Guild Wars: First Impressions

I have recently decided to begin playing Guild Wars. I have played it over a span of three days for a grand total time of just under four hours. Obviously I am taking this game very casually as my current play time is very limited. Even so, I feel that I have played it enough to get a good “first impression” of the game.

The characters are very well done. I loved the variety found in the character creation screen. My only comment on NPCs is that I would have liked to see more minorities, but considering the geographical location of the starter zone it does make sense that they are not plentiful. Still, it would have been nice to see more variety within the main city.

Creatures are interesting and varied. Some you will immediately recognize from traditional fables and lore and other are taken from other sources. Others are wholly new yet somehow everything ties in together and makes sense. I believe that this continuity comes from a strong, focused art department. This is a game that has to be seen to be believed.

The environments are beautiful. Simply all of the graphics are well done. You can tell that a whole lot of love and care was poured into this game, from the artistic, programming, and design departments. I really can find nothing “technical” to complain about thus far.

I find the way professions are chosen to be a refreshing departure from typical RPGs. I love that you can only take a set number of skills with you into the wilderness. It adds an entire layer of strategy that simply isn’t found in other games on the market. Also, as a warrior primary, I really enjoy the special adrenaline meters on my special abilities. From what I have experienced all of the classes are well balanced and fun to play; I simply chose a warrior as my primary in Prophecies because it had been awhile since I played a melee class and I missed the close combat. And the armor for warriors is gorgeous, in my opinion.

The typical quibble about no z-axis really does not bother me at all. It simply seems like a nitpick sort of response. I actually find it sort of refreshing that my character doesn’t motor up steep hills like a robot but instead finds the easiest path up it, as a normal human would do.

The one downside I have discovered to this game so far is the non-instanced zones. These are typically cities or outposts where you can meet up with other players to group for quests or missions or trade items. My problem is that a good chunk of the player names are downright idiotic and a lot of the players speak in internet slang which really ruins the immersion. Apparently you can turn off the chat; I will have to figure out how. I will note that this type of player immaturity is typical of all multiplayer games, especially MMOs, and on the whole Guild Wars is on par with the maturity level of players found in World of Warcraft.

The women within the game are on equal footing with the men. One quest in particular stuck out, A Gift For Althea. In it, the Prince Rurik is looking for a gift for his fiancé but it must be something magnificent. The player is of course tasked with finding the gift, and upon finding the correct item if you choose to give it to her the response is awesome:

“What’s this? Does Rurik think I care one whit what gift he gives me? What matters is that a gift comes from the heart. That he choose it himself is all I ask. You can put an end to this nonsense at once. I’ll have a talk with Osric and Rurik myself!”

I really connected with this response. It is as if the developer took the time to keep the game as fair and balanced as possible. Of course, some of the costumes are on the skimpy side but the player can choose not to get that armor set if they so wish it. All in all, I believe that most of the armor that I have seen thus far reflects their respective professions well and is on the whole very aesthetically pleasing.

To sum my experience up, I am having a wonderful time playing Guild Wars and am anticipating my next play session. There is so much this game offers and at such high quality that I would recommend this game to anyone who has even a passing interest in RPGs and video games in general. It can be as casual or hardcore of an experience as the player wants and that is something that is wonderful and unique for this genre.