Boots trample the ground as troops rush to take positions in the coming battle. The air is thick with anticipation as the enemies draw closer. Its kill or be killed.
This is a battle you won’t want to miss. Arenanet launched Guild Wars 2 on August 24, and since then things have been heating up as more players join the rapidly expanding massive multiplayer online roleplaying game, or MMORPG.
Guild Wars 2 delivers what most MMO fans want, avoiding most of the problems that plague other games like Star Wars: The Old Republic or World of Warcraft. Releasing a balanced, polished product is not always as simple as it seems, but Guild Wars 2 has done this with the added bonus of lots of content.
In another attempt to separate themselves from the MMO pack, Arenanet changed from the traditional monthly payment method to a single upfront deposit. This is attractive to players who dislike the “pay to play” payment methods traditionally associated with MMO’s.
The original Guild Wars boasted a fun-filled player-versus-player, (PVP), focused game, and this version has kept many of those characteristics. The PVP system is massive, supporting anywhere from five to 500 players battling for supremacy.
Guild Wars 2 has hundreds of hours of content for each player to sift through, including 40 unique story lines about different characters and races. These combined with the hundreds of quests, world events, PVP battles, Bosses, and in-depth crafting menus ensure that players don’t find themselves running out of content.
The games abundance of content also gives it its greatest features: the uniqueness of each player’s experience. Each weapon a player possesses has either two or three unique abilities that change the way a player battles opponents.
On the downside, this game’s variety makes it difficult to rise through the levels quickly. Fast-paced players accustomed to racing through games might become impatient the slow pace of this game.
Moreover, not everything is explained in step by step in game tutorials. Most players learn from trial and error or from the online manual.
Another big plus for the game is the cost of playing. A traditional MMO will cost a player 60 dollars upfront with another 15 dollars per month each month they play with various buying in bulk deals. Some games require additional payments, as new content becomes available. Guild Wars 2 requires only a 60-dollar upfront purchase similar to that of most mainstream shooter games.
