Earlier I mentioned some of the changes to Diablo III that have come down the pike recently, but I thought I'd give you some more detail about the changes and also show you some of the revamped or new skills Blizzard has chosen to highlight.

The skill and rune changes are multifaceted. First they are changing how you pick the skills you get when you level up. They are now grouped into categories to help the inexperienced player decide a good place to put them. With this system there are specific skills that you're allowed to choose for your left mouse button, right mouse button, and hotkeys. Apparently they are afraid of players putting high cost, and high cooldown skills in their primary attack slot, thus screwing themselves over. Basically for me this just boils down to more Blizzard hand-holding. Luckily Blizzard has been reading enough of the hatred spewing forth on the official forums to know that a lot of the player base would not be satisfied with this system - thus they have added the ability to check a box and allow you to pick any unlocked skills in 'elective mode', allowing you to for instance forgo any defensive skills and go all primary attack skills.

For the rune changes, they used to be drops, ranked from levels 1-7, higher levels having a greater effect. You would socket these dropped runes into your skills to augment them in different ways. The idea was to give you an extra layer of skill customization since there is no longer a skill tree. The new skill rune system keeps the same overall effect, however now runes are unlocked as you level, instead of by drops. Between the 5 different types of runes, un-attuned runes, and 7 levels of said runes, Blizzard decided the system was becoming an inventory problem, and axed the whole droppable part. The upshot is that you now level and gain skill and runes and skill slots. There is a set order in which the skill runes will unlock, and they will unlock starting at level 6, all the way through level 60.

I have read plenty of pros and cons to the new system on the forums, but overall I believe it was a smart move by Blizzard. Here's why: There are many skills that you may initially write off as useless, only to have the skill totally changed by a skill rune unlock. This encourages players to really experiment with all of the different skill and skill rune combinations, effectively finding their preferred play style and defining their character. The other upshot is that previously there was the concern of the 30-level void; your character would unlock news skills up until level 30, and then essentially have nothing new to unlock all the way to the max level cap of 60. With this new system, you'll unlock something new every single level, sometimes 4 things at a time. Of course the downside is if you were looking forward to a specific rune effect, you now don't have the chance at finding it, you'll have to wait for it to unlock.

Because all skill runes are now one level, and there are no more tiers, Blizzard set the equivalent effect level to 4 or 5 in most cases so you'll still really feel that bang-for-your-buck change to your skill once you unlock the rune.

You can read the full post by Jay Wilson on the Rune and Skill changes HERE.

Blizzard wanted to also highlight some of the skills, some improved, and some unseen. They have provided a random smattering of skill demonstrations, and have promised more to come. Additionally in some of the videos you can see some new locals they haven't shown previously such as a snowy area and a jungle area.

Barbarian

• Ancient Spear
• Earthquake
• Overpower
• Furious Charge

Demon Hunter

• Rain of Vengeance
• Cluster Arrow
• Multishot
• Spike Trap

Monk

• Serenity
• Mantra of Conviction
• Mystic Ally

Witch Doctor

• Acid Cloud
• Big Bad Voodoo

Wizard

• Disintegrate
• Energy Armor
• Familiar
• Hydra
• Mirror Image
• Meteor
• Ray of Frost

The FTL team has opened up a Kickstarter page of their own with a very small (and humble) goal amount in comparison to recently funded or currently being funded game related projects like Code Hero and Adventure. They're looking to raise at least $10,000, and have already reached over half that amount in less than half a day.

In a surprise twist, with the launch of the Kickstarter campaign also comes news that a playable alpha build of FTL can be played for the next two weeks on OnLive. It's limited to 30 minutes per session at the moment, but there's nothing stopping folks from starting up new sessions back to back.

I've personally given the demo a couple of runs, and found a surprising amount of depth in a game that might initially look simple to the naked eye. Very fun really, but don't take my word for it, give it a shot for yourself.

Looks like we'll be seeing Borderlands 2 just in time to give us a second round of post-apocalyptic training before our own improbable apocalypse in December. OK so maybe you're not Mayan, but whatever excuse you use, Borderlands 2 is looking like a ton of fun. Not sure? Check out the documented evidence below.

I am not much of an MNMO fan, but I did actually really get into Guild Wars with a group of buddies. Maybe it was the unique world, the unparalleled classes, or the Guild capes.... nah it was because I didn't have to pay a monthly fee to play! Guild Wars 2 is following suit. So if you're an MMO junkie, or just a cheapskate like me looking for some real bang for your gaming buck, you owe it to yourself to sign up for the Guild Wars 2 Beta before the window closes. Good luck!

Joystiq found a job listing on Kojima's site calling for engineers, designers, artists, and a brand manager to work on "the latest Metal Gear Solid targeted for high-end consoles and PC."

According to the announcement at the 2K Blog, Gods and Kings will indeed bring back religion, espionage, and enhanced diplomacy. 9 new playable civilizations, 9 wonders, 13 buildings, a new religious based city-state type, and three brand spankin' new scenarios have also been revealed. Additionally, Firaxis is claiming that they've even gone back and made a significant rework of the combat system.

You'll be able to get your hands on the Gods and Kings expansion pack for Civilization V sometime later this Spring.

IGN - 7.5 / 10

Syndicate hints at a fantastic puzzle meta-game, but relies on bullets flying to get through every level. Where the story walks a familiar road, the cooperative campaign’s tough-but-fun arcade action makes up for the missteps. Though uneven, Syndicate remains a good shooter full of incomplete great ideas. Grabbing three friends and battling for corporate supremacy online is well worth your time, but don’t expect to be wowed by playing alone.

Destructoid - 6.5 / 10

By all means, go out and enjoy Syndicate. You more than likely shall, because it will provide a solid dose of transient entertainment. It is a game you will never need to play, but you won't feel like you wasted your life if you do. It's a videogame about guns that pretends to be something deeper while striving for nothing more. If you keep that in mind, and you're happy to play along, you'll get what you paid for.

But you won't get anything else.

So what's been on your play list over the past week? Anyone pick up Alan Wake? I've made my way through part of the game, and am digging it so far. I've also been geeking out over the Total War series again ever since I got some time in with the Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai stand-alone expansion. For whatever reason new Civilization and Total War games put me in Mr. History mode, where I start reading up on and watching documentaries about old school conficts.

Oh and don't forget guys, we're still running on a very tight schedule. We continue to explore our options, and will let you all know what's up as we go along. We know there are issues with the comment system right now, but it's doubtful we'll get much support. Bad timing, I know, but if you do want to communicate direct you're welcome to email me.

That's all for this update folks. Thanks for sticking with us, here's your moment of zen.