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Guild Wars: Expansion Review - Eye of the North
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
We're sorry it's coming so late, but Jeremy Star has just completed his review of the only true expansion for the Guild Wars franchise, "Eye of the North".
Guild Wars is back, but this time with a different concept. Instead of a whole new campaign, we are being served with a good old-fashioned expansion this time around (good being a subjective term). Unlike all the other Guild Wars releases (Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall), this one requires that you own at least one other Guild Wars game to play it. Also, you'll need to have at least one max level character in order to enjoy Guild Wars Eye of the North (or GWEN, for short).
What's New?
Honestly? Not much. GWEN ships with a little over 150 new skills, which breaks down to about 10 new skills per class plus some shared skills. It also features 40 new armor sets and 10 new heroes. There are, of course, new weapons and items, but – like the 40 new armor sets – they are all mostly cosmetic upgrades.
The biggest addition to GWEN is the Hall of Monuments. It serves as a tribute to your existing characters and a bridge to the forthcoming Guild Wars 2. You can add in achievements, armor, and weapons that are supposed to net your GW2 character some benefits.
;)
Read the whole review here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
But if you look for teamplay and community, you better look somewhere else- GW is the paradise for solo gaming ppl.
I haven't picked it up, yet... I have to get through the other campaigns first (I'm one of those people who will force themself to do things "in order" :-p).
I do get the same general vibe from people in my guild/ally who are playing GWEN (does anyone else think that could be the name of a task force or something? G. W. E. N.). It's pretty good, nothing spectacular, the storyline is okay and you can get through it quickly. So while I can't really opine on it, the reviewer does seem to at least tap into a common consensus about it - although in a slightly more cynical tone.
As for the community not being helpful - welcome to the same thing that plagues any game promoting, or at least allowing, solo play. Except in very few cases, people simply don't need help. In fact, I've seen what I think to be a rather nasty behavior out of it - people are actually cashing in on those parts that require help. Like, self-described "gate monkeys" charging 50g in Pre-Searing Ascalon to go and open the gate to the Northlands. Or, charging money for the "Adventure With An Ally" quest. Or, charging money to run people to other outposts/towns. The soloability of the game has not only reduced the sense of helpfulness in the community, they've turned it into a greed-induced money-making franchise. It epitomizes the "me, me, me" mentality of so many MMO gamers. They don't want to help with anything unless they are personally rewarded for it.
Another example of how greed has played into it. For the Christmas event, I literally saw several people camping each spawn point for the presents around town, then bickering at each other when someone got it before someone else. 'tis The Season, eh?
Good thing you don't need to rely on those people, just need to find a decent guild with at least a few members who are actually helpful.
Hopefully they'll improve on this in GW2.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
The review is inaccurate - you don't have to be max level 20 to play GW:EN - level 10 is sufficient.
/sarcasm
Oh and thank you for telling those of us who haven't bought it yet about the Charr being misunderstood.
/endsarcasm
Man this review sucks big time.
GW:EN is great. I don´t know any other review and any GW Player with another opinion. Please don`t trust this bad review. It just sucks.
Playing: Guild Wars, Runes of Magic
Waiting: Guild Wars 2
Originally, it was level 20; the level 10 thing is a recent development.
GWEN isn't my favorite offering from Guild Wars, but it's entertaining enough to be worth the money, I think.
A full length, covers-all-the-bases, honest review vs "It just sucks" ....
hmmm, What Would Chuck Norris Do?
Agent_X7 AKA J Star
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Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com or its management.
I really think the GW series missed the mark by basically pulling a Blizzard and letting Asshats run the community, I know for a fact this won't be the case as far as WAR goes...but I never was a fan of that setting. GW2 sadly will be no different.
My last GW purchase was factions......I don't see anything coming from AN that makes me regret that decision.
From what I understand the lvl 10 deal is only during the free trial.
Ok lets not get carried away and start comparing GW2 to WAR yet. GW2 is not even being promoted yet. Some might conisder EOTN to be a GW2 promotion but really it's not. The characters and the environment are going to be completely different than what Guild Wars is now. The best thing is to wait until we see new pics,concept art, videos of GW2 before we start making comparisons to other games.
GWEN is well done. Guild Wars has always been my backup MMO. It's got no monthly so you can play it when you feel like it.
The community is totally pathetic. GW to me is more of a solo RPG. Heros are great. Makes soloing fun until you get to the missions your NPC are terrible in. Those spots are so damn annoying. Trying to team with random people is even more annoying. Theres been countless times people just go afk in mission, or just quit when the mission gets tough. I HATE GW community and refuse to team with strangers who will most likely just waiste your time playing likemorons.
Heroes at least stick with you to the end and follow your target. It's great addition being able to equip and skill your npc. You can even trigger a skill when needed and move their positions.
Not all that much for loot. The end game item reward models are lame.
All in all worth the purchase. Beautifull landscapes. Lag free in combat zones. Fun solo or if your lucky enough to have real life friends who play. Then GW shines. It's a shame how horrid GW community has always been. I would say it's worse then Wows community. Infact I would vote it as worst mmo community ever.
Don't let those tards spoil a well done game. I turn off local and it's like they are never even there. My only connection to the community is buy or sell things. Thats it.
SHOHADAKU
Factions overall is the weakest Campaign of GW. So don`t take it as a mark. Perhaps you should go and buy Nightfall or/and GW:EN and see what you´re missing.
But different people have different taste. So as every Game Guild Wars is not for everyone. But for me it`s with a big space between it and the others the best MMORPG out there. And i tried much of them... So if anyone likes MMORPGs, he should try GW.
@GW Community Haters: Perhaps you should all look at your own behaviour and habits. I know many great people in Guild Wars and have a nice guild and alliance. And i even had great public companions. Sure there are kids and lamers. But they are everywhere. And Guild Wars is free and user friendly, so there are many non-gamers playing this game. Housewifes, girlies, pupils and so on. I never played any game with so much different players. So there are pros and noobs, nice and bad people, good and bad players. So perhaps you should be nice, communicative and helpful. Go get a good guild and alliance!
Playing: Guild Wars, Runes of Magic
Waiting: Guild Wars 2
I tried out the original GW once, and it was the most rude, immature crowd of people I had ever met. Trash talk, l33t speech, sexism, racism... and endless series of sociopaths and morons. And not a single GM to look into it. I learned its the downside of F2P games, and ALL of them I tried were either terrible games (Asian F2P) or terrible community or BOTH.
As the saying goes "thereisnosuchthingasfreelunch". All has a price, either a monthly fee or by your nerves.
I prefer a well run monthy pay game ANY DAY. At least it keeps away *some* portion of freeloader aggro kids. ><
Besides a game which is ENTIRELY instanced doesnt really deserve to be called MMO anyway. I mean, GW has great graphics and some good ideas, but thats basically it.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Two main problems I had with the review:
1. The author doesn't talk about the new mini-games like Polymock or the Norn Tournament or Dwarven Boxing. I personally love these games and seeing the number of people walking around with high Asuran or Deldrimor prestige titles, I'm guessing I'm far from alone.
2. Guild Wars does have a large problem child community, but it remains one of the easiest games to meet up and adventure with friends from all over the world. That's why I take umbrage with the idea that the game has nothing to offer social-minded players. Thanks to the instant travel system and no sharded servers, I can meet up with a friend playing in Australia or Japan faster than I can meet up with a buddy across town in WOW. Eye of the North also adds plenty of new dungeons that make it even easier to just get together with friends and go dungeon diving for an hour or two.
I do agree that GWEN is a bit too over-the-top in pushing GW 2. That being said, I've had loads of fun with the entire franchise (including GWEN) and still see it as the game I always come back to when I need a break from more time intensive MMOs. If you liked any of the original 3 chapters, GWEN is worth picking up.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
Was this a joke?
Its an expansion and one of his main points were the graphics look average now? What did he expect? DX10 graphics from a 3 year old game???
Sorry fail
Yeah, this was pretty much the worst review I have ever read. GWEN isn't perfect, but it is well worth the $40 and I am not even a "HARD Core" fan. I am still playing it and I preordered it. There's nothing wrong with NcSoft wanting their loyal players to be able to make some use of the time they spent in the GW campaigns through the hall of monuments. It is clear that the reviewer is not a fan of GW, as much as he tried to say the contrary. GWEN kicks a$$. End of story. Landscapes kick a$$, armor and weapons graphics kick @ss, and while the eye doesnt run very well, have you tried running vanguard or your blessed LOTRO on med graphics on a older or even modest gaming rig? I have an old rig, I run GWEN and GW on MAX with a shit PCI card and I do fine. Get a new reviewer and shut this guy up. Gwen is Sick, end of story
We must all be "hardcore" fans of GW here. Because this review is terrible.
KInda like PC Gamer (who is usually on the money), but that review just sounded like a whiney baby who had a bad stretch of luck.
GWEN is my favorite, right after Proph. It adds heroes for anyone without NF, and more for those with. Many of these heroes actually participate in the story. I know the story is rather stereotypical, I still enjoyed it. (where are my SlyvaSylvari???)
There is TONS of new content, form dungeons to titles. PvE skills are kinda cool, but either way there is a TON of new armor, i think maybe more than any full expansion.
It is hard, but I am seriously getting tired of people crying about hard games. Either suck it up and learn to get better or suck it up and admit you suck. that is life, either you adapt(and GW is one of the few MMOs that allow you to that) or you move on to something else.
I think the main problem with the GWEN reviews is that most of the reviews are done by people who don't actually know the game that well, or at least don't play it regularly. thats just my opinion.
~Zanthox Jankins Twinkle'Toes
Unless the guy comes out in the next in the months proclaiming the benefits of regaining max level and realizing that your previous gear is utterly useless now(in something like everquest or WoW). It's nice to know that even the review staff is as deludded as most the community as to what they want.
It's a HUGE advantage not having to go through the gear leveling side game with every expansion. Expansions are just that an expansion on content not content that makes previous content outdated and makes it into 'the' game.
aside from that most of the review most likely holds true, and with due negativity since NCsoft wants to kill the game even if it's in a good way.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Do you consider it "poorly written" because you disagree with it, or because you actually have some point of grammatical contention?it's poorly written because it does sound like a high schooler wrote it. you know those posts on the forums at wow.com where everything is a comparison to some other game they just played or movie they just saw without even a modicum of knowledge or experience with the genre.
"Here's a plot ripped straight from the pages of The Lord of the Rings! The Dwarves and Asura dug too deep"
first of all that's not a "plot" Lord of the Rings isn't about dwarves digging into Moria, it's just something that happened in the course of the story. and of course it's not as if the idea of dwarves living in massive chambers under mountains hasn't been a stable of fantasy literature for 100 years... "OMG THERE ripping of WOW lol. OMG LOTR keke. WOW lol my tank should be like 300
"
And let's just forget that in the BOOK the dwarves are not the ones who release Balrog, it's something peter jackson added for the movies... but let's just call the movie the book... if you've seen the movie it's the same thing... you can just say you read the book
His comments on the graphics are just as LOL hilarious. Was there a new engine for this expansion no one knows about? He's complaining the graphics look the same as prior publishes of GW... "but but but I sat here a hole year! I want new stuffs" NM that technologically there's only so much LOGICALLY you can do with teh same engine, he's been sitting here at my computer and the graffix are meh.
"This one time I saw Hellgate, and it was cool. And this one time I saw a video of CONAN on youtube and that looked awesome I wish this game could be like that. this sucks"
That's about what this review read like...
^QFT.
I didn't even touch on the graphics, that post is completely dead on.
~Zanthox Jankins Twinkle'Toes
This review sucks because I don't agree with it!
Now watch as I go do the world a favour and fucking kill myself!
/agree
Art and graphic and sounds in GW:EN are awesome. Story is Ok. But gameplay
GW:EN going like other grind games here around and that's a problem.
Massive Multiplayer Online Industry
Looks like a lot of people disagree... But this review is full of facts. I think I paid about doubly the money its worth. GW:EN is fully based on PvE... Why try to save something, which you know is already lost? No, instead of improving their best feature, they let us play the same PvP for 2 years... The PvE got boring after 1 week. Conclusion: I need a new MMORPG, as Guild Wars is dead, no serious expansions, no updates.
After playing Guild Wars for 30 months, I hate to say this but... they screwed up. Let's hope GW2 will be better.... As they'll barely have 1 mil. players when GW2 gets released.
You know it, the best way to realize your dreams is waking up and start moving, never lose hope and always keep up.
WTH kinda review is this?
It's a sweet little expansion that gives people tons of stuff to do. If you never played Guild Wars before you won't get it maybe.
But ugh, you guys give Legends of Norrath card games good reviews, which is a pos because you get payed by SOE or something?..but you completely TRASH this expansion?
Get a new job please.