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refereelarry's Guild Wars (Prophecies) (PC)

[February 4, 2008 10:39:08 PM]

Summary:

Guild Wars is a blessing for those seeking a MMORPG without a monthly subscription fee. It has a wonderful story that is told through the completion of a series of missions. One organizes a party of players in a central location, and embarks on a mission or quest in an isolated world exclusively with the members of that party.

Gameplay #1:

I started out like any other player would by creating my own character, choosing appearance, gender, and profession. The game opens with mild exploration and narrated cinematics that set up the story. I completed a series of quests and then the main story started to unfold. I began to gain momentum in leveling up my character and started to acquire skills by completing quests. As I leveled up, I also gained attribute points that I could spend in a variety of categories that are specific to my chosen profession.
The game is very fun to play and flows smoothly. The game takes you through a fairly linear path with one mission leading to the next area, and later the next mission. It is not hard to find other players eager to join your group, yet I found many players act immature and can be classified as n00bs.
I have a few friends who currently play the game so I met up with them during my time playing. It is fun to interact online while completing quests together. I experienced priceless camaraderie during intense PVP sessions. They also taught me how to watch one of the main town’s public chat and scan for good deals. With experience, one can develop an eye for that sort of thing and can make large amounts of money purely on buying and selling merchandise in the game.

Gameplay #2:

After playing another round of this game, I got more familiar with the players go about playing the game. There are certain things that go on that were not intended by the game designers initially. For example, a strong warrior character might travel to a low-level area and offer his services as a “runner.” What this means is that, for a price, he will add you into his party and run through the enemies of a certain area in order to advance you the next area (all members in a party unlock the new area). This saves one the time of fighting through enemies and allows you to advance at a quicker pace. This should only be done after completing the game and starting a new character so that your initial impression of the game doesn’t seem rushed and so that you don’t miss anything.
This game was a very enjoyable experience and gets extremely fun later in the game when one has a variety of skills and weapons to choose from. Leveling up is a fast process and the level cap is 20. Yet most of the game is played at 20 so there is no feeling of sadness when you reach it, as if the game is almost over.

Design:

The world in this game is well crafted. There are many expansive, 3D areas to explore and unlock. The graphics are nice (not the best) and work well with tone of the story. This fictional epic adventure takes you across multiple worlds filled with scenery and interesting level design.
The overall game economy seems to be balanced. CPU characters in each town sell armor and other goods at a fixed price that set a base for the human player economy. Rare items dropped from enemies in the wild can be extremely expensive but worth it. There is a large amount of items constantly being dropped in this game, which allows everyone to have a chance at getting what he or she needs.
One useful design element in Guild Wars is the ability to warp to a town or previously unlocked area at the click of a button. It takes time to travel and fight your way through hordes of enemies, so it is nice to be able to visit past locales without too much effort. Another helpful element is the bank storage system. One gets a certain amount of inventory space available on their character and, in addition to that, there is a bank in every major city where you can access your account and store items.
The game is fairly flawless overall and is constantly updated online every time you play (if there is an update available). I highly recommend this game especially if you are hesitant about MMORPGs because of their price- this is free!