I would have written this review sooner, but I was too busy playing Guild Wars. While that may sound like simply an excuse, I would argue that it is a testament to the game’s addictiveness. I have never played a MMORPG before, mostly because I am not a fan of the monthly fee that many of these games entail. Since Guild Wars does not have a monthly fee, there was no reason for me not to try the game. I’m quite happy that I did; Guild Wars has kept me more enthralled than any other game in recent memory.
The game begins, of course, with the creation of a new character. Players can choose between six jobs: Warrior, Ranger, Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer and Monk. Players will also be able to choose a secondary position, which is a nice addition for creating a unique and well-rounded character. Also, finicky folk no longer have to choose between two desirable careers; instead of choosing between Elementalist and Necromancer, why not be both? Players will be able to try out several secondary jobs before making a choice. Of course, there is no magical combination of professions that allows players to sail through the game. Players will find themselves getting killed constantly at first, which makes progress slower than one might want.
The game in the PvE (player versus environment) portion of the game unfolds in the form of quests and cooperative missions. One of the nicest things about the PvE environment is that whenever a group enters the wilderness, the game generates a private gaming zone for the group. Due to the high number of enemies found in the wilderness, it is nigh impossible to complete a mission or quest on one’s own. Players can find help in the form of computer henchmen or from other gamers. Finding a group is not always easy if a player does not have friends playing the game. Of course, players can take their chances with a random group by entering a town or outpost, accessing the chat box and stating something to the effect of “14 w/m lfg for ashes quest”. Fortunately, Guild Wars tends to have a really great user base. I have been a member of countless random groups and only a handful of them have been negative experiences. That is not to say that the game is without ill-mannered boors who berate their teammates, leave the group in the middle of a challenge and generally act like egocentric jerks. This isn’t necessarily a question of maturity; I once found myself with a group that found it inordinately hilarious to draw phalluses on the in-game map but they were a really great group to team up with because they listened to each other and didn’t ditch the group at a crucial moment. I suppose the anonymity of the internet makes it ever so much easier to be rude, and I’m quite glad that these negative experiences are the exception rather than the norm. It should be noted that teamwork is a big part of success in this game. Each person needs to pull his or her own weight in order to ensure a group’s survival in the unforgiving wilderness.
So, while the random group option is more viable than some might expect, there are those who would rather drink paint than team up with random people. Those folks have two options: They can use henchmen or they can join a guild. I have found the henchmen to be rather problematic. They are quite passive and generally don’t rush into clumps of enemies without a human player initiating an attack and they are very good at attacking whichever enemy the human players are attacking. However, the henchmen are subject to computer glitches; there have been several occasions in which I have found myself stranded because a henchman wandered off or didn’t respawn. Joining a guild is a really great option, particularly if you have real-life friends who are playing the game. I’m in a really great guild (Heaven's Guardians!!); the people there are really nice and they’ve been really helpful. The chat interface is well designed and allows players to communicate effectively by dividing the chat tool into channels such as team, guild, chat, trade, and whisper (PM). So, if you are doing a mission or a quest with a pickup group, you can strategize with them while simultaneously talking to your “guildies” on the guild channel.
A new player starting out must remember to always carry two things: an identification kit and a salvage kit. Enemies will often drop items that need to be identified. In addition to revealing the item’s statistics and value, an identified item might also be enhanced with a special modifier. By salvaging the item, the player can use that modifier for himself/herself. While there are a lot of modifiers out there, they can be broken down into two categories: weapon enhancers and runes. A weapon enhancer is pretty self-explanatory; by equipping your bow with a Bow String of Defense, you are obviously going to increase your defensive capabilities. Each type of weapon has two facets that can be enhanced (i.e. bow string and bow grip), so creating the ultimate customized weapon is quite easy. Occasionally, a player will also find an item enhanced by a rune. Runes come in both major and minor varieties and they enhance the various disciplines that make up a character class. It should be noted that a major rune can only be used if the discipline is a facet of that character’s primary occupation.
Salvaging is not just used to get enhancers; there are a ton of items that can be salvaged such as animal hides, the armor of vanquished foes, spider webs and much more. At first, salvaging items will yield basic crafting components such as cloth or tanned hide squares. As soon as you have the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend purchasing an expert salvage kit. By doing so, you will have a chance (albeit a small one) of salvaging a rare crafting component like leather or silk. These items can be used to craft customized armor and weapons, so it is very important to hold onto both common and rare crafting components.
In addition to gaining experience and leveling up, players will also earn skill points, which can be used to purchase new skills (spells), which greatly enhance a player’s repertoire. A player can have as many skills as s/he can buy, but he can only use 8 at one time. Attribute points are closely tied to skill points; a player earns them by leveling up and they can be spent to improve the various disciplines that make up any given character. This leads to a great deal of specialization; for example, an Elementalist can be moderately good at wielding fire magic, air magic and earth magic, but if he allocates all of his magic into just one of those disciplines, he can be quite the force to be reckoned with.
Guild Wars also features a special PvP (player versus player) mode. There are three types of PvP combat: random matchups with four players on each team, team battles and guild versus guild battles. I like the customization options available for PvP character creation and I found it especially helpful to have played so much in the PvE environment before making my way over to the PvP game. I ended up creating a character with the same primary and secondary occupation that my PvE character had, that way I knew which skills worked for me and which ones didn’t. I found the PvP portion to be a welcome distraction from the PvE game and I’m sure that some players will forsake the PvE portion of the game entirely in favor of the PvP arenas.
As a player progresses through the cooperative missions, s/he is treated to cutscenes, which come together to form an epic story. While I don’t want to give too much away, the underlying theme involves the people of Ascalon and their struggle to find a place in a world wrought with turmoil. The story is full of mystery, action and drama and players should always expect the unexpected. For some reason, the characters’ mouths don’t move at all during the cut scenes. This doesn’t look right at all, but if you can forgive that eccentricity, the cut scenes really are quite lovely.
Graphically, the game is amazing. The game features some breathtaking scenery and players will occasionally find themselves just wandering around looking at all there is to see. The game runs smoothly, even at 1280x1024. There can be a serious amount of clipping at times, but this is not bad enough of a problem to distract from gameplay. Camera control is fairly intuitive; point-of-view is adjusted with the mouse. One gripe that I have is that it can be difficult to target enemies with the mouse, especially if they are clumped together with allies. In this situation, the game tends to select the ally rather than the enemy. This leads to some frantic clicking before the enemy is finally selected.
The music is a lot more subdued; sometimes, if you are in the heat of the battle or focusing on your surroundings to avoid an ambush, you can forget it is playing in the background. But if you stop for a minute and listen, you will be treated to some really beautiful melodies. The voice acting in the cutscenes is well done. The actors can be a bit overdramatic at times, but for the most part, the scenes add a lot to the gaming experience. The sound effects are also nicely done- weapons clash, enemies grunt and growl, spells successfully hit their target and many more sounds make for a pleasant gaming experience.
In terms of replay value, Guild Wars is well worth the full retail price. I have put at least 80 hours into the game since purchasing it at the end of April; this does not include PvP time. Guild Wars is incredibly immersive and addicting gaming experience, and with new quests being added to the game and the promise of expansion packs for the game, it looks like we’re all going to be hooked for a long, long time.
