Game of the Day
Guild Wars 2
ESRB Rating: [T] Blood, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
It was a mistake to review this game for today's post, because I forgot how amazing it is! I'm a fan of MMOs, and Guild Wars 2 (hereafter mentioned as GW2) takes the spot for my favorite MMO. It's beautiful, engaging, versatile, and quick to get used to.
ArenaNet does a great job at accompanying its gamers old and new. I haven't played this game in over a year, and coming back to it I've noticed that a lot of things have changed. The general grounds for the game have stayed the same though. These changes were made to accommodate newer players, and to allow veteran players the ability to progress a little bit quicker than before to the end-game material without ruining the gameplay in anyway.
The player begins by choosing from one of five races. The beast-like Charr, Humans, the Norse-like Norn, the Slyvari who seem to represent the ideas of Elves in many other games, and the technology-savvy Asura.
After choosing the race (and sex) of the character to be played, another screen will appear where the player will choose from one of eight Professions, or classes according to many other RPG set-ups. Each race has its own beginning story-line quests which make you feel special compared to other races. However, they all meld together during the mid-level gameplay, but by that point the player gets so involved with the story that it doesn't seem to matter all that much. At some point a choice has to be made to join one of three "orders": the militant Vigil, the scholarly Durmand Priory, and the covert Order of Whispers.
Choices, if you haven't noticed, play a big role in this game's style. From choosing which weapons to fight with - be it a staff, a sword or a mace - to placing points into your Talent trees to grant additional attribute (stat) bonuses and bonus skills, the player's gaming style slowly changes. For example, playing as the paladin-like Guardian allows the player to use multiple weapons, but using a sword and a shield is much different than using a greatsword or a scepter and focus. Each weapon has five skills that are different for each profession. I find this very unique among the games I've played, and that's not bringing into account that the combination of main-hand and off-hand weapons also changes the 1 - 3 and 4 - 5 keys respectively. The thief profession is even more unique in that the combination of main-hand and off-hand weapons allows a skill - linked to the number 3 key - that combines both weapons when used (i.e. a dagger-dagger combo has a different attack than a dagger-pistol combo). As the character levels up, each successive combat skill unlocks. Soon, the class skills will unlock and the player can invest in unlocking specific ones to meet his or her combat-style. Not to worry though, because all of these skills can be purchased eventually so the player can mix and match with anything possible. You also get to fight while you're dying! That's right, you don't die as soon as your health is depleted! You entered a state called "downed", and have a chance to heal yourself back to life (without interruptions) or be revived by other players. Each Profession has its own set of downed skills except for the self-healing skill.
Another interesting point in this game's development is the Events system. There aren't any actual quests in this game, but events the player can complete without really having to feel obligated to do so. Dynamic Events (as seen above) are a great example of this. These events happen everywhere, all the time, and there's no need to do them. In the above picture, I (and a few other players passing by) decided to escort a woman and her pack bull (both NPCs) from a small settlement to a larger village. At the end of these events a reward is bestowed upon the player as a small pat on the back and a "thanks for putting up with it" pep-talk. Personally, I love it. When I do these Dynamic and World Events, I feel like doing them to help other players and to give myself a reward for helping them. It's a fair way to build a community or friendship. That can lead to friends, or even guilds to play with - neither of which are bad.
PvP in GW2 spans many categories - from capture the point to solo or group arena fights to the glorious WvWvW styles. My personal favorites are the different WvWvW styles. If you're not aware of what WvWvW is, I'll spell it out... literally. It's World versus World versus World. This means that three worlds (servers) are all battling it out on the same battlefield to assert their dominance in PvP(vP) combat. It's fast-paced and mostly geared toward those of higher levels, but lower-leveled players are still rewarded for playing.
The artwork and graphic detail of this game are phenomenal. The artwork has a very whispy look to it that's very unique to GW2 (but has become more popular since), and shows how adventurous ArenaNet was in making this game. I also have to say that this game has the best music I've yet to hear in an MMO, so it definitely wins the MMO Music Award from me - if that were a thing (and it's not [because I don't have those {ever}]).
GW2 is free to play -- in a sense that you don't have to pay subscription-based fees. However, you must purchase the game at the well-worth-it-price of... (Warning: This game is on sale as of September 25th until October 5th, 2014) $24.99, from the regular price of $49.99. There is a greater edition of the game, but you can easily survive without it, for $34.99 (sale price) from the original $69.99.
Do I recommend this game? If you've got a computer to run it on even minimum settings (which I did for quite a while before I received this current computer), then yes. It's a fantastic game that doesn't obligate you to play just because you're paying a monthly fee to promise them you'll continue to play.
Guild Wars 2, I love you.
