Review: Guild Wars Anthology [PC]
Chol, 24-Oct-09 » Guild Wars Anthology review, by Cholesterol
Guild Wars, developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft, is one of the most outstanding online role-playing games of our generation. It has been noted as one of the best RPG games and the only credible rival to the monstrosity that is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. Ever since its release, it has been receiving praise from the gaming community, and I for one really can’t fault Guild Wars since it’s inception in 2005. Although there are elements within Guild Wars which detract from the interactive experience and style of gameplay, (compared to WoW ‘the streamline’ MMO) for the most part Guild Wars offers a great alternative to WoW and the fact that there are no Monthly gaming fees, as well as releasing three stand alone games (Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall) and an expansion pack (Eye of the North) is a major drawing card for GW.
Guild Wars Prophecies was released April 2005, and marked the first foray into RPG gaming by the staff at ArenaNet since splitting from the world profound Blizzard, and I have to say they did a good job. Prophecies, based in the world of Tyria, is profoundly detailed as well as having a grasping storyline. The general outline of the story in Prophecies (without spoiling it for people who intend to play Guild Wars) is basically ‘you’ the Human race have been thrown into a world of conflict in order to try and control the ‘Hall of Heroes’. The war-mongering Charr (a race of Beast intent on invading your world) destroy all in their path with raining fire and crystal (known as the ‘searing’), eventually turning the previously beautiful human city of Ascalon into dead planes and turmoil. You who have been named a hero of Ascalon travel across the world of Tyria meeting new enemies and hacking them to tiny bits as you attempt to silence the Undead Lich (some bad dude who wants to destroy everything for some reason…I know, typical right?). However, don’t be fooled, Guild Wars offers an in-depth story line, which captivates you to continue completing missions and “finish the game"… so to speak.
(Warriors at the Druid Overlook, making their way to the Desert).
Guild Wars Factions, the next stand-alone addition to the Guild Wars saga (April, 2006), continues the great storyline within a new world relatively similar to the eastern world of Asia in the world of Cantha. The factions campaign storyline is even better then Prophecies, once again new allies are befriended, a new horde is released in the afflicted, and Shiro Tagachi, key evil character, attempts to return to the mortal realm… but not without a fight.
(A party on a mission in the world of Cantha).
Guild Wars Nightfall, the third campaign addition to the Guild Wars anthology (October, 2006), is set in an African-themed world known as Elona. Once again a new world brings new characters…but guess what…not everybody wants to be friends! That’s right, a new evil enemy in Abaddon who is an ancient and powerful god who attempts to consume the world into Nightfall. I was less impressed with Nightfall compared to Prophecies and Factions, they had a solid story line linking both Tyria and Cantha together, as well as not having a MASSIVE long story line in which to kill one bad guy.
(The Wurm in which you can play us in the Nightfall Campaign)
The expansion pack Eye of the North, released in August 2007, is another example of a storyline which becomes very predictable, with yet another evil enemy the ‘Great Destroyer’. Overall if you’re a big fantasy fan, or like Dwarves and all other types of mythical creature similar to WoW or The Lord of the Rings, then definetly pick up Guild Wars and play the campaigns. The campaigns are quite challenging and although you can finish 70% of the game with NPC’s and created Heroes, the difficult missions will require other online players to help get through the many hordes and obstacles thrown at you. Another incentive to buy Guild Wars is that it’s not the same old kill the bad dudes and move on to the next bad dudes like you see in so many other games. There are different challenges in which you must protect certain people from dying, activate certain items and objects in which to help you win the war against ‘evil’ as well as control giant desert wurms as you do in Guild Wars nightfall smashing opponents with your superior size and sleeking through the desert lands which is always fun.
(The new Hall of Monuments, where you can store your achievements, armour, pets and titles for use in Guild Wars 2).
Gameplay in Guild Wars has two important crossroads, there’s Player versus Environment (PvE) or Player versus Player (PvP). PvE is everything to do within the many campaigns and worlds of Guild Wars, completing missions, turning in quests, buying armor and weapons, as well as looting or ‘farming’ for money or super cool weapons. In Guild Wars if you only have one of the stand alone games you get four characters slots, but before you go ‘oh come on that’s **** all’ you can increase your character slots by two every time you buy the next stand-alone campaign giving you a maximum of 8 slots. If that’s still not enough for you… you greedy bastard…you can purchase more from the Guild Wars website.
In Guild Wars there are many professions you can play depending on which campaign you own, and if you own them all, you’re in luck because you can play as every profession. The professions include Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Elementalist, Necromancer, Mesmer, Assassin, Ritualist, Dervish or Paragon. This range which is similar to WoW gives you a great variety of gameplay and you can continue to keep trying new things instead of rolling a melee character in the Warrior profession and trying nothing new. Unlike other MMO’s/RPG’s where you have a massive level cap which takes a long period of time to get to Guild Wars offers a level cap of Twenty which is relevantly easy enough to get to without becoming bored and sick of continuous grinding. Now, now don’t get turned off my a marginally low level cap, Guild Wars is based more on skills, weapons and how you use them and combine them together for a greater effect, then obliterating a level five character with a level 55 character.
(The choosing profession screen).
The biggest change in Guild Wars in comparison to World of Warcraft is the instancing of gameplay. In all towns, campsites, and major cities you can see a variety of different players depending on what country and district you’ve selected to appear in as you load into a town or city. However once you’ve gone through the portal or entrance to an explorable area you will only be able to see the party formation you left with. Now there is divided support upon this addition to Guild Wars in comparison to a true MMO, my thoughts are it’s a great addition especially if you’re a casual gamer, or don’t want to wait around forever to finish a quest cause somebody is out there doing the same one. The instanced world means players can do quests, missions without the interruptions or hold-ups from other online players, which although can take away from a cool massive online world, it makes your gaming a bit more personal which I think is highly valuable, especially in a RPG.
(Travel Screen, viewing over the world of Tyria).
Player versus Player gameplay is what Guild Wars is also famously known for, especially in comparison to MMO’s and other RPG games. If you’re a massive PvP fan and love competitive RPG gaming, but you are disheartened by PvE gameplay in which to level up, say no more. In Guild Wars you can create a max leveled character ready to skirmish in the Player versus Player element of Guild Wars from the moment you purchase the game. As I keep stating, Guild Wars pride themselves on the ability to play the game through the use of skills, tactics and teamwork rather then hefty level differences.
In Guild Wars there are several different types of PvP gameplay that you can participate in. Guild Battles which is your guild taking on another Guild in a specific game type where you must penetrate the enemy guild’s fortress and kill their Guild Lord. There is Team Arena which is a party of four taking on another party of four in a battle arena, Random Arena where you randomly join a party in a battle arena, Heroes Ascent which is a knockout tournament in a party formation of eight seeking to earn fame and increase player rank. As well as my all time favourite Alliance Battles, which is a Luxon/Kurzick battle to control territory in a twelve verses twelve titanic battle. Within these different types of PvPing the gameplay is immensely interactive and usually requires the utmost attention and focus to succeed and have fun. An example is you can’t just click on a target and auto run towards them then just start attacking, the terrain and obstacles within Guild Wars tends to stop players from doing this as they end up getting stuck and not attending to their enemy as they want to. Also the fact that your taking on other players means that most of the time they won’t be as easy as the NPC’s in the PVE side of Guild Wars to kill. You will most likely be having players interrupting skills, shooting barrages of arrows, firing down elemental storms and healing other players, which makes the game more interactive and competitive in the PvP format.
(Player versus Players Random Arena Battle).
The overall interface of Guild Wars as your playing is quite easy to use, and makes playing the game a lot easier as opposed to WoW, which is a bit more complex. There is a mini-map in the top right-hand corner, the skill bar at the bottom of your screen, as well as the weapon sets on the bottom right side, the party formation bar on right hand side and your current level bar on the top left hand side is all you need. This gives you enough relevant information without overcrowding your screen and taking away from the experience of a fantasy world. The in game combat and playing style is very similar to other RPG’s/MMO’s with the trusty use of swords, axes, staffs, bows and other weapons at your disposal to attack your foes in true Guild Wars style. Guild Wars although heavily relies on the skills you equip in order to deal out the most amount of damage with your weapon, as well as running the best build for you which makes Guild Wars unique. Instead of rushing foes with your unstoppable weapons/armour you need to use your skills and tactics to best overcome your foes.
(Guild Wars Interface, during combat).
The Graphics of Guild Wars is quite phenomenal and a step-up from all MMO/RPG games. The Third person view in which Guild Wars incorporates allows you to see in great depth and details the peripherals and environment the Guild Wars world has, Guild Wars, which boasts over 150 skills for each profession, has a unique graphic description showing the skills purpose. It also has many unique changes in facial features and physical features of characters, which gives variety instead of the same shaped characters for thousands of gamers to play which can become very monotonous in other MMO’s.
Is this Good or Bad Cholesterol?
Guild Wars is definetly the most awesome, scrumptious good Cholesterol you can find and I would give it an overall rating of 9/10. The few faults I have are in the predictability of the storyline and the fact that the instanced world requires a lot of waiting and downloading of new areas and towns. Other than this Guild Wars is a must have game for gamers who enjoy fantasy, RPG gameplay and an engaging storyline for the most part. Although the Guild Wars community in its current stage is very much diminishing with the release of Ncsoft’s Aion, and Arena Net’s focus on a sequel in Guild Wars II it is still being played by thousands of people every day, and is still very much alive in all aspects, with regular updates to the game as well as regular community events and announcement’s by Arena Net and NCsoft.
You can purchase and find more information about Guild Wars at their website http://www.guildwars.com.
Guild Wars, developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft, is one of the most outstanding online role-playing games of our generation. It has been noted as one of the best RPG games and the only credible rival to the monstrosity that is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. Ever since its release, it has been receiving praise from the gaming community, and I for one really can’t fault Guild Wars since it’s inception in 2005. Although there are elements within Guild Wars which detract from the interactive experience and style of gameplay, (compared to WoW ‘the streamline’ MMO) for the most part Guild Wars offers a great alternative to WoW and the fact that there are no Monthly gaming fees, as well as releasing three stand alone games (Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall) and an expansion pack (Eye of the North) is a major drawing card for GW.
Guild Wars Prophecies was released April 2005, and marked the first foray into RPG gaming by the staff at ArenaNet since splitting from the world profound Blizzard, and I have to say they did a good job. Prophecies, based in the world of Tyria, is profoundly detailed as well as having a grasping storyline. The general outline of the story in Prophecies (without spoiling it for people who intend to play Guild Wars) is basically ‘you’ the Human race have been thrown into a world of conflict in order to try and control the ‘Hall of Heroes’. The war-mongering Charr (a race of Beast intent on invading your world) destroy all in their path with raining fire and crystal (known as the ‘searing’), eventually turning the previously beautiful human city of Ascalon into dead planes and turmoil. You who have been named a hero of Ascalon travel across the world of Tyria meeting new enemies and hacking them to tiny bits as you attempt to silence the Undead Lich (some bad dude who wants to destroy everything for some reason…I know, typical right?). However, don’t be fooled, Guild Wars offers an in-depth story line, which captivates you to continue completing missions and “finish the game"… so to speak.
(Warriors at the Druid Overlook, making their way to the Desert).
Guild Wars Factions, the next stand-alone addition to the Guild Wars saga (April, 2006), continues the great storyline within a new world relatively similar to the eastern world of Asia in the world of Cantha. The factions campaign storyline is even better then Prophecies, once again new allies are befriended, a new horde is released in the afflicted, and Shiro Tagachi, key evil character, attempts to return to the mortal realm… but not without a fight.
(A party on a mission in the world of Cantha).
Guild Wars Nightfall, the third campaign addition to the Guild Wars anthology (October, 2006), is set in an African-themed world known as Elona. Once again a new world brings new characters…but guess what…not everybody wants to be friends! That’s right, a new evil enemy in Abaddon who is an ancient and powerful god who attempts to consume the world into Nightfall. I was less impressed with Nightfall compared to Prophecies and Factions, they had a solid story line linking both Tyria and Cantha together, as well as not having a MASSIVE long story line in which to kill one bad guy.
(The Wurm in which you can play us in the Nightfall Campaign)
The expansion pack Eye of the North, released in August 2007, is another example of a storyline which becomes very predictable, with yet another evil enemy the ‘Great Destroyer’. Overall if you’re a big fantasy fan, or like Dwarves and all other types of mythical creature similar to WoW or The Lord of the Rings, then definetly pick up Guild Wars and play the campaigns. The campaigns are quite challenging and although you can finish 70% of the game with NPC’s and created Heroes, the difficult missions will require other online players to help get through the many hordes and obstacles thrown at you. Another incentive to buy Guild Wars is that it’s not the same old kill the bad dudes and move on to the next bad dudes like you see in so many other games. There are different challenges in which you must protect certain people from dying, activate certain items and objects in which to help you win the war against ‘evil’ as well as control giant desert wurms as you do in Guild Wars nightfall smashing opponents with your superior size and sleeking through the desert lands which is always fun.
(The new Hall of Monuments, where you can store your achievements, armour, pets and titles for use in Guild Wars 2).
Gameplay in Guild Wars has two important crossroads, there’s Player versus Environment (PvE) or Player versus Player (PvP). PvE is everything to do within the many campaigns and worlds of Guild Wars, completing missions, turning in quests, buying armor and weapons, as well as looting or ‘farming’ for money or super cool weapons. In Guild Wars if you only have one of the stand alone games you get four characters slots, but before you go ‘oh come on that’s **** all’ you can increase your character slots by two every time you buy the next stand-alone campaign giving you a maximum of 8 slots. If that’s still not enough for you… you greedy bastard…you can purchase more from the Guild Wars website.
In Guild Wars there are many professions you can play depending on which campaign you own, and if you own them all, you’re in luck because you can play as every profession. The professions include Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Elementalist, Necromancer, Mesmer, Assassin, Ritualist, Dervish or Paragon. This range which is similar to WoW gives you a great variety of gameplay and you can continue to keep trying new things instead of rolling a melee character in the Warrior profession and trying nothing new. Unlike other MMO’s/RPG’s where you have a massive level cap which takes a long period of time to get to Guild Wars offers a level cap of Twenty which is relevantly easy enough to get to without becoming bored and sick of continuous grinding. Now, now don’t get turned off my a marginally low level cap, Guild Wars is based more on skills, weapons and how you use them and combine them together for a greater effect, then obliterating a level five character with a level 55 character.
(The choosing profession screen).
The biggest change in Guild Wars in comparison to World of Warcraft is the instancing of gameplay. In all towns, campsites, and major cities you can see a variety of different players depending on what country and district you’ve selected to appear in as you load into a town or city. However once you’ve gone through the portal or entrance to an explorable area you will only be able to see the party formation you left with. Now there is divided support upon this addition to Guild Wars in comparison to a true MMO, my thoughts are it’s a great addition especially if you’re a casual gamer, or don’t want to wait around forever to finish a quest cause somebody is out there doing the same one. The instanced world means players can do quests, missions without the interruptions or hold-ups from other online players, which although can take away from a cool massive online world, it makes your gaming a bit more personal which I think is highly valuable, especially in a RPG.
(Travel Screen, viewing over the world of Tyria).
Player versus Player gameplay is what Guild Wars is also famously known for, especially in comparison to MMO’s and other RPG games. If you’re a massive PvP fan and love competitive RPG gaming, but you are disheartened by PvE gameplay in which to level up, say no more. In Guild Wars you can create a max leveled character ready to skirmish in the Player versus Player element of Guild Wars from the moment you purchase the game. As I keep stating, Guild Wars pride themselves on the ability to play the game through the use of skills, tactics and teamwork rather then hefty level differences.
In Guild Wars there are several different types of PvP gameplay that you can participate in. Guild Battles which is your guild taking on another Guild in a specific game type where you must penetrate the enemy guild’s fortress and kill their Guild Lord. There is Team Arena which is a party of four taking on another party of four in a battle arena, Random Arena where you randomly join a party in a battle arena, Heroes Ascent which is a knockout tournament in a party formation of eight seeking to earn fame and increase player rank. As well as my all time favourite Alliance Battles, which is a Luxon/Kurzick battle to control territory in a twelve verses twelve titanic battle. Within these different types of PvPing the gameplay is immensely interactive and usually requires the utmost attention and focus to succeed and have fun. An example is you can’t just click on a target and auto run towards them then just start attacking, the terrain and obstacles within Guild Wars tends to stop players from doing this as they end up getting stuck and not attending to their enemy as they want to. Also the fact that your taking on other players means that most of the time they won’t be as easy as the NPC’s in the PVE side of Guild Wars to kill. You will most likely be having players interrupting skills, shooting barrages of arrows, firing down elemental storms and healing other players, which makes the game more interactive and competitive in the PvP format.
(Player versus Players Random Arena Battle).
The overall interface of Guild Wars as your playing is quite easy to use, and makes playing the game a lot easier as opposed to WoW, which is a bit more complex. There is a mini-map in the top right-hand corner, the skill bar at the bottom of your screen, as well as the weapon sets on the bottom right side, the party formation bar on right hand side and your current level bar on the top left hand side is all you need. This gives you enough relevant information without overcrowding your screen and taking away from the experience of a fantasy world. The in game combat and playing style is very similar to other RPG’s/MMO’s with the trusty use of swords, axes, staffs, bows and other weapons at your disposal to attack your foes in true Guild Wars style. Guild Wars although heavily relies on the skills you equip in order to deal out the most amount of damage with your weapon, as well as running the best build for you which makes Guild Wars unique. Instead of rushing foes with your unstoppable weapons/armour you need to use your skills and tactics to best overcome your foes.
(Guild Wars Interface, during combat).
The Graphics of Guild Wars is quite phenomenal and a step-up from all MMO/RPG games. The Third person view in which Guild Wars incorporates allows you to see in great depth and details the peripherals and environment the Guild Wars world has, Guild Wars, which boasts over 150 skills for each profession, has a unique graphic description showing the skills purpose. It also has many unique changes in facial features and physical features of characters, which gives variety instead of the same shaped characters for thousands of gamers to play which can become very monotonous in other MMO’s.
Is this Good or Bad Cholesterol?
Guild Wars is definetly the most awesome, scrumptious good Cholesterol you can find and I would give it an overall rating of 9/10. The few faults I have are in the predictability of the storyline and the fact that the instanced world requires a lot of waiting and downloading of new areas and towns. Other than this Guild Wars is a must have game for gamers who enjoy fantasy, RPG gameplay and an engaging storyline for the most part. Although the Guild Wars community in its current stage is very much diminishing with the release of Ncsoft’s Aion, and Arena Net’s focus on a sequel in Guild Wars II it is still being played by thousands of people every day, and is still very much alive in all aspects, with regular updates to the game as well as regular community events and announcement’s by Arena Net and NCsoft.
You can purchase and find more information about Guild Wars at their website http://www.guildwars.com.
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Article Stats
| Category: | Game Reviews |
| Posted: | 24-Oct-09 2:23:11 pm |
| Author: | Chol |