Guild Wars Prophecies

Ah Guild Wars how do I love thee? Let me count the ways……

There are many ways that Guild Wars the MMORPG from NCSoft which has won my enthusiasm and addiction. For one thing - Free online play!!! > From what I understand there is a free expansion in the not too distant future also.

First of all the graphics are gorgeous. Butterflies dance around, leaves fall, trees look almost photo realistic. It is colorful and beautiful. The scenery reflects in the water. Lotus blossoms of different hues are growing in different areas. Much attention has been paid to make this game heads and shoulders above the graphics of all the other MMORPG’s out there. Except for Lineage 2 which is another NC Soft title, but that is an entirely different story, and it’s coming soon. That is if I can tear myself away from GW long enough to do well, anything.

I was pleased by the many waterfalls and mystical looking statues of “The Old Gods”. I began the game by navigating with one hand and eating a breakfast sandwich with the other. The map feature is accessed by pressing the ‘M’ key and is used as a super fast means of travel. In fact many features are played with an intuitive point and click interface including battle.

The box art was pretty. And there were only two disks to install. One of the few complaints that I have was in the structure of the book that is included. The storyline goes on for many chapters at the beginning. The player info and controls should be the first thing in the book. But they did provide a handy reference card as a guide to the keyboard controls. So it is possible to jump right into this game and play within 30 minutes. That is probably a record for a non-console PC game. The updates go by quickly. You don’t have to go through the EULA and the Rules of Conduct every time you log on either. There is no need to pick a server. The way the servers are arrayed for this game is truly innovative. There are several women on the Guild Wars staff and it shows in this game.

In fact if you want to play with friends it is all very simplified. You are automatically put into different regions such as North America 1, 2 or 13 etc. and you can easily switch via a pull down menu. So if a friend logs into the game and you want to go see them, they can Private Message or “whisper” as it is called in this game, and tell you what region they are in. You can hook up and then go adventuring together. There are several tabs and menus for friends management, you can add a friend, join or start a Guild, add someone to your party, or adventure alone. The corresponding negative tabs are all right there so that you can quickly ban a bully or bow out of various chat modes with a simple click.

Character creation is easy. You can choose from some rather unique professions such as Elementalist, Mesmer, Monk, Necromancer, Ranger and Warrior. No elves. Automatic +.5 for that. I chose a female Elementalist. You select the character’s face, hair color, skin tone and size. Throughout the game you can buy or find vials of dye with which you can color your armor and customize your look further. Black dye seems to be rare and is a rather costly commodity if you try to buy it from another player. The female characters are all wearing rather sexy costumes that do tend to cover up well, while at times also revealing plenty of cleavage and upskirts. But they have found a happy medium in that regard. The attire seems both practical and plausible for fighting. The gems and jewels, and magical ‘focus’ items twinkle with sparkly light making the characters have a bit of a glow if they are carrying these magical items. When you join or create a Guild you get a player designed cape. I could not wait to get one, it was well worth all the hunting I had to do to earn the 2 bars of platinum = 2,000 gold to ‘buy’ one for my guild members. It looks sweet with the costume. Yeah. That was a fine moment, marching up to the guild registrar in Ascalon City and designing my own coat of arms. Sweet. More customizable features for faces, hair and clothing are coming in future updates.

I was surprised to see that often fem characters will take off the armor, and dance around in their underwear! What a strange phenomenon. Surprisingly this doesn’t cause much of a stir as you would think. In the common areas players zip in and out eager to get on with the business of playing the game. Guild Wars has a community feel to it. It is designed for play with a few friends or alone too. It is a MMOG but it has some unique twists to it that make it especially attractive for women gamers. When you go on a mission, you get to pick who you want to come with you. There isn’t a way for pests to stalk your character and follow you around. Once you leave a town or village the only players that are there are the people in your party. This eliminates the trash talking and online abuse that many female gamers have unfortunately been hassled by.

In over 30 hours of gameplay so far I only witnessed one violation of the Rules of Conduct. A male player was broadcasting sexual abuse at two fully dressed teen female players. Eventually other players came along and heckled *him*. The girls were upset by it and weren’t savvy enough - being newbs to know how to get away from the jerk. I logged off and reported him, which was a fairly simple process. I was surprised by how quick and responsive the NCSoft abuse team was. There’s an extra +.5 for that there too. Apparently they are dedicated seriously to keeping this game fair and clean of bots and twinking as well. It is good to see that a game has ongoing efforts to keep it ahead of the others in the area of fair gameplay. That is worth something, especially to the demographic of our readers.

Sometimes it is a fine game as a party of one. In my case I am always a party of two. I picked Ranger as a secondary profession and tamed a big Lioness called a Melandu’s Stalker. My pet aides me on adventures by keeping the baddies at bay while I pummel them with spells from a safe distance.

Gameplay starts off fairly easily, with a tutorial which doesn’t appear to be a tutorial. Players meet their trainers and then go out on easy missions. The level grind does not feel like a grind at all. I completed several tasks in my first day alone. I was given great spells to start with which became more powerful as my character gained in experience. There is a toolbar to use, and my Flare which is a fireball spell did not have to be swapped out of its number one spot, and it increased in power automatically without any fussing with it. My character is as cute as anything, and the motion is fluid and effortless. The camera controls offer a close up view as well as a big picture. The camera is probably the best I have ever used in any game, you can change the angle in all directions in 3D. When playing on my laptop the trackpad made this a very accessible feature.

After a while once a player has done some of the missions the town crier will alert you to a coming war. If you go on the “big mission” you see a warning that asks “if you are ready to leave everything behind?” If you answer yes you will have to get yourself into a party of four players. The next thing you know the four (or five with my Lioness) of you are running towards swarming monsters that have to be killed. Everyone gets the treasures and experience points equally which avoids the dilemma of divvying up the spoils of war. When your party completes the mission you have that satisfaction as well as rich rewards in exp points and other perks.

BUT the big BUT in Guild Wars is that when you return to Ascalon City, you are told that it is two years later! The beautiful scenery is gone. The cities and the adorable thatched roofed towns, the lush reflecting pools - are all gone. The landscape has gone through a tragedy of war known as “The Searing”. When you start in Ascalon, you are asked if you want to go through the Academy. Very different than the ‘academy’ in DAoC. Then a cut-scene appears showing the Charr army calling down what appears to be meteors, which destroy Ascalon. Because of the Searing and the way that the graphics are lackluster following it are why I can’t give this game the coveted perfect 10.

After this, you cannot return to the former version of the game. That’s the “post-Searing” era. The city has been destroyed and you now have a barren land to defend in the name of the king. Gameplay becomes more frenetic, monsters attack more frequently and become more aggressive. Lower level players have a hard time connecting with a party to play with. You need to level up as much as possible at least to level 7 or 8, in the pre-Searing world before you leave for the war. Many players discover this and go back and recreate a new character when they realize that the beginning was actually something of a tutorial. I went that route too.

This is a tremendous MMORPG, most likely the best one to date. It is a game that had to have been created by gamers. Many of the common complaints in MMORPG gaming have been corrected in this title. It is challenging as well as logical and easy to play. There are plenty of skills, spells, weapons and armor to satisfy gaming greed. The learning curve was quick. Getting into the game was almost as seamless as with a console game. I can’t stop playing it. I have to give Guild Wars a 9.8, my highest rated game so far.

G-V Replay Factor (Replayability): Excellent, there is plenty of variety and since it is a new game expansions are sure to come.
Girls Point of View (Graphics): Excellent, graphics are top of the line. Costumes coverup as well as being a sexy look.
Girl Power (Are girls going to want to play it?): This could be the top MMORPG for female gamers. The fem characters are powerful, and there are lots of women playing it.
Purse (Value for money): US $49.99 No monthly fees.

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