Ever since ArenaNet took to their blogs to discuss, at length, how they were going to challenge MMORPG stereotypes, Guild Wars 2 has walked the path of an exponential hype machine, doubling and tripling its expected potential each time a new post appeared. Heck, even as a cynical MMO gamer who's heard the term "revolutionary" so many times that I just want to buy everyone a thesaurus, I'll admit that, deep in my heart, a cautious optimism was feeding on the alluring rhetoric of those developer posts. Ultimately, I went into the Guild Wars 2 press beta with the mind of a cautious skeptic: I wanted to believe, but I really didn't know if ArenaNet could deliver on all those promises.

With so much Guild Wars 2 talk floating around the past two days, including a solid write-up from our new staff writer Gareth "Gazimoff" Harmer and Mike B.'s exceptional 20-minute preview video, I've decided that, for this preview, I'll focus more on my key experiences in Guild Wars 2 rather than a broad rundown of the game's features. Tomorrow we'll discuss, in depth, some of the core game mechanics of Guild Wars 2, so be sure to tune in then!

Ah, Perfect World Entertainment (PWE). I have a love/hate relationship with the US subsidiary of the Chinese Perfect World company. This will be the fifth game I’ve played from them (others are Ether Saga Odyssey (ESO), Forsaken World (FW), Rusty Hearts, and Champions Online), and it falls into the same genre as ESO and FW. Players take the role of a character attempting to revive Odin and save the world, and we find a lot of the same mechanics present in other PWE games with some uniqueness as well. If we’ve held your attention so far, read on for our review!

Check out Part II of our Smooth Operations Guide here!

Leveling up in Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is one of the smoothest, most well-directed experiences I've had thus far, but when it comes to pursuing endgame content at level 50, it's surprising how little direction there is for aspiring endgame raiders. Some would argue that so much hand-holding isn't needed, but given that SWTOR might be the first MMORPG for many players, I've decided to compile a handy guide for getting geared and prepared for endgame raiding.

One comment I would like to make before I get started is that endgame progression in Star Wars: The Old Republic is surprisingly accessible for even the most heavily time-constrained player. At some points, it does seem like BioWare has made it too easy to get the very best gear in the game, but my main point is this: even if you hate endgame raiding in other MMORPGs, I would highly advise you to try out SWTOR's 8-person operations at least once. Both Eternity Vault and Karagga's Palace - in spite of all their bugs - are fun and it's worth the experience to try them out. Now let's get on with Part I of the guide!

After spending some time beta-testing Star Wars: The Old Republic as a Jedi Knight and cursing my old computer for barely being able to run the game, release came upon us at almost the same time that my new rig showed up. Feeling vain and materialistic, I decided to get in touch with my dark side and make my new character part of the Empire. And so began my adventures with both a new Imperial Agent and Sith Warrior, and I blasted off to learn a bit more of the TOR universe and my place in it.

Qho Augren has made a permanent impression upon many of being the brattiest child that Norrath has ever seen. Hailing from the Village of Shin, he nagged us time and time again to bring him back a multitude of harvests whenever we returned to him. The most recent Gathering Obsession quest had a unique twist however: Qho became a pet that follows us around!

I'm sure many people had fun jumping off of cliffs or battling the nastiest of beasts with him in tow, but I saw the opportunity to teach Qho more about harvesting... and the world beyond. Qho has now visited a wide variety of places with me, posed for many pictures and even provided a point of amusement as unsuspecting players on my server have hailed my Qho pet over and over, likely wondering why he didn't give them a quest.

I've had Qho as a pet since March 2011 and have taken him out for several unique adventures in that time. In the months that have passed since then Qho has stood steadfastly by my side throughout it all. Continue reading for more tales of Qho's exciting adventures!

Check out ZAM's other Top Five Most Important MMOs of 2012:

• Guild Wars 2
• The Secret World
• TERA
• Firefall

If 2011 was the year of blockbuster RPGs and FPSs, then 2012 will certainly be the year of MMORPGs and online games. With almost a dozen highly anticipated titles confirmed to launch in 2012, there can be no doubt that this year will be a revolutionary one for MMO gaming. That being said, not all of you will have the time to check out all of these big releases, so ZAM has compiled a list of what we consider to be the Top Five Important MMOs of 2012. In this top five series, we'll be looking at some of the most innovative titles of 2012 and why you should keep a close eye on them. Today ZAM Editor-in-Chief Chris "Pwyff" Tom will talk about... PlanetSide 2!

As far as MMOFPSs go, at some point or another, everyone has to look back to the granddaddy of them all… SOE's PlanetSide. PlanetSide was a remarkable game for its time, and it continues to be a rarity, all the way to 2012, as it is one of the very few large-scale MMOFPSs that truly showcases the MMO part of its name. Where most first-person shooters were opting to scale battles to 6v6s or 12v12s, PlanetSide threw all of that out the window and decided to shove up to 399 players onto a single map at a time.

Check out ZAM's other Top Five Most Important MMOs of 2012:

• Guild Wars 2
• The Secret World
• TERA
• PlanetSide 2

If 2011 was the year of blockbuster RPGs and FPSs, then 2012 will certainly be the year of MMORPGs and online games. With almost a dozen highly anticipated titles confirmed to launch in 2012, there can be no doubt that this year will be a revolutionary one for MMO gaming. That being said, not all of you will have the time to check out all of these big releases, so ZAM has compiled a list of what we consider to be the Top Five Important MMOs of 2012. In this top five series, we'll be looking at some of the most innovative titles of 2012 and why you should keep a close eye on them. Today ZAM Editor-in-Chief Chris "Pwyff" Tom will talk about.... Firefall!

Before I delve into the details, I'd like to note just how difficult it is to make a good MMOFPS. It's not that it's hard to imagine the concept - combining the action of first-person shooters with MMORPG elements - but it's that the two genres are so antithetical to each other that trying to combine them into a franken-game usually doesn't turn out so well. If a development team has enough foresight to recognize that they can't be blended in equal parts, the resulting product usually ends up being a lopsided concoction, with more FPS or MMORPG, respectively, added to the mix. Thus, through the past few years we've ended up with FPS-MMOs like Global Agenda and APB Reloaded, or MMO-FPSs like Fallen Earth. As for games that wanted everything, well, check out Hellgate: London and you'll understand.

Check out ZAM's other Top Five Most Important MMOs of 2012:

• Guild Wars 2
• The Secret World
• Firefall
• PlanetSide 2

If 2011 was the year of blockbuster RPGs and FPSs, then 2012 will certainly be the year of MMORPGs and online games. With almost a dozen highly anticipated titles confirmed to launch in 2012, there can be no doubt that this year will be a revolutionary one for MMO gaming. That being said, not all of you will have the time to check out all of these big releases, so ZAM has compiled a list of what we consider to be the Top Five Important MMOs of 2012. In this top five series, we'll be looking at some of the most innovative titles of 2012 and why you should keep a close eye on them. Today ZAM Staff Writer Patrick "BakersMan" Do will talk about.... TERA!

Action MMOs are a big thing in Asia right now - we're talking life-sized Gundam big; and TERA has thoroughly embedded itself into the narrative as one of the best entries the genre has to offer. Stateside, however, the idea of the action MMO has yet to capture the collective imagination of the North American public. Short for The Exiled Realm of Arborea, TERA is an online action MMORPG developed by Bluehole Studio and published in America by En Masse Entertainment. The game was released in South Korea last January and is slated for a spring 2012 release in North America and Europe. When it finally does arrive on our shores, a minefield of tribulation awaits it. The most interesting aspect of TERA will not be the game itself, but rather how the game is received. 

Check out ZAM's other Top Five Most Important MMOs of 2012:

• Guild Wars 2
• TERA
• Firefall
• PlanetSide 2

If 2011 was the year of blockbuster RPGs and FPSs, then 2012 will certainly be the year of MMORPGs and online games. With almost a dozen highly anticipated titles confirmed to launch in 2012, there can be no doubt that this year will be a revolutionary one for MMO gaming. That being said, not all of you will have the time to check out all of these big releases, so ZAM has compiled a list of what we consider to be the Top Five Important MMOs of 2012. In this top five series, we'll be looking at some of the most innovative titles of 2012 and why you should keep a close eye on them. Today ZAM Editor-in-Chief Chris "Pwyff" Tom will talk about.... The Secret World!

I've always been fascinated with the interpretation of genres and how artists continue to invent meaning within their respective mediums. With video games, for example, the modern FPS genre might have begun with Wolfenstein 3D or Doom, but it has now progressed along multiple paths of interpretation, with games like Portal 2, Fallout 3, and Battlefield 3 all acting as iconic examples of the FPS genre reinvented. Not all developers, however, can afford to experiment in innovative ways, and the higher the development cost of the game, the greater the risk a company takes in pursuing something new. Thus, MMORPGs - with their multi-million dollar development cost and large ongoing maintenance fees - are probably the genre of the industry most resistant to change.

This is why Funcom's The Secret World is so important.

2012 is going to be a spectacular year for MMORPGs and the MMO industry at large, but as we celebrate the first week of the New Year, the only thing players want to discuss is BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now, I have a lot of edgy editorial content to throw down from the top of my soap box, but ever since I began my adventures in The Old Republic, one thing has bothered me more than any other: Warzone PvP. No, this isn't a discussion of what can be done to change Warzone PvP, because I actually enjoy it (usually), but, throughout my hundreds of Warzone games played during the closed beta and official launch, I have come to the conclusion that many of you, dear Warzone PvPers (particularly anyone on Warriors of Shadow Empire), have no idea what you're doing.

No idea at all…

But do not despair! I am here to deliver unto you a compiled list of general PvP tips for all class roles! Let's get on with it!