Guild Wars: My Review

Shinami

Guild Wars is a game released by ArenaNet, a subsidiary of NCSOFT, composed of many ex-blizzard employees.

The game is divided into two forms.

Roleplaying which gives you access to everything and PvP, which is a watered down Player vs Player creation with characters starting at level 20, having access to all skills unlocked in the roleplaying game. You are given 4 character slots.

The following is a breakdown of its components along with ratings. The way I rate things is that all components start at 0. A positive or negative modifier is applied depending on logical fact and my feelings towards it to combine the best of both worlds. This system has always helped me judge things to the bst of my abilities. -10 is the worse score, +10 is the best score.

-10 = sheer hatred, I would actually spend time forming groups against this aspect alone.
-7 = Hatred. I would actually spend my time doing something against this, however not enough to forfeit 40 hours a week to do so
-5 = Dislike: I may hate it, but it wont stop me from playing the game, but its dangerously close.
-3 = Unfavorability: Its a bad point, but not bad enough to ruin things for me
-1 = slight unfavorability. Just a slight negative view shfting in that direction, make me a little more critical and cautious
0 = Neutral, nothing wrong, but nothing really new
+1 = slight favorability: Its a good point, but not enough to impress, makes me more calm and happy. Nice to have but doesnt make the game.
+3 = Favorability: I like this point and it seems that its something to look out for. One good point doesnt make a game, but this one is enough to simply try
+5 = Devotion: This point is a reason to buy this game alone. It can also make the game.
+7 = Love: This point is so strong, and so good, that I actually would spent time figuring out how they came up with this. I would program and analize myself to see what is behind this
+10 = Extreme love: Not only will I spend my time congratulating people on this point, but I would try to see how far I can expand it. I would learn the engine itself to show appreciation and totaly devote myself to modding, improving and understanding concepts.

Graphics: +7

The graphics are completely original and different than other games I have seen. It is the only directX9c game where never I have complained about graphics. If you are a gamer like me, bad graphics can really get in the way of things. This game really delivers in the graphic area. The graphics get better as the game goes on and they don't change to the point it seems like you are playing another game. They are also smooth and the characters are part of the world and not cutouts of the world.

A great job was done in this game in every area I saw. Even the beginning, looking basic, was done exceptionally well. The Deserts, Forests and Snowy/Ice areas are excellent. The game gains more detail as time passes by.

Structure and Configuration: +9

Im in love with this kind of configuration. The game is three files. Gw.DAT which has all information to the game so the system accesses that one file, making loading times very very fast. Five to ten seconds is all it takes from opening guild wars to entering the game. You have the GW.EXE as well as the GW.tmp

Because the game data is in the .DAT file, it accesses that one file, saving clusters and being far more efficient Its amazing. Also if the .DAT file corrupts, the game client will rebuild it for you. You also get a folder for screenshots.

This highly efficient system makes it so that all hardware optimizations work a lot better in games. The people at Arenanet/NCSOFT truly knew what they were doing.

Interface: +3

While at first it seemed like a basic roleplaying game interface, this one comes with a guide on the bottom left, which shows the shortcuts for everything. The menus are clear and you can also resize some of them. As far as keyboard goes. I like moving with the mouse, but you can move using WASD as well. Moving backwards helps if you are a ranger and want to shoot arrows while drawing back and seeing targets. Be careful not to get used to the mouse so much that you only play with it as it is possible to completely play the game on a mouse only while typing with the keyboard only. You will need to know the keyboard by the time you reach the last 8 missions to save time.

Character Development: +7

The story allows characters to reach level 20 instantly through ascention (correct me if this is true), The game also allows infused armor through quests to have a better chance of surviving in the end. The whole game centers around character development. You develop your character through skills, armor, attributes, Runes and Experience. By experience, I mean, you can't just reach level 20 and expect to be better than everyone else. A level 10 character may be better than you through experience.

Anti-Cheat initiative: +10 (There are only three other games in existence where I had ever given a +10)

This game completely eliminates the "Money makes power" concept in many RPGs. Going to www.ige.com and buying money will not make you a better player. Buying Items from IGE won't help you unless you are good enough to equip them. Because you and your party are given the entire map for themselves, you will not see one bot ever in that game. Since the game is in a .DAT file for the entire game, its easy to shield using anti cheat devices. The game itself also warns you on things you can do for people to get your information without you noticing and the game gets patched frequently. If you see a bot, its very easy to report one.

What this means in short is that IGE is completely stopped in its tracks. You are only as good as your experience with the game itself, its characters and equipment. The best armor in the game is 1500 while the 15000 armor is the same as the 1500 armor only there for looks. Also you need materials for crafting the armors so money isnt the only thing needed here.

Story: +5

I like the story. Although its typical, there is so much told through cinematic scenes and visuals that it all comes together well. The story takes a change when you reach the desert and changes into a more stereotypical one for that section of the game. It becomes your "Seek out ancient knowledge by passing trials to become more human" type story in the desert. There are plot twists and the story does change a bit, but keeps it all in context at the same time. I would have rated it lower if it were not for presentation. Presentation, originality of races and involvement is what had me give it its rating. If none of those elements were included, I would have given it a 0 to +1. The +1 would come from the reasoning that everyone likes the "be the heroes, crush the heroes and save the world" specially in these graphics. Not just that, in MMORPGs you take quests, this one has quests, missions as well as a beginning and ending too. Most MMORPGs don't really have an ending and the game goes forever. NCSOFT has put this genre as CORPG for CoOperative RolePlaying Game.

Another reason this game gets a +5 is because of the fact you explore 2 worlds. I like going through The breach and saying "Hmmm two years ago, this place was called Green county" I loved how you had one world and started peacefuly at the calm before the storm and then got thrown into the world two years later where the game truly begins. Time changed places in the game and the only other games I have played where parts of a world change is Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 10 (Old Zanarkand vs the one you travel to), Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy Legend 3.

Voice acting: - 5

The voice acting started normal. The only decent voice was the Male Voice and Female voice which are used depending on the gender of the character leading the party. From there it goes downhill. Just when you reach a new and beautiful area, in comes worse voice acting. These people bring voice acting to an all new low.

Once you get to the desert it gets really really bad. To the point that it reminds you that you are in a PC game and it kills the immersion. If you thought Rurik's voice was bad, just wait until you hear the voice of the Ghostly Hero. Just when you think it can't get any worse, you go through an area called Dragon's Lair and at the end encounter a Super Dragon....VERY fearful, the kind of fear that would make a cat's fur coat seperate from its body and run away....all of it to be ruined by the voice of an OLD HAG. I swear, the one who did the dragon must have been 70 years old or something. Her voice was terrible. I know that the older a dragon, the more powerful it becomes, but man.....this was the worse voice to put on a dragon.

Then you reach the seer and the voice seems the same as the dragon's only going through a lot of filtering. On top of it all, the some of the women in the game, they make their voices seem foreign, by giving them American stereotypes of how Russians would sound speaking English. Not that I don't mind the voice. In fact I like the voice. Think the voice used in Metal Gear Solid for the Russian Weapons Expert and its the same style of voice. Same voice style used for Sniper Wolf as well. Its just that, I felt I was in a russian movie in some cut scenes with the girls that help you out. However they give you the "Im a male/female character being a tourist around the world" which is literaly true, so its kind of funny.

Concept + 4

While the idea of guilds have been done before in games, the idea that you can do PvP and be based on what you do, more than who is in highest levels hasnt really been implemented much. At one point everyone reaches level 20, so through skills, experience, etc....players fight on the most even playing field in PvP. This is more than what I can say in other games, where you are either outnumbered and killed by a mob of players or you are killed by a player who is 20 levels higher than you.

I never liked killing players who were 10 levels to 30 levels lower than me, or even 5 levels lower than me in other games. In fact over half my PvP kills in other games came from me killing players who were much lower who wanted to kill me. Regardless their attitude, that wasnt fair. This game I do not feel guilty PvPing because every player in PvP I fight against will be capable of fighting me on an even playing field, that stretches out on the account of how much time and energy I have put towards my character and not my difference in level.

Optimizations: + 5:

This game truly takes advantage of ATI cards compression technology. ATI cards like the X800 series has a new compression technology. This was the only reason DirectX9c had to be made. Guild wars uses directX9c for that technology and it helps everyone out. I tested the game on Nvidia cards as well and the game functions well too. In fact the difference was only really in the loading time and some renderings. However both sets of cards allow you for maximun visual quality, while ATI X800 series cards only allow for better compression. Having 3 files function for a game makes the game only need to access one file to get at anything, though one file may have 1000 packed in there, still it saves disk clusters and makes things more efficient making it so there is no fragmentation possible because its one big file accessed which access a lot of subfiles within.

When you play Guild Wars, You can see the difference.

Music +2

There isnt enough. Everything I have heard is nice and good, but this game is in serious need of more music.

Bottom Line:

If you want to try something new, go ahead and pick up Guild Wars. Be prepared for some bad voice acting in the game. Due to the game being new and not mainstream you will either Love it or Hate it. The best thing about it all is that there are no online fees. If you are a person who plays many games like myself who enters first person shooters. You can simply pick this game up. Play for an hour. Put it down. Enter your favorite games, and then come back to Guild Wars at any time. You will always have your characters. The fact you can teleport to any town, outpost or mission you have been to at anytime, makes you not waste time traveling the world to get anywhere.

I believe wether you like it or not, the game is a very solid game, that just started and will be expanded upon later. You can do a lot, even with little time.

My names in Guild Wars are Myang Kazarie and Shinami Kazarie. Myang being my primary character. If you wish to look me up, send me a private message there and I'll be happy to help you.

The game is different than MMORPG, however another game that fits into the same category of games that Guild Wars is part of is Phantasy Star Online. Both are two of my favorite games. They have their faults, but they also have a lot of potential and support

Tell me what you think. I would like to hear from you.

neoshaman

Really good review that you made there, although I sort of disagree with the voice acting, I actually liked most of the voices in the game and thought they did a pretty good job with them (your right on the Rurik voice though, heh). But your point on the music is spot on, the music is decent but there needs to be more of it, ah well, beggers can't be choosers.

Overall, great review.

_myko

agree pretty much 100% on the review. The technical aspects of GW are undoubtably it's strongest area, coming from eve online where patches usually involved half a day of downtime and weeks of problems the streaming updates and almost 0% downtime is amazing. The only thing i'd like is some way to reform groups either in instanced zones or between tombs/HoH (or automatic henchman replacements).

Shinami

Thanks.

I try. I am very serious about reviews that come in games. I try delving deep into the technology behind games. I am very critical about any game, specially the ones I am currently playing as they are taking my time.

Not just games. Technology as well.

I use a Zboard and Diamondback Razerback for gaming. Regardless how good they are. The fact remains the Zboard only benefits a gamer (because it was made for gaming) and is a lot better for First Person Shooter gamers. The Diamondback razerback, while I love it, I know that Razer has had issues with its drivers in the past.

For this reason I can't give them 100% for a product review.

The one thing I really like about Guild Wars is the same thing I like about Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst.

The fact that once you form a party, the server is all there to yourself or map is all there for yourself makes it so you can avoid all the botters and cheaters that appear in these games. Allowing you to be happy and play together. This is one thing that did it for me. Not having to say "Im sorry, am I stealing your hunting ground?" and then look five minutes for one, while then worry while I am weak from fighting monsters, getting playerkilled. This game completely allows you to get in the game in under 10 seconds and go with the flow without any hassle or dirty tricks.

I also like the fast healing in Guild Wars. Most games unless you have a healer, you sit down for 1 - 5 minutes recovering HP, in 10 - 20 seconds you have all your HP in guild wars recovered. Most MMORPGs have at least one type of bot problem which is enough to change the economy.

JelloB2000

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Originally posted by Shinami
(...)
Music +2There isnt enough. Everything I have heard is nice and good, but this game is in serious need of more music.
(...)

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Gotta agree with this one, needs more music. Also the worst voice-acting I have heard so far are the dwarves (there accent makes NO SENSE at all). Also you can customize the interface (move windows & such).

Also whats your take on the system with unlocking runes & weapon upgrades to be used with/for PvP characters? (Only thing I could think of that was missing in review).

Shinami

Ok this is where I have mixed feeling about.

I like the runes and all.

The game itself has runes for everything. Everything over a minor rune drains between 50 and 75hp from you. basically you getting a 2 - 3 increase attribute level for -50 to -75HP.

Also the same runes dont stack. A minor rune of fire, will not stack with a major rune of fire, giving you +3 combined. Only the major rune will work.

Ok....

The runes introduce a new PvP element because there are runes to decrease damage and increase health. The Superior runes are intended for specialized characters. I myself am a swordsman, my skillbar is filled with sword techniques and has 1 ranger skill. It makes sense to have 16 Swordsmanship like I do.

I think people would get frustrated if they added 5 superior runes and lost 375 hp.

I think they are a great help if you know what you are doing since minor runes have no penalties.

I dont mind using the identification kit and then the expert salvage kit. That seems normal. There is a fail rate to extract the rune though and it annoys me. However this is emotional and I knew it was intended to have a slight fail rate.

Now its ok.... However..

I wish the armors had a lot more on them when you identify them so you can actually "Upgrade" weapons and armors like they actually say. I wish for something more than just Runes. I wish that you can in the same way that you use an expert salvage tool on armors, use them on weapons to get weapon upgrades as well.

Also, I wish there could be more customization options than just +20% Damage.

Know what I mean?

Damage +20% from a weapon means nothing to a spellcaster when they rely on skills. How about fire spell damage +20%? Like choose an element or something.

I wish the weapons elementals use can be directly tied to their skills. A warrior's weapons are tied to their skills. It would be nice if say, an Elementalist with a fire staff can cast a fire spell and do a little more damage, than say 2 elementalist trained in fire level 10, one holding a fire staff and another holding a water staff doing the same damage even though one of them is holding the weapon they are supposed to and the other is holding the weapon of oposite elements.

I dont mean a "Must have 7 fire magic to use" I mean a "If I am casting a fire spell, my fire weapon will amplify the damage by say 5 - 20% from the spell if equipped.

Weapons related to melee classes are great, but the reason a spellcaster carries a weapon is to amplify their magical abilities in any game.

In fact I get really mad when I am at a party and a spellcaster starts using their staffs acting like warriors, I say

"Spellcasters can't tank, get out of there...."

They get mad at me and tell me a few 4 letter words, but the truth of the matter is that spellcasters are meant for damage dealing and support. We all love their big spells and Healing abilities, but truth be told, warriors and melee types are the ones who exist to deal out and resist physical damage.

I just dont want to see a spellcaster die becase if he or she dies, Im next...Also I play as warrior/ranger. Its my job to tank damage and protect the spellcasters using myself as the shield

_myko

Sometimes a spellcaster needs to get in close (for stuff like ward against melee) but i agree, there is no need for a caster to melee attack. Some more customisation options would be nice, at the moment the weapons npc's must be the least used npc traders in game.

The whole rune thing is a bit of a mess really. Relying on random drops as the only source of runes is a bad idea IMO, it only encourages farming and isn't really linked to how good a player you are. I'd rather see them also available as quest rewards or as collector rewards. Looking back now, i wish i'd known how much they were worth rather than selling the odd major rune to the merchant for 25gp

neoshaman

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Originally posted by _myko
Sometimes a spellcaster needs to get in close (for stuff like ward against melee) but i agree, there is no need for a caster to melee attack.

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Guess you never saw a monk tank better than a warrior than. A smiter monk with Shield of Judgement and Belthazars Aura can turn a weak looking monk into a scary tank. It really messed up our tombs team since we ran after the monk first to kill it, when instead they had an El/M healing them with a R/N providing back up heals with healing spring. I guess you can tell who won that match.

I guess it can tie into the fact that no class is overpowered in the game and that no matter what strategy someone may come up with, their is always a way to counter it.

Shinami

What you speak of, regarding monks, while true.....Its the same as manipulating your character to be something it is not. It is great in emergencies when you are warriorless, but if it becomes extreme, it is better to simply start a new character as a warrior

Warriors from the start become tanks simply from wearing armor, using skills and having shields, yet fall easily to magic. They don't need to be manipulated

This was my point. There are exceptions to all, but the natural forms tend to remain constant.

Most of the time one changes a character to another, you make a sacrifice. Your monk, can it heal better than a monk who doesnt smite? If so, no claims are made. However chances are it sacrificed healing in order to become a tank. In other words that monk just became more of a warrior and less of a monk.

Still a good idea to try since I have a superior rune of Smiting in my vault.

_myko

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Originally posted by neoshaman
Originally posted by _myko
Sometimes a spellcaster needs to get in close (for stuff like ward against melee) but i agree, there is no need for a caster to melee attack.

Guess you never saw a monk tank better than a warrior than. A smiter monk with Shield of Judgement and Belthazars Aura can turn a weak looking monk into a scary tank. It really messed up our tombs team since we ran after the monk first to kill it, when instead they had an El/M healing them with a R/N providing back up heals with healing spring. I guess you can tell who won that match.

I guess it can tie into the fact that no class is overpowered in the game and that no matter what strategy someone may come up with, their is always a way to counter it.

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I know full well the power of balhazar's aura and shield of judgement (i used a smiter E/Mo for a bit), but they can be cast on other warriors in the team who have bonuses in melee - a W/Mo using those kind of tactics is fair enough, but the lack of armour on a Mo/? makes it 'unwise' in my opinion. Note that we're talking about primary casters here, secondaries are a completely different matter.

And E/Mo's should really be targeted as quickly as Mo/?'s, they make superb spike healers with huge amounts of energy (again, i've played that build too )

Shinami

Currently I have 2 characters. I am trying to get Flourish for my Warrior, but the problem is that everytime I go into the Mineral Springs, the warrior boss is the one deepest, every character only cares about their skill and half of them leave once they get their skill. I spent six hours in five parties trying to get that skill and most of the time we would get to them all except warrior. Hopefuly I will get it one day

Flourish: If you have a sword equipped, All your attack skills recharge and you get 1-6 points of energy/per skill recharged.

After I am done getting elite skills with my Warrior/Ranger, I am continuing to get items for a Elementalist/Mesmer I have After I do that, I get to do Monk/(Whatever)

If you still have your monk, I have a Superior Rune of Smiting I am trying to sell.

Well take care.

_myko

Take henchmen, they don't log off. I'd be happy to help out, IGN John Little. The mineral springs run is pretty decent for getting cash (damn celestial sigils...).