Welcome to Episode 1 of The Free Agent. If you’re just joining me and wondering what this new bi-weekly ZAM column is all about, I'd encourage you to have a read through Episode Zero. My mission, as always, is to answer the question, "Can gaming really be free?"

With that, let’s jump right into the first free-to-play title to be featured on The Free Agent, TERA Rising. Developed by Blue Hole Studios and published by En Masse Entertainment, this action/RPG hybrid MMO did away with subscription fees and went free-to-play after only 9 months on the North American market.

Like many other people I was curious about what TERA had to offer and watched it from the side lines throughout its development cycle. But, as the release date came and went, amid so many others, I found that I simply didn't have room in my life for another subscription based MMO. Sadly TERA slipped through the cracks of my gaming repertoire.

However, with the free-to-play rebranding as TERA Rising, my interest was re-ignited and I set out to explore an MMO that I had previously passed over. Was their switch to free-to-play a shallow marketing ploy to get gamers like me interested in the title again? Or does this MMO possess a depth that proves all the free-to-play critics wrong?

To find out read on, as The Free Agent takes on TERA Rising.

Two games have dominated our featured content this week, the first of them being WildStar.

Info has dripped and dribbled for the MMO from Carbine and NCSoft for a long time and while WildStar Wednesdays have consistently intrigued, there's been a palpable desire for more tangible information.

Well, the wait is over and thanks to Michael "Ragar" Branham and Gareth "Gazimoff" Harmer, ZAM has some fantastic insight into why we're excited for WildStar.

Ever want to try out TERA?

Now is the ideal opportunity as En Masse Entertainment launches TERA: Rising, the free-to-play version of the action combat MMORPG.

Not only is the game F2P from today, but new, multi-level dungeon Crucible of Flame and a new 3 on 3 PvP arena are also available.

The perfect excuse to try TERA draws very close as En Masse Entertainment today confirmed that its action-combat MMO will be going F2P on February 5.

Along with the new ways to access the game, brand spanking new content will also land in the form of the Crucible of Flame multi-level dungeon and a new 3v3 PvP battleground to frolic in to your non-paying heart's content.

If you play TERA in Europe you may have read yesterday's free-to play news and asked "hey, what about us?!". Well, today is your day.

Gameforge, which publishes TERA in Europe, announced today that it's following in the footsteps of the Korean, Japanese and North American markets:

"We are very pleased to be able to in future offer the game content of TERA to its fans for free and in addition, to offer all who are interested the opportunity to see the quality of the game for themselves”, said Eva Schmitt, Product Director of TERA."

At the end of December, we learned that En Masse intended to take their action-based MMORPG free-to-play in Korea an Japan. This of course raised speculation on the future of the model in other TERA-tories. Today we learned TERA: Rising will be launching free-to-play this February.

In honor of Halloween, from now until November 5, players in TERA can enjoy some wicked tricks and sweet treats! The event, known as "Masquerade Mayhem" is sure to please even the most hardcore gamer. Get awesome in-game items, achievements, have a go at the seasonally themed dungeon, and don't forget to join in the Masquerade Ball and Costume Contest on October 30th!

If you wanted to start an MMO with a buddy, but free-to-play didn't sound your flavor, here's a deal that might tickle your fancy - Amazon is selling digital copies of TERA with a 10$ rebate that can be used to pick up another copy. And hey, if you're snagging a copy for you and a friend, you'll probably need a lot of help with all that content!

So mosey over to TERA Tome and see what there is to do!

Julian "Mirai" Williams

It's never good to hear, but it's true - TERA is merging many of their servers into one, creating three server subtypes. One for PVP, one for PVE, and one for roleplaying. The announcement came from a producer's letter to the public which you can find here (although it's currently down, probably due to floods of shocked TERA players).

Their new FAQ details all the information, including which servers are to be merged and what happens to all the content therein. 

Julian "Mirai" Williams

TERA's Argon Queen update goes live with a new preview video.