ZAM is also having a twitter contest to give away close to two dozen PAX Sivir skins! Just tweet / follow @ZAMOfficial or @Pwyff with why you think you should win (one tweet per account, so two chances to win!), and we'll randomly select a few lucky tweeters throughout the day. Be sure to follow us, or we can't directly message you with your winning code!

At PAX East, Riot Games was out in full force, dominating its corner of the venue with tournament streams, shoutcasted games of Dominion, cosplay celebrations, and even dance-offs for prizes. Also available for play were two new champions, Hecarim and Varrus, who will make their debut in the League within the next two content patches, respectively. Always eager to try new champions, I decided to spend much of my hands-on time experimenting with these new characters and, now, I can share those experiences with you.

Put a new game in front of me and I’m inclined to try and pull it apart and understand how it works. During the previous beta weekend I spent most of my time doing exactly that, from how Guild Wars 2 is different from every other MMO, to the key character and crafting mechanics involved in delivering this unique experience. 

This time, I decided to try something different. I kicked back, relaxed and immersed myself in the game’s surroundings. On my travels I found some entertaining and absorbing stories, and tried out a range of different dynamic events. I also took a further look at the social and guild aspect of Guild Wars 2 and what this means for a starting player.

Up until a week ago, my fundamental understanding of DUST 514, CCP Games' F2P PS3-exclusive EVE-tied MMOFPS, was shaky at best. A lot of information had been posted via dev blogs and news items and I vaguely comprehended some of the game's underlying mechanics but, without any hands-on experience, it was difficult to visualize any of these systems on a practical level. Thus, from the moment I set foot in Reykjavik, Iceland, to attend EVE Fanfest 2012, one of my main missions was to rectify my ignorance by not only getting some solid hands-on time with DUST 514, but to also attend every presentation, every keynote address and every roundtable discussion that I could get my hands on. The end result of this is that I have a lot of information and a lot more excitement to share on this upcoming title. Allow me to fill you in.

And so it begins! Thursday marked the first day of EVE Fanfest, as players and CCP enthusiasts gathered in Reykjavik, Iceland, to hear of future plans for EVE Online, in addition to getting new details on CCP's upcoming PS3 exclusive MMOFPS, DUST 514 (more on that in a few days!). World of Darkness is also slated to make an appearance Saturday, day three of EVE Fanfest, although what sort of details we'll get regarding this delayed horror-based MMORPG remains to be seen. Yesterday we took in the DUST 514 keynote and, while not a lot of new information was presented there, ZAM will attend all of the round table discussions being hosted today and tomorrow to bring you our in-depth analysis of the game, as well as our hands-on experience with it. For now, however, let's get on with the EVE Keynote speech!

Last week, members of the press were invited to attend a huge Mists of Pandaria information session, and with the NDA dropping today, you'll probably be spending most of your day reading up on all of the previously unrevealed changes coming. The biggest topics covered include the reveal of Female Pandarens, the fact that Garrosh Hellscream will be the final boss of the expansion, players will be able to have their own in-game farms, and much more.

All of the above and more can be read in Wowhead's extensive coverage piece! Not only do they have pages and pages of new information for you to devour in point format, but there are also exclusive videos detailing the new MoP zones, dozens of screenshots to see, and four exclusive interviews with Blizzard devs Cory Stockton, Tom Chilton, J Allen Brack, and Greg Street.

• Blizzard's Official Event FAQ.

• An overview of Pandaria, including factions, zones, a bestiary, and lore.

• New content in Mists of Pandaria, including professions, PvP, challenge modes, scenarios, pet battles, and questing.

• An in-depth look at the Monk class and its unique specializations.

• Dungeons and Raids in Mists of Pandaria, including Scholomance, Stormstout Brewery, and Temple of the Jade Serpent.

• All of Wowhead & Tankspot's exclusive interviews with Cory Stockton, Tom Chilton, J Allen Brack, and Greg Street (with transcriptions!).

Trion Worlds is approaching its one-year anniversary with the incredibly popular game Rift; but the company isn't sitting back and just enjoying success. They've teamed up with Petroglyph (creator of the original Command and Conquer game) to create an MMORTS: a real-time strategy game with a massive and persistent world. Is it strong enough to knock the current RTS king, Blizzard's Starcraft series, out of its top spot? I had the chance to play an Alpha version in San Francisco last week and what I saw looked promising!

A week ago, I flew to the Funcom Studios in Montreal to get my second dose of hands-on time with The Secret World. Initially, the press embargo was set to drop on Tuesday, but Funcom pushed it back to today, so I've had time to marinate in my experiences for over a week. At this point, if you haven't heard much about The Secret World, I'd like to refer you to my first hands-on preview with The Secret World, as this month's event was all about delving deeper than ever before.

So let's get started.

During the Press Beta Weekend, Guild Wars 2 revealed itself as a complex game made up of several simple systems all working together. From the wholesale change to the way skills and abilities are gained and used, to the overlaid Trait system and augmentations brought through Crafting, there's a whole lot going on under the surface.

One of the most radical MMO innovations brought by Guild Wars 2 is in the area of character skills and abilities. Instead of opening up a sea of action bars that cover most of the screen, ArenaNet has focused on limiting players to ten active skills during combat. The great news is that there's a whole range of choice and complexity lurking under the hood just waiting to be tapped.

As part of our Guild Wars 2 coverage week, we'll be leading off with some initial impressions from ZAM Staff Writer Gareth "Gazimoff" Harmer and Editor-in-Chief Chris "Pwyff" Tom. Following that, we'll lead into more in-depth pieces on the game mechanics of GW2, as well as instanced PvP, World vs. World PvP, and GW2's first dungeon: The Ascalon Catacombs!

When Chris asked me if I'd write about the Guild Wars 2 press event I was dumb struck. I'd never played the original Guild Wars and only managed to snatch some limited time with the game back at the Eurogamer Expo, and here he was offering me the MMO equivalent of the Golden Ticket.

I thought it was all a cruel joke to get my hopes up before dashing them on the ground. 

In the works for years, NHN’s Continent of the Ninth Seal (C9) has finally entered a Beta with VIP access… but many Western players may be shrugging and saying “So what? Another Korean F2P… been there, done that.” But NHN, now merged with Webzen, is truly looking to release a competitive title in the F2P market; and C9 looks to be just the product to shake up the industry. Sound too good to be true? Read on and I’ll spell out exactly what the game can offer that makes it unique.