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For 2006, Guild Wars gets my “Top MMORPG” mark for the second time. Arena Net has taken great pains to help keep their games from having a “slimy” community. Guild Wars still gets my highest marks for a “safer” environment from verbal abuse than several of the other games that I play for reviews. Although that isn’t saying much anymore.
Guild Wars has released two more “chapters” or expansions to the territories of its “world” since it came out in 2005. (You can see reviews of both of those two games right here at WomenGamers.) The original game is now known as Guild Wars: Prophecies. If I were new to the series I would start there. However I might skip the second volume which is called Guild Wars: Factions.
Like the second day of a new job where a little knowledge can be dangerous, the second installment of the Guild Wars MMORPG saga called Factions suffered from some awkwardness. This is not so with the latest expansion pack in the series called Guild Wars: Nightfall. Three times makes the charm for the Guild Wars franchise. The latest offering can once again be bought separately and enjoyed as a stand alone game, or be used as it is intended as an expansion pack to enlarge the already vast world of Guild Wars.
First Impressions:
Once again the box art for Guild Wars is beautiful, and the inner packaging has been upgraded to a plastic case instead of the cardboard. The quick reference guide has been enlarged and it is easier to see and use. The games are accompanied by a large manual that is done all in lush full color printing. When you crack open a box from Guild Wars you know that you are getting something quality, where time and effort has been attended to on every detail.
The installation was a very simple matter of inserting three disks. I had it up and running in under an hour. If you are new to MMO’s then that won’t mean much to you, but if you are an experienced player then you know just how pleasant it is not to have to twiddle your thumbs for four hours while setups and installations have to be performed.
When you begin the game you are told to select a primary profession, as well as designating the gender, and looks of your character. You can select the hair color and style, the face, the skin tone and lip color. All the characters of the beginner rank in your chosen profession start out in the same costume or “armor.” Later in the game the range of colors and options is a rainbow of choices. Playing “dress up” and dancing are two things that Guild Wars is well-known for.
This time I decided to stick to my favorite type of character to have the power to get as far into the game as I possibly could. Yes, as far back as the old Advanced Dungeons and Dragons on the Sega Genesis I’ve been a “caster” or a sorceress type of gamer. In Guild Wars she is called an Elementalist. This is the type of character than can deal damage from a distance rather than getting her hands dirty or breaking a nail from wielding cumbersome weaponry. With an armament of blasting spells at the ready this kind of profession makes a character who can send damaging fire balls, crisping lightening bolts or other baneful elements at the enemies. The Elementalist has choices of Fire, Earth, Air and Water at her disposal to thwart attacking monsters. In the game you can also select from an ever widening array of professions to choose from such as a Warrior, Monk, Ranger, Mesmer, Necromancer. The Ritualist and the Assassin professions were added on in the Factions edition of the game.
With Nightfall two more original professions were added. The new Dervishes are scythe-wielding holy warriors who can attack multiple enemies at once. The Dervish can cast spells on themselves uninterrupted by their enemies. They have the power to unleash a devastating, whirling, scythe attack. They also have a variety of combat related enchantments and inherent health and protection abilities. They remind me of legendary crusaders from a variety of mythos. They can also channel divine powers and temporarily change their form by transforming into a physical embodiment of a god. The other new kind of character is called a Paragon. There’s a pretentious title for you. These aren’t meant to be a front-line fighter either. Instead, the paragon is best suited in a support role as a battle commander. The paragons can change and take on an angelic nature, they also resist hexes and other curses.
Every profession has its own strengths and characteristics, it could be a weapon or magic specialty. Then there is a unique set of skills with which to deal damage, manipulate the enemy and environment, or protection and healing allies. Each profession provides a set of attributes which determines the effectiveness of weapons and skills in battle.
Graphics:
The graphics have again been overhauled for Nightfall. The Paragon’s armor is gilded with ivory colors and mother of pearl inlays. Wings pop out of them. The Dervish dance can be highlighted with a disco mirror ball. Everything in Guild Wars is over-the-top. From the sleek little game manual to the three fold quick reference guide. In the game the gorgeous visuals continue to be awe inspiring.
The graphics are full of color and life and immediately immerse you in a believable world. The graphics are sharp and photo realistic. It is not cartoonish like World of Warcraft, Everquest, and City of Heroes. This is perhaps the best artwork in fantasy video games today.
There are trees, flowers and grassy plains that seem endless. Each bit of vegetation, is placed as though it was meant to be there. The fauna changes with the area that it is in. If it is a sandy desert then you’ll find spiny plants and if there is a beach, there are appropriate trees. The water looks amazing and you can see fish, sharks and other things swimming in it. This is a game that you can just wander about and enjoy the other worldly scenery as an alternative to the gray winter skies of new england, or where ever you are, out the window.
Up in the skies there are moving clouds and as time elapses the landscapes are lit with pretty twilight color effects. There is a subtext of tolerance in this game that has distilled the best of the old world into a new world as a reminder that political divisiveness in our reality will also one day pass into history leaving the goodness of art, and culture behind. I have to give the designers a tip of the hat here for boldly using Middle Eastern inspired costumes, landscapes and music. The drum beats of the music remind us of the origins of the danse baladie, or “belly dance”. At one time the fertile crescent was the cradle of human civilization where the bazars were the forerunners of today’s malls and marketplaces. It reminds us where “I Dream of Jeanie” and “Aladdin” came from. More importantly the birthplace of Arabic numbers, mathematics, and astronomy came from this war torn area of the real world.
The costumes in Nightfall are outrageously gorgeous. There are the angelic looking Paragons, the stalwart white armored Warriors and spearmen. The costumes for the female character are sparkling and diaphanous. How they got the skirt of the Elementalist to look transparent as though it were made of pure lightening is beyond me, but it looks amazing. These are some of the best costume designs that I’ve seen anyplace, except perhaps in Lineage 2 which is a game of another stripe entirely.
Sound/Music:
This time the haunting tones have an aura of anticipation. Tribal drums tap out a pensive beat that a provocative dance can be performed to. The synthesizersound effects once again are a variety of birds, and the sound of the ebb and flow of waves. The music and sound are perhaps the second half of the immersion equation. With the excellent unparalleled graphics and the fantastic musical score. It isn’t hard to drift off into an other worldly mood. The Guild Wars music by Jeremy Soule can also be downloaded or purchased separately on CD or from http://www.directsong.com/ evokes a deep mood of suspense. The
Gameplay:
Gameplay in most MMORPG’s has to do with similar tasks. You need to develop the power of your character by killing off inferior enemies and gain in skill, that’s called “leveling up.” You receive training through missions, and then you advance along in the story line by completing quests. Your time is consumed by not only wielding weapons and spells, but also by outfitting your characters with more advanced weapons and armor. At times you are asked to retrieve items, or rescue missing persons. This is all in a night’s work in Nightfall.
One thing that I had always wished for in the two previous chapters of Guild Wars, was a way to customize and command the “henchies.” In the towns instead of grouping with human players you can pick from a representative group of NPC’s to play with like pawns in a chess game. There were often complaints about how these dummy characters were often a hinderance to gameplay rather than a help. They would “aggro” or aggravate enemies who you might wish to slip by unseen. Sometimes they would follow your character too closely into a blind spot and you’d find yourself stuck in a wall, hemmed in by your over zealous helpers.
Now when you are advancing through the game’s storyline, you can recruit not only henchmen, but long-term allies commonly known as “heroes”. This was a great idea. Heroes typically join your party as part of a quest or the rewards for a quest. What is different is that
a hero gains experience and levels, just as your own character does.
Your hero’s actions are guided by you. You can improve a heroes’ weapons, shield, and items. Each hero has a default set of skills, but you can change those skills while in a town or outpost. You can also adapt the hero’s secondary profession. You can give your heroes orders and tell them where to go and who to attack or guard. The addition enriches that gameplay for soloing in the game. It gives a more satisfying and hands on feel to the formation of a “party” which is the group that you go on your adventures with. Now there are more options and choices.
The bulk of the Guild Wars games take place outside of the towns in what is called “instanced” play. That means instead of roaming the entire virtual world with millions of other players, you choose who you want to align with on a temporary or permanent basis. Then when you leave the towns and outposts, it is up to your party to survive and conquer what ever is in the environment that you are exploring together.
If you get killed your character can be revived by another member of your party with a small deduction for death damages. Or if all of your party perishes you will be returned to the nearest town or point of reincarnation.
How you do in the game depends on how well you use the skills that you have earned. There are hundreds of skills in this game. Once again you are only allowed to bring eight of these with you when you leave the safety of the town. Attack skills inflict damage with your profession’s weapons. Your character needs to be proficient with weapons in order to use the skills such as an Axe Attack, Hammer Attack, Bow Attack, or Sword Attack.
Attacks can be more complicated as in the case of Assassins who use a complex skill set such as Lead Attacks, Off-Hand Attacks, and Dual Attacks. These require a dagger and form a combo chain of attacks. The new Dervish uses the Scythe Attack, so of course your character must be a Dervish equipped with the scythe to use one of these skills in Nightfall. The same goes for the Spear Attack of the Paragon who has to be equipped with a spear to use one of these skills too.
In addition to normal attacks, spells and curses there are another range of damage dealing effects in the game. Chants, Shouts, Echos, Transform, Glyphs, Traps and even Pet Attacks can be used to perform a focused, specialized attack. Rituals have been called “Summoning” in other games and a Ritual skill creates a Spirit, or a ghostly incarnation that has a magical effect on nearby allies or enemies.
Enjoyment:
In the past I have played the previous two installments of Guild Wars largely alone or with random groups. This proved to be less fun than it could be. This time I sought out the assistance of a well recommended Guild. This time the game is twice as much fun when I was able to play through it with people that are mature and know what they are doing.
Guild Wars is still a very fun game. It was a pleasure to see it improved so much after the claustrophobic Guild Wars: Factions. There is a great variety of things to do and characters to play as. You can play however you like to, solo, with groups or a guild. You can even enter the arenas in the game and engage in playing against other human players in a show down called PvP or player vs player which is popular, and is almost another entire game in itself.
Overall Impression:
Guild Wars: Nightfall is the elite MMORPG of the moment. It is fun, and easy enough for beginners, as well as complex enough for the hardcore MMORPG gamers. I give it a well deserved 9 out of 10.
Marketing Efforts Towards Women:
Guild Wars unfortunately is no longer “straddling” the line between over-sexed female characters and those that are are covered up as would be appropriate to their profession. The Elementalist in Nightfall jiggles provocatively and in addition to the open cleavage the thin little scarf she is wearing for a top covers very little of her anatomy. Ok maybe it is hot where she is from…? But still it is an unfortunate departure for the franchise. Perhaps the third volume in the series was thought to need to be spiced up a notch to promote sales. However the promiscuous outfits are no favor to women playing the game.
Unfortunately in Guild Wars: Nightfall, even more women are reporting harassment and abuse than before. There is no reason for anyone, be it women, children or older adults to be exposed to personal attacks of “trash talking”. The behavior originally became common from teenaged boys that played the first person shooters on consoles. Unchecked that unacceptable attitude has grown to become what male gamers think “comes with the territory”. The world of MMO’s is not a gym locker room. Beyond the verbal assaults, this has escalated to sexual innuendo, requests for sexual acts, and nude photographs of body parts “to prove you are a real girl”. This never should be an acceptable behavior.
Imagine for a moment that your own 64 year old grandfather, or your fourteen year old little sister is playing behind that avatar before you speak guys. Verbal abuse is intolerable and the Guild Wars staff does a good job of policing their games along with the help of actual regional law enforcement. Trash talking and online verbal abuse is ultimately going to be the next target for the political vehicle to focus their unwanted attention in video gaming. You know who you are, and you will have no one to blame but yourselves when they do.
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