As always, we'd like to share with you our ZAM features and noteworthy news stories of the week in case you missed any of them. All of the links can be found below and after the jump, including a story on PETA's decision to protest the slaughter of seals through a World of Warcraft event that generated a lot of discussion in our forums.

ZAM Features

A History of Competitive WoW: Part I: Editor Christopher "Pwyff" Tom begins to delve into the history of World of Warcraft as an eSport. Find out when and how PvP became a sponsored event that made players take notice.

League of Legends Interview: Editor-in-Chief Andrew "Tamat" Beegle sits down with Tom Cadwell, the director of systems design for League of Legends, to discuss the game, which is modeled around a Warcraft III mod.

Killer N.I.C. - Worth the Price?: We spoke with Harlan Beverly, co-founder of Bigfoot Networks, about the next generation of Killer cards. You can even watch a World of Warcraft jump delay demonstration video to see exactly how Killer can affect your machine.

Exploring Ether Saga Online: We interview Product Manager Craig Beers to find out what's going on with the upcoming Ether Saga Online MMO. The game is currently in open beta.

With Blizzard's 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament starting off Phase 4 (the invitational ladder) of the qualifiers, spectators around the world are beginning to perk up and take notice of which rising stars are powering their way to the top.

But what about those who have already made the trip?

As a way of acknowledging those fierce competitors who paved the way for these cushy arena realms, today's article is a history lesson of the triumphs of World of Warcraft's short lifespan, to date, as a competitive eSport in North America.

Zarhym has announced a hotfix to the sell value and disenchant materials for Legplates of Conquest:

"We recently made a change to the sell value and disenchant materials obtained from Legplates of Conquest. The material costs used to create this item were unintentionally low, and we were prompted to make changes to minimize the impact on the game's economy. "

You know that feeling when you play a new game and you're instantly hooked? Growing up it was games like Doom and Utopia: The Creation of a Nation that introduced me to such feelings. Later, games like EverQuest, Command and Conquer: Generals, Battlefield 1942 and WarCraft III gave me that same feeling. Something I noticed in 2008 however, is that, even though there were tons of great games coming out, many of which I enjoyed and spent a great deal of time playing, there weren't any that I found myself uncontrollably passionate about.

Last month, Riot Games had me out to San Francisco to check out League of Legends. I knew little about the game but anyone who models the game's entire concept around a Warcraft III mod has my attention. Of course, I was extremely skeptical, but after I sat down and played my first game, that old feeling washed over me. I was hooked. So much so, our two hour meeting turned into a six hour meeting, causing me to nearly miss my flight. I did however get an interview with one of the stars of the League of Legends team, Director of Systems Design, Tom Cadwell.

ZAM: Hey Tom, it's such a pleasure to have the opportunity to sit down and talk to you today about your latest project. How are things going over at Riot Games?

Tom Cadwell: Things are great!  We are really busy right now, but everyone's pumped.  We are in our friends and family beta period, and getting to play the game with our friends outside the company is causing contagious enthusiasm in the team.  Guys come in after playing, and have some idea they are really passionate about, and put it in.

Do you love to make World of Warcraft movies? Don't you wish there were more rewards than just feeling good about what you've done? Well, look no further than NoobFlicks.com's World of Warcraft Movie Maker Contest! compLexity Gaming and Creative have announced that they will be beginning a '$1,000 World of Warcraft Movie Contest,' in order to jump start the video library on NoobFlicks.com. In reality, that $1,000 is the total estimated prize money to be given out over the course of four months. Each month beginning from April, 10 World of Warcraft movies will be selected from NoobFlicks.com and visitors may vote on their favourite film. The first place winner gets $150, the second place winner gets $75, and the third place winner gets $25! While the rewards certainly aren't very high, something is always better than nothing!

Check out the full details of the competitions on compLexity's website.

Blizzard poster Eyonix has started a poll on the official World of Warcraft forum asking players to select their favorite battleground. The poll ends on April 14, so you have some time if you'd like to participate.

Currently, Alterac Valley is currently in the lead with 35.46% of the votes, followed by Arathi Basin with 29.65%. Warsong Gulch is in third with 19.15% and Strand of the Ancients has 10.64%. Eye of the Storm is in last place with 5.11%.

So what's your favorite battleground and why? In the same vein, what's your least favorite battleground?

If you're a hardcore gamer, you've probably seen advertisements for the Killer N.I.C that's whole claim is it will help "deliver the smoothest, fastest online gaming experience you can get out of your system & ISP". I've been using the original card for a couple of months now, and it's not bad, but it's also not something your average gamer is going to even notice without a lot of testing. With the second generation (Killer Xeno) coming soon, we spoke with Harlan Beverly, Co-Founder of Bigfoot Networks to see how these new cards will compare to the original Killer N.I.C.

ZAM: Hey Harlan. It's great to talk with you again about the Killer N.I.C.

Harlan Beverly: You do realize you are taking time away from my Death Knight don't you!  Well I do love Thottbot so...

ZAM: *laughs* Can you start off by explaining the advantage for gamers that own one?

It looks like animal rights activism has found its way into the World of Warcraft. This Saturday at 1 p.m. EST, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is inviting players on the Whisperwind server to meet in Howling Fjord and combat a team of four Horde seal killers. According to the group, Thrall has refused to ban the slaughter of seals, so it's up to Alliance activists to stop them.

This event goes along with PETA's efforts to urge the Olympic Committee to help end the Canadian seal slaughter. According to the group, sealers will beat and skin up to 338,200 seals this year.

More information on the WoW event can be found in this PETA blog entry (via WoW Insider ). There's even a PETA YouTube video showing the horde team preparing to slaughter baby seals. What are your thoughts on the event? You can discuss it in our general forum in this thread.

ZAM user Horsemouth has directed readers toward a post on the official World of Warcraft forums by Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street noting patch 3.1 will give you the chance to confirm your talent points before you spend them. Here's the blue post:

"It hasn't been widely publicized, but in 3.1 there is a UI option to not spend all of your talent points until you hit a 'Confirm' button. Because you aren't actually spending the points, it is also really fast to add ranks or remove them. We default the tool off since having to confirm every single point you spend while leveling is kind of a drag. It's quite useful at level 80 though."

You can discuss the change in Horsemouth's thread here. The general feel of the thread so far is one of approval, and that it may mean one less add-on to keep track of in your folder. What do you think?

Back in January we had the rare opportunity to venture deep inside Orgrimmar to have a conversation with Thrall the Warchief. Our community responded with overwhelming praise and a desire to hear from the Banshee Queen, Sylvanas. Check out what she had to say about Thrall, Varimathras and her ongoing claim that she's the greatest archer in Azeroth.

ZAM: Hey Sylvanas!  So, how's it going in Undercity?

Sylvanas: Speak quickly; I don't have time to waste on idle chatter.  The Forsaken have become a force to be reckoned with, but there is still much to do in a given day.  This city doesn't run itself.  What do you want?

ZAM: Ummm.  Isn't that the same dialog you give anyone who runs up to you?  I was hoping for something a tad more creative.