In another move against the EQ mindset, the developers behind
Guild Wars completely eliminated the need for players to find other
players in order to group .Instead, ArenaNet created the
“recruitable group” option. Although grouping is
still desired, players no longer were forced to try and find a group on
their own. Players can instead go up to a merchant and
“hire” several NPCs to journey with them. Being a
fairly solo-based individual, I found that nabbing a few hired NPCs was
a great way to increase my damage potential and keep my warrior alive.
I no longer had to fear mobs that were a few levels higher than me; I
could handle them with my pre-fabricated group.
Questing to PvP
Despite the strong claims by many that argue that
style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars
is more of MMORPG than CORPG, the developers at
ArenaNet did have one
claim that trumped many of the former contenders:
style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars allows
players to enter into a PvP match with a pre-drawn list of level 20
skills without having to go through the tedious task of actually
earning those abilities in the game first. From the moment they install
Guild Wars
onto their computer, players can instantly jump into battle
and contend with opponents that are out for their hides.
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High-level GW
characters have a huge plethora of skills and abilities to choose from.
The fact remains, however, that the skill list that is
preconstructed for those PvP-only characters is quite shallow and
doesn’t allow players to truly draw on the tremendous power
combinations that players can receive if they play through the
roleplaying campaign.
When a player explores through the standard roleplaying
campaign, any skills that he/she unlocks will become available on the
PvP-only servers. In the end, it’s almost more advantageous
for players to simply focus on the roleplaying campaign first in order
to unlock all the high-end abilities that they can employ on the
battlefield later on.
Though I had previously stated that leveling was fairly easy
in the beginning of the game, leveling did get more difficult the
farther I ranged out into the field. While still not as tedious or as
grind-minded as Lineage
2 or early Everquest,
Guild Wars
may still be
daunting to some people as they level their characters past 20 and into
the upper portions of the game. Pre-fabricated groups will help you,
but nothing compares to have a solid squadron of player-controlled
characters to back you up against the bigger monsters. With other
players on your side, you’ll easily climb up the level ladder
and be wading into combat with your spells and sword ready.
And the PvP combat is fast and furious. With the absurd amount
of skills and abilities that are accessible to each character,
you’ll constantly be wading into battle going,
“What the hell was that?” as some ominous black
cloud settles over your character. Sometimes you’ll know
what’s occurring – like if you get a fireball in
the face – but if you’re not a veteran you might
just be standing there in a stupor trying to figure out how to
counteract that deadly cloud that just enveloped your avatar.
While the World
of Warcraft sports Arena and Battleground
functions, nothing quite compares (except the upcoming MMOTPS,
style="font-style: italic;">Fury) to
the regional sort of combat that is a foundational part of the game.
Essentially, ArenaNet has drawn PvP teams into international
“divisions” each of which can essentially hold
control over the Guild Wars PvP servers. Momentum will shift one way or
the other, and you’ll constantly get messages relaying to you
which region is in the lead compared to the other.
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The world of Guild
Wars is exquisitely rendered, its still beautiful several years after
release.
Technically Speaking
On the technical side of things, the graphical display in
Guild Wars still offers one of the best presentations in MMOG gaming to
date. With models that are attractive to look at yet refrain from being
to “anime-ish”, the player should never tire of
seeing his character tear down monsters and creatures that he
encounters. While the graphics may not be as slick as some of the
upcoming games (Tabula Rasa and Age of Conan come to mind), you
won’t feel like you’re playing an incredibly old
title either. Though the game may be reaching the two-year-old mark,
there’s still a lot of spunk and style left in the Guild Wars
engine.
Sounds and music are what you’d expect from an MMOG,
and you’ll certainly enjoy them for the first few hours of
your time in the game. The music is soothingly appropriate in place and
rough-and-tumble in others. The sounds certainly don’t
distract from the gameplay either, but there’s nothing that
struck me as truly awe-inspiring in any of the presentation. I think
most MMOG gamers only allow the music to play for a few hours in their
games anyway, simply due to the fact that we can overlay our own
personal soundtrack into our action and have a much better experience
for it.
And the Verdict?
Guild Wars is a terrific game for old and new gamers alike.
The graphics engine in Guild Wars is still cranking out amazing visuals
and the player versus player combat is still an incredible draw for old
MMOG vets like me. As I was telling my WoW playing compatriots, I like
the opportunity to play a game that doesn’t force me into one
particular class and where I can go into PvP at a moments notice rather
than having to journey to a selected area to get my PvP fix for the
day. It’s a great system, and one that I encourage everyone
to try.
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- Exhilarating and complex PvP
- Still strong graphics engine
- Substantial roleplaying environment
- Free to play after purchase
- Overwhelming number of skills
- Point-and-click movement is jittery
- Leveling difficulty ramps up quickly
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Very High |
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(4.5 / 5 Hammers)
style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Ten Ton
Recommendation:
one of the top MMOGs in the marketplace, even if they don’t
like to be called massively multiplayer. Try it out!
Ten Ton Hammer is your
unofficial source for
Guild Wars
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/47">news
and features!
Make sure you check out all
of our articles in the reviews
section!
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Guild Wars Game Page.
