I remember way back when we were playing Horizons we briefly tried the Guild wars beta. I don't know about you guys, but I was quite impressed by it. I loved the armour, which felt big, and like individual pieces that really felt like armour. And the art style of the game with its red skies and sweeping vistas of massive walls and smashed cities that felt like an actual warzone. And loved the sense of there being a deep storyline to have gotten into. And the way quests weren't static (anyone remember being chased by bad guys after we finished our mission objective? Which was a change from the usual: find mob. Pull mob one at time. Go back to quest giver to get more of the same quests.)
And I guess the finished product must have been okay because Guild wars is still alive and kicking and still played by allot of people. It also was one of the first f2p games and is probably responsible for allot of games adopting that business model in recent years. (though dunno if that's good thing or not yet.)
Anyway, they're finally going to bring out Giuldwars2. And from what I have seen, Im really very impressed. I've seen quite a few sneak previews and trailers and read a few articles, and I think this set of trailers shows the game off best.
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703344
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703345
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703346
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703347
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703348
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703349
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703350
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703351
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-10-guild-wars-2/703352
It shows you the actual gamplay, allot about character creation, classes, the look of the game, questing etc.
The character creation looks deep and I like the idea that you can mix and match different ability and spell trees into your build.
As for races, Ill be interested to know what 18 thinks of the Chaar. I know the guild has had a few discussions about wether MMOs can do decent anthropomorphs and I really like the way they have created these guys. They seem to be able to both stand up like men but when they pick up speed while moving they revert back to all fours. And I love their tails lol.
I really would love it if they are successful with their dynamic questing system where you don't go to some npc with an icon over his head and he gives you some speech that nobody reads which is just a fancy way of telling you to go kill x of y and come back to get more of the same.
But like in my other post about what they are capable of doing in MMOs, I wont hold my breath for stuff that was promised over 7 years ago in Horizons and no matter how many game makers have claimed to add it, not one of them has so far.
What I do love so far about this game is the look of the world, which is going for a more realistic feel once again. With the popularity of WoW, so many MMOs now are going for the stylistic "WoW" look with lack of details and blocky scenery, citing wanting to make it accessible to casual players who cant afford a decent computer etc.
So it will be refreshing to have trees that aren't rectangular and the latest state of the art graphics to give it an nice atmosphere. (Looking at the leaves being blown around and the trees that sway in the wind with thunder and rain pouring down on an overcast day really make you feel the elements.)
And there is so much breathtaking stuff. From the Elemental boss, to the city (especially that part in the centre), to the dragon at the end. It really gives a sense of epic and its very rare games take my breath away and make me go wow when it comes to scenery or monsters these days.
Hey Val, nice post, I followed the links and watched all the videos. I also liked guildwars when we played it. I actually bought one of the later versions and played for a while. It was fun at first but no sense of community ever developed for me. maybe because it consisted of all instanced encounters with out a chance to randomly run in to other players. At least that is how I remember it. At the time the art was pretty amazing and my first introduction to Korean game art.
GW2 seems to have stepped things up quite a bit. I had grown tired of the original art especially when every free mmo out there had adapted some version of it. The art for the new game is much better. I spent a long time looking at their concept art. all stunning. the game play looked really fun. dodging your enemies attacks added a nice interaction to the combat. more then typical button clicking in most mmos today.
I hope to get in to beta. maybe Ill see you there.
Can't say I'm not impressed. I don't have a whole lot of time right now so I just skimmed the videos. First thing I though when watching the first one was, "DAMN! That is a huge boss mob!" The guy talking said it was only a "minion" of one of the elder dragons. I have only one word to describe that: epic.
I like the art, and I like the sound of the gameplay. Sign me up for the Beta. . .
If anyone can point me to where the beta sign up is, if there even is one at the moment, I'd appreciate it. I can't seem to find it.
As for the Charr, they seem pretty cool, and if I play the game, they'll likely be the race I'll play, but they are perhaps and bit to vicious, war-mongering, death-machine-building for my tastes. Still, you can't beat the running on all fours for coolness factor.
Oh and by the way, I just have to vent a bit of frustration here.
I was watching the videos, and glancing at the comments and I realized something; no matter what MMO you're looking at, people will call it a WoW clone and denounce it as invalid or inferior. Most of these games are nothing like WoW! If someone considers WoW their personal favorite MMO I can respect their opinion, but it seems like a lot of WoW fanboys are insecure about their game and can do nothing but bash on other MMOs.
Frankly, I find it kind of frustrating, especially when it is blatantly wrong. A game like LOTRO mimics the game play of WoW, but could not have a more divergent atmosphere and vibe. I hardly think it deserves being called a WoW clone. But upcoming MMOs like Rift and Guild Wars 2 neither look or feel like WoW, and still they receive this accusation.
/soapbox off
Sorry about that, just had to get that off my chest. I guess I shouldn't let it bother me but I guess I just dislike hateful accusations. :)
All games are build on what has come before. if not a direct copy then at least a evolution of some of its ideas or game mechanisms. ITs a long line of games that were developed to give blizzard the idea to make a mmo. The muds came first then a couple of visual based muds and then UO which was taken a step further by EQ, AO and AC. WoW was a long time down the road when they came out with more games in between the pioneers above. It had a great art style { for my tastes anyway} and a huge world to explore. I enjoyed it but not the community or the pvp. I was eager to move on after a year of it.
Lotro has been my all time favorite. No question about it. I have played a lot of others as well but it has the best memories for me.
I hope to try GW2. I dont think it will be a wow killer, not sure if anything ever will, but it looks to be lots of fun especially the Char. I have to agree with you there as well Urich