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05/06/05 >> Guild Wars

Genre: Competitive Online Role-Playing Game

Publisher: NCsoft

First Impressions

Guild Wars is set in a LOTR influenced world filled with many environments and creatures. Guild Wars, unlike most MMO's, delivers a different experience. This game rewards you for your skill, not for how many hours you spend playing the game. It is more action based, but also has a very strong strategic element.

When starting the game, you get to pick a major profession from six professions; Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Mesmer, Elementalist, and Necromancer. Then, you can pick a secondary profession from the same groups. Each profession gives the player 75 skills, 150 total. But the strategic part is that the player can only use 8 at a time, which can be easily countered. The mastery of this is key for winning in a battle. This makes the game compelling and a completely unique experience.

The graphics of Guild Wars are astounding. This game is like a mix between World Of Warcraft and Everquest II, which ends up in something completely new and wonderful. The system requirements aren't as high as EQ II, but are still above average. The character models are wonderful, from the detail of the weapons and armor on the bodies, to the detail of the faces. The environments are also amazing. The lighting and bloom effects are very well done, and so are the reflections and weather effects. All the spells the characters can pull off are awesome, and the character movement is smooth and realistic. Overall, this is a real technical accomplishment.

The sound for this game is also very well done, even though there aren't that many tracks. But with the upcoming release and even more chapters/expansions on the way, there will be plenty more music. The sound effects are also very realistic, offering the player a sense of actually being in the game. The character voice-overs are also excellent, with many different accents that offer plenty of variety. The sound could be a bit better, but it still is very well done.

Gameplay is the part that really shines. There is so much stuff to cover in this part of the review, that it’s really mind blowing. First things off, this is not a regular MMO, it’s a CORPG; a Competitive Online Role Playing Game. There is actual competition in this game. There are two types of competition; PvP- Player vs. Player and PvE- Player vs. Environment. Both types are excellent that when combined, provide an experience unlike any other. In player versus player, you can join a guild or start one, which is enabled by the system's unique guild establishment program. When you have joined a guild, each guild can compete with each other in challenges and tournaments. The best guild gets posted on the official web site and in the game.

In player versus environment, you can do missions that unlock many things and build your character. While doing these missions, you are urged to do it with friends or other computer controlled mercenaries that aid you in battle. The missions are fun, and playing it with friends is even better. Unlike regular MMO's, when doing a mission, you get a copy of the environment, which is only for you and your friends. So no longer do you have to wait for someone to kill a monster, or wait for an item to re-spawn. This makes the game very fun and less of a hassle.

This game is a wonder to behold, and should be not missed by anyone. The graphics, sound, and game play thrown together in this way make a new and wonderful experience for anyone that is bored of the current MMORPG genre, or just trying it out. This game is a masterpiece that should not be avoided or missed by anyone.

We’ll have more in-depth review of Guild Wars in the coming weeks. Suffice to say, this game will be around for a long time.

First impressions by Chris Fussman