Legend of Martial Arts, the game formerly known as Kung Foo, just entered closed beta last week. While players get their first look at the revamped game, Perfect World Entertainment has given us a sneak peek at the art design for enemy NPCs. You can check out some of the mobs you'll encounter in our screenshots gallery, and keep reading after the jump for more details straight from the PWE team.

If you're unfamiliar with the free-to-play martial arts MMO, be sure to check out our recent interview with Director of Marketing Jon Belliss. He explains why PWE decided to relaunch Kung Foo under a new title and gives some more details about the game.

With the future of free-to-play MMORPGs being quite bright in North America, Turbine has decided to raise the ante with the announcement that in 2011 they will be releasing a brand new expansion for Lord of the Rings Online called "Rise of Isengard." But 2011 is just a little bit too far for Turbine to wait to add to LOTRO, so players will be getting a pile of upgrades on Nov. 29 in what they call… the November Update.

Incredible originality aside, Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom decided to sit down with Adam Mersky, the executive director of communications at Turbine, and LOTRO Producer Aaron Campbell to talk about just how committed Turbine is to making sure their F2P experience stays true to its roots and the Rise of Isengard expansion. Check out the trailer after the jump!

When it comes to elements commonly found across most MMORPGs, nothing is more prevalent than the ever-stalwart presence of the designated "tanks" of the game. Always wearing heavy armor of some sort or another, the "standard MMO tank" typically wields a sword and shield, smacking things in the face to make them angry (but never dealing much damage!) and then hiding behind their shield when they get the baddies' attention.

This is not, however, the case for TERA's powerful Lancer class, as we quickly found out in our second exclusive in-depth look at the classes in TERA. Last month, we covered the agile, great-sword wielding Slayer, so this time we looked at TERA's uber tough tank: the Lancer! Wielding a massive lance and heavy shield as their armaments, the Lancer is certain to redefine what it truly means to be a tank in the MMO world and to finally abolish the silly idea that a frontline warrior always needs to have his or her "sword and board" at ready. The future is long and pointy!

Perfect World Entertainment has been tight-lipped about Legend of Martial Arts, the upcoming revamp of its previous Kung Foo! MMO. Aside from the closed beta announcement and the unveiling of the new Reavers race, the company's been pretty quiet regarding the game's details. That is why we're happy to announce that Perfect World has given us an exclusive first look at the Reaver starting zone!

You can read Perfect World's description of the zone after the jump and view screenshots of the area in our gallery. Also, keep an eye on ZAM in the near future for an interview with the Perfect World team that will shed some light on the rebirth of this MMO.

As a longtime gamer who has played something from every gaming genre out there, there are some game genres that are quite easy to pick up and run with; like first-person shooters with their aim and shoot mentality. While others are just so deep, like EVE Online and Final Fantasy XI, that first-time gamers can feel overwhelmed in even trying to play. Nothing, however, prepared me for the sheer amount of confusion I experienced when I first attempted to play DotA Allstars. Consider the facts: DotA Allstars literally defined its own genre, because it featured game mechanics that no other game used (minions, lanes, towers, denying, a unique per-game leveling system and so on). Because of this, and given DotA's immense 75+ champion pool selection in addition to over four dozen different items and recipes, when I decided to try being competitive at DotA, it took me well over three months of reading and playing to get to a decent level of skill.

Whenever I think of what makes an MMORPG "great," it's easy to pick out the obvious categories: unique content, sharp graphics, fun game play, the list can go on and on. Surprisingly, however, if you were to really consider what keeps players in their favorite MMORPG (and, if found lacking, can also be one of the major reasons why players quit in droves), a lot of the time it can be something as simple as having frequent content updates. Take, for example, Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online and the huge success they have had over the past year. While many would attribute this to DDO's free-to-play shift, I'm certain that at least part of its growth can be attributed to the fact that this reborn MMORPG has received a startling six content updates since last year.

When I first logged into the LEGO Universe closed beta, I immediately felt like the game was built using physical LEGO bricks. That's the best way to describe it. From creating a mini-figure to running through the zones, it honestly seemed like every piece was pulled from a huge box of assorted LEGO pieces. The level of detail in the game is perfect. While I did notice some minor flaws in the new MMO, it certainly succeeds in offering a fun LEGO world that fosters creativity in players of all ages.

Upon entering the closed beta, I completed a quick tutorial level that gave me a small taste of the main aspects of the game. All characters have three main stats: health, armor, and imagination. Health and armor should be pretty self-explanatory, and imagination is similar to mana in fantasy MMOs since it allows you to use abilities and build items. You can replenish these stats at any time by smashing objects around you. See that bench over there? If you break it, all sorts of icons will fly out, from hearts to Imagination Points. You can also collect items in this fashion, such as LEGO bricks that you can use to build your own creations.

When I was assigned to check out Nexon's latest free-to-play MMORPG, Vindictus, I'll admit that I was a little bit hesitant out the door. Granted, those trailers looked pretty good, and Nexon is probably one of the best free-to-play MMO developers in the world, but whenever you start throwing around the words "action MMORPG" with "peer-to-peer instance hosting," I tend to get a little pale. On the other hand, with the advent of several next-gen MMORPGs coming out in this year and the next, who's to say that the F2P market hasn't also taken some significant strides forward? At least this is what I was hoping as I set foot into Vindictus's Early Access Beta.

lBeing the MMORPG enthusiast that I am, I can very distinctly remember setting foot in my very first subscription-based MMORPG: Final Fantasy XI. I was still in high school at the time, so I had to borrow my sister's credit card to pay for the subscription, but I'll never forget just how excited - and confused - I was to be wandering around the world of Vana'diel. It's difficult to believe, then, that seven years has passed since my first real MMORPG experience, and here we are, all standing on the eve of the launch of Square Enix's successor to the Final Fantasy MMO franchise: Final Fantasy XIV.

While I would admit that I have too much nostalgia for Final Fantasy XI than is probably healthy for me, what truly made me interested in playing Final Fantasy XIV was to see the evolution of one of the most experienced MMO development teams in the industry. What many players forget is that Final Fantasy XI was released at least a year before World of Warcraft came along and, because of that, Final Fantasy XI remains a unique title in the market. Today, however, Square Enix is ready to throw the gauntlet down. Since FFXI was released with very little competition, SE was allowed the freedom to expand and develop their MMO as they saw fit. These days, the industry has become a very different beast and Final Fantasy XIV will be a real indication of whether Square Enix can truly compete head to head with other 'triple A' MMORPGs. So let's get on with the preview!

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures launched less than two weeks ago and Sony Online Entertainment is already boasting that one million users have registered to play the browser-based, kid-friendly game. I decided to mark this early milestone by venturing into the Star Wars-themed world to see what it has to offer for young and old players alike. I immediately gravitated toward a mini-game where players use the Force to send Jar Jar Binks flying through the air. Ah, such satisfaction for older fans of the original trilogy!

All joking aside, this online game is, without a doubt, targeted toward younger gamers. Older fans can play Star Wars Galaxies or wait for the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but children should find enjoyment (and even some educational value) in the mini-games of Clone Wars Adventures.