Guild Wars Game of the Year Edition 2008

 

 

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I'm not a gamer in the true sense of the word. I will love a game, I will suck at it, I will play it for months and finish it years since the first time I touched it. My first rpg ever was Diablo, and I hated it as much as I loved it. Diablo II was an obsession. Guild Wars is an obsession only for the time you play it. You can then walk away from it and go back to it whenever you feel like it. You know by now that the montly fee is waived. Learn also that:
- The game is online even when it's only you. You need a high speed internet connection and that's final.
- I can play this with my 32MB RAM Video Accelerated LAPTOP. Video sticks on massive cooperative missions, but I can bear it.
- the download is even engineered to withstand dial-up speeds. I've tried it and if you REALLY need an hour fix during a weekend through the phone you can manage it. However if you're a regular dial-up user I would not recommend the game basicly because you're going to get some big phone bills.
- I haven't gone Player vs Player. Cooperative missions, though, are a joy when everyone is on the level, and so far I've manage to run into decent people. Perhaps that is also the reason I dodge PvP.
- There is no Armor of the Whale (Diablo thang). What I mean, is that there is no super-ultra-item that will make you into an uber-character. There are different items that will give you a noticiable edge, but not raise you to godly levels.
- There is no need to repeat the same area a hundred times. Not that you can't but experience is gained faster by quests. Levels dont go higher than 20 so CHILL and take your time with quests.
- Can't stand the "l33t" ppl? Go solo. You will have to take henchman, and you will have to choose wisely. Cooperative Missions require several brains, so seek out a group. Gamers are looking for gamers on this areas.
- You will get a storage area after the beginning. This is accessible by all your characters, so no need for 'mules' or creating characters for the sake of space.
- In the beginning you can try out your secondary profession, but I sincerely recommend researching character combinations. There is no BAD one but you might end up discovering your favorite fighting style does not suit the combo you've chosen. On the other hand, you might discover something new.
- Skills are categorized. Categories can be assigned attribute points as you level, and skills in this category improve. However, the attribute points are not FIXED! You can move the points around and shift your focus from one area to another - this is great for someone like me who wants to explore what the character can do.
- Getting killed means revival at a certain point in the area. Your character will have a penalty (lower life, lower energy) if you keep playing, but you lose 0 points and 0 cash. If you enter a town, the penalty is gone. Also you can succeed at a mission and get a moral boost, lowering your penalty. Getting a morale boost with no penalties INCREASES life and energy while you stay in the same mission.
- You will get tons of skills and as I mentioned, you can move around your attribute points to try each and every one, but you can only use eight at combat time. You will have to enter a town to select other ones or move the points around. The one exception is that if you learn a new skill in the battlefield you are able to equip it, and you can assign any points you win but once you do they stay fixed until you enter town.
- There will be one great city in each kingdom, but there are several small towns spread around that you can rest in. They will not have all the crafters and traders, but they usually have one merchant and the xunlai agent that handles your storage.
- Since areas are instanced you won't 'run into other players' during a mission. This may detract real MMORPG players, luckily I'm not one of them.
- If you go to kill a boss you know it's there, it will be there. In real MMORPG's you might find someone killed them right before you got there and you have to wait.
- Traveling between cities is just a matter of bringing out the map and clicking on it
- Weapons do not wear out due to use.
- Looks great. I like taking my lynx out for a walk.

Guild Wars is an ambitious product that aims to be one of the first persistent massive multiplayer games to offer their product without a monthly subscription fee. This concept has been met with great enthusiasm in the gaming community, but the true test is whether or not the game is actually fun to play.

Guild Wars is very similar to a Diablo II or Dungeon Siege in its mechanics, so if you are familiar with those games you'll be up and running in no-time. There is a deep class and skills systems that allows for a virtually unlimited combination of characters to be created. The graphics are absolutely top-notch, looking almost as nice as showcase games like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2. The questing system is pretty standard for this genre, and are generally well-placed to allow for advancement and exploration of the world. There is also a huge array of gear to find and unlock, as well as special power-up items like runes. Guild Wars really encourages co-operative play (and ultimately Player versus Player combat), so expect that some aspects of the game require you to grab a friend to complete. The PvP elements of the game are one of the strong points, requiring more strategy and finesse than many combat systems in other games. Guild Wars is quite stable, the servers are good, and the game updating system is perhaps the best I've ever encountered.

Most of the world is instanced, which makes it different than a World of Warcraft. When you enter a forest, only you and your party members exists in that "copy" of the forest. It's a nice feature if you find other adventurers bothersome, but it also detracts from the experience of being in a huge world with many other players. The only areas you'll typically run into strange players is inside cities.

I found that Guild Wars lacks the charm or personality that a game World of Warcraft has managed to instill, and I think that detracts from the experience a little bit. That intangible element aside, Guild Wars is definitely a game you can spend many hours enjoying. I'd recommend it for people looking for an alternative to World of Warcraft or Everquest II.

Well, Guild wars brings RPG to new heights. First lets say with all the choices out there this game is FREE to play. Thats right no montly fee, just buy the game, registar and away you go.

The game itself is nice looking and the sound is appropriate for the the game. The play is for the most part very intuitive and easy to play. Its all about skill sets and your the choice you make before going into battle.

This game has two elements PVP and PVE, you pretty well have to do the PVE part to unlock the skills for PVP. You can jump right into the PVP part of the game but with only the skill that come by default. SO the game is designed to lead you through various PVE elements and quests to unlock skills and equipment upgrades.

I don't think I will be giving up World of Warcraft quite yet. but Guild wars may make a deversion now and again.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great game - so much better than WoW!
I think Guild Wars is a good game. I have prophecies (game of the year edition) and I just started playing yesterday and the experience is better than World of Warcraft in my... Read more

Published on Aug 30 2007 by Rob

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a real MMORPG
For the fans of real, completely real, no deviation from formula, Massively Multiple Online Role Playing Games, this is not it. Read more

Published on Mar 27 2006

4.0 out of 5 stars They Finally Git Me
It seems like a nerdy thing to admit these days - in fact, I cannot remember a time when it wasn't - but I kind of enjoy the whole Dungeons & Dragons thing. Read more

Published on Nov 19 2005 by what_do_i_know

5.0 out of 5 stars All the great things about MMO's with out the monthly fee
This company has finally done what needed to be done to online gaming for a long time. They have provided a quality product with out a monthly fee. Read more

Published on May 28 2005 by Talon Icewind

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