threats. This new content update will introduce a new multi-stage storyline with tons of new quests, a few new Canthan costumes (this Samurai and go crazy), and "history-making" battles. ArenaNet also notes that Winds of Change will "set the stage for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 by portraying crucial historical events," so keep an eye out for what's happening if you want to stay informed for Guild Wars 2!

ArenaNet and PLAY! have teamed up to bring the music of Guild Wars and the cinematics of Guild Wars 2 to a live instrumental show. PLAY! is a video game symphony that will be playing at the elegant Benaroya Hall in Seattle on June 21st and June 22nd.

Along with other video game classics, the symphony will be performing Jeremy Soule’s music from Guild Wars. The team has also cut together a special cinematic of hi-definition graphics from Guild Wars 2 for this performance that will be shown on large screens to accompany the music.

If that isn't enough Guild Wars for you, the ArenaNet team will be in attendance for the show, as well as hanging out in the lobby. Tickets are available online at Seattle Symphony or by calling the box office at 206-215-4747. They're also available for purchase in person at the box office.