Guild Wars 2 is out of the closet. Earlier this morning NCSoft rolled out a startling and compelling trailer for the 2007-announced PC MMO. Hovering over plot points, but also revealing some key art and a few in-game cuts, MMO enthusiasts should be more than delighted with the four-minute offering. After all, it has all the fantasy MMO conventions: dragons, creepy little girls, plate armor, and the promise of epic adventure.
Eurogamer recently sat down with GW 2 lead designer Eric Flannum and talked specifics about the once-guarded title at gamescom. One of the many interesting things Flannum spoke about is the switch from instance-based play to a regular, populated MMO world. You heard it. GW 2 won’t have the original’s structure.
This has us re-thinking that whole “MMOs are bad for social/work life thing,” simply because this is looking like a must-play. We’re keeping this on our radar with the billion other things announced at gamescom.
Guild Wars was one of the few online titles I dug and actually dug a lot of the people in it which made a huge difference. It was a shame when I had to stop playing. Hopefully they can attract the same crowd. Oh and make a good game.
I played GW for 3 years but if they completely remove instanced areas I may pass. I have no desire to play a game that FORCES social interation on me. That was one of GWs strengths, IMO. You had the option to be social or go it alone if you wanted. I joined other players when I felt like it and used Henchmen and Heroes when I didn't. It allowed a lot of options and play styles.
I played GW for 3 years but if they completely remove instanced areas I may pass. I have no desire to play a game that FORCES social interation on me. That was one of GWs strengths, IMO. You had the option to be social or go it alone if you wanted. I joined other players when I felt like it and used Henchmen and Heroes when I didn't. It allowed a lot of options and play styles.
How is Guild Wars 2 different from other MMOs?
While Guild Wars 2 adds a persistent-world experience, it retains the unique characteristics of the original game, including strong narrative, extensive instanced gameplay, anti-grind design philosophy, and strong support for competitive play.
pasted straight from the official site. looks like theres going to be both instanced and non-instanced worlds.
That Naomi Hunter certainly gets a lot of voice work, doesn't she?
Anyway, yeah, this looks like it could be fun. I played the first GW after I stole my friend's account, but never really was into it enough to get the expansions. I'd consider this if I had friends playing it.
NCSoft and Sony announced a "partnership" a couple of years ago in a big E3 announcement... so where are the PS3 games that are supposed to come from this partnership??
... still waiting....
Wasn't Guild Wars WoW's main competition for a really long time? Anyway, that trailer was beautiful. i've never played an MMO, but that might change with GW2.
Amazing! The art team ArenaNet has could open their own indie museum with all the artistic talent they have. I simply love GW, the PvP was excellent and the main questing was a real treat too.
@Los255
Guild Wars isn't really an MMO, instead it's more akin to Diablo 2, Phantasy Star Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online. That is to say Cities and outposts allow you interact with hundreds of players through trading and dialog but everywhere else such as the field, battlegrounds and dungeons are instanced.
@DanlHaas
The other two 'main' expansions Factions and Nightfall are actually better than the original. Factions is more PvP focussed and Nightfall has an excellent single player along with customizable AI party members. The original is still good if you enjoy a hefty and rewarding challenge since it's the longest and most difficult campaign.
I never played Guild Wars, but the boxart art always intrigued me and this game looks fucking great. It might just be about that time to finally settle down into an MMO. Something I've never done before.
Wow, I like what I see so far. This may just very well be the next MMO I jump to, especially if they hold true to their "only pay once for the game" thing.
Guild Wars was one of the first MMOs I ever played and was by far the most fun and best IMO. I liked it because it just seemed like more of an RPG rather than an MMO, if that makes sense. It had awesome PvP and a good story. Probably one of the best parts of the game was the progression feel of it. The only thing I didn't exactly care for was the caps. Level caps, weapon caps, armor caps. But none of that was enough to stop me and some of my friends from playing A LOT.
I played WoW for a few months because a few friends played but I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't as fun as Guild Wars because it was nowhere near as focused. It was just random grinding with hardly any unique quests and dungeons. Also, I don't think ANY game is worthy of spending hundreds of dollars on per year, unless it has peripherals.
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Contest:
10:40 AM on 08.20.2009
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Thanks for sharing.
If they add monthly fee, I'm definately out.
If they add monthly fee, I'm definately out.
Read the Eurogamer article. Whole thing is still soloable and there will be no fees.
While Guild Wars 2 adds a persistent-world experience, it retains the unique characteristics of the original game, including strong narrative, extensive instanced gameplay, anti-grind design philosophy, and strong support for competitive play.
pasted straight from the official site. looks like theres going to be both instanced and non-instanced worlds.
Cartman at 08/20/2009 11:20
Did I just see a polar bear in armour holding an axe?
I think you did, and I thyink it was BADASS.
Anyway, yeah, this looks like it could be fun. I played the first GW after I stole my friend's account, but never really was into it enough to get the expansions. I'd consider this if I had friends playing it.
... still waiting....
@Magesx: and yeah . . . you're done.
@Los255
Guild Wars isn't really an MMO, instead it's more akin to Diablo 2, Phantasy Star Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online. That is to say Cities and outposts allow you interact with hundreds of players through trading and dialog but everywhere else such as the field, battlegrounds and dungeons are instanced.
@DanlHaas
The other two 'main' expansions Factions and Nightfall are actually better than the original. Factions is more PvP focussed and Nightfall has an excellent single player along with customizable AI party members. The original is still good if you enjoy a hefty and rewarding challenge since it's the longest and most difficult campaign.
I played WoW for a few months because a few friends played but I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't as fun as Guild Wars because it was nowhere near as focused. It was just random grinding with hardly any unique quests and dungeons. Also, I don't think ANY game is worthy of spending hundreds of dollars on per year, unless it has peripherals.