Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
As I sit here and listen to the frolics of my housemate and his girlfriend – playfighting, real fighting, pen-stabbings – I am led to remember that thing a lot of people tend to talk about. You know the one – with the trees and the grass, the kids playing and the dogs running; work, money, play, boredom, insanity, depression, painful death and Joe Pasquale (effectively the same thing). Most know it as “real life,” though, some intellectual has probably written a book on how the existentialism of our society dictates that life in itself is in all probability, a mere actuality of our physical and mental makeup, rather than one long track of boredom inter-spliced with rare moments of fun. Regardless, life is there, and it is there to be taken part in.
So, why did I agree to test out a MMORPG? The spawn of Satan himself. The kind of game that I have actively avoided for all of my games-playing life. Put simply – I have never seen the appeal. Sitting, for hours on end, levelling up whilst putting up with tirades of nonsense/idiots/abuse and avoiding the Killer Bunny Rabbit of Doom(TM) that will most certainly kill you if you face up to it. Why would I torture myself, if only for a couple of days, with the kind of game that causes people to buy in-game artefacts for REAL MONEY off Ebay? Why? Well, let’s call it ‘investigative journalism.’
Whatever the reasons – I’m glad I did.
Guild Wars is a lovely little game. ‘Little’ figuratively speaking, of course, as the game itself is pretty much hugenormous. Through a mere weekend of play my entire viewpoint of the MMORPG genre has been changed. Whilst I doubt the game is groundbreaking or will change the lives of the more grizzled veterans, for a mere n00b (feeling… of nausea… rising…) like me it was perfect.
Starting out with a pretty small download (broadband-wise), I was soon greeted with my options for creating my character. Now the game is currently in a beta, so is by no means finished – this is the most likely explanation for the lacking customisation options, with only around five or so hairstyles available. All with pony tails of some kind. Nevertheless I soldiered on, choosing my class as a Ranger – nimble, good with bows and able to control wild animals to fight alongside them. Opting to make my chap a tiny sort and giving him a nice red tinge to his hair, he was soon christened: Ianos of Ian. You can feel the imagination pouring out of me right now, can’t you?
On finishing up the creation aspect, I was soon presented with another download screen – this time a larger file than the last, though again nothing mind-bendingly long (and again, broadband-wise). This made me aware of the ‘streaming’ nature of the game – the whole package is not immediately downloaded. Instead, things are sent to your computer as and when you need them – new areas, new missions, new characters and whatnot. I liked the idea – it made for some breaks in the action initially, but it meant things started out faster and once each download was complete, everything ran at a lovely pace, with very, very little lag.
On loading, the game presented me with a cutscene, informing of the impending doom on the land – paraphrased it was something along the lines of: “nobody knew that this land would be destroyed by the end of the day,” except much more ‘fantasy-like’ and less ‘second hand regurgitation-like.’ Arriving in Ascalon City I was greeted by a large-looking chap, who told me it was my duty to serve in the army, to defend the nation against invading forces and the usual fantasy guff. I was presented with a ‘where do I sign up?’ option, or a ‘no thanks.’ Being the kind of person rather opposed to The Man(TM), I told him where to shove it and went on my merry way exploring the town. Not the biggest of places, though rather pretty, I was presented with a fair few NPCs to talk to – most said something, but didn’t offer me anything to do, whereas the Outfitter was somewhere to buy clothes, weapons and the rest of it.
What immediately struck me about the game was the simplicity. I found it incredibly easy to do everything; movement, inventory selections, talking, dancing, naked dancing, (and later on) using special powers – it was all very intuitive. As the last MMORPG I had played was Anarchy Online, this ease of use struck a real chord with me. I already liked the game. This scared me.
On meeting up with my Pro-G colleagues, we decided to go adventuring into the wilds and see what mysteries awaited our brave band of warriors, elementalists and rangers. Leaving the town prompted another download – once again, not too big. When the download finished, we entered the countryside and it dawned on me how things operated in the game (disclaimer: I never said I was an MMORPG genius, alright. I didn’t know some games worked like this). We were the only real players present in that particular world – everyone else has their own expanses to frolic in, and players can only traverse worlds together if they operate in teams. Otherwise the only areas where other players are present are the towns, forts and general safe havens. After getting over my “aahhhh!” moment, we set to work. Asked to retrieve a young girl’s flute, we travelled a short distance north to be greeted by a few monsters. I was dreading the initial encounter. Already wary of the aforementioned Bunny (of Doom(TM)), I felt that my impending death would annoy me to such a degree that Guild Wars would be removed from my hard drive and never spoken of again. Instead, I was involved in a pitched battle and left the victor by quite a margin. A satisfying and not overly easy win. Again, I was liking the game. It was getting less scary.
If I attacked an enemy that was of a higher level than me, I would die. If I attacked an enemy the same or of a lower level, I would most likely win. This system, simple as it seemed, made me a happy Bunny of Doom(TM). It didn’t come across as difficult, though it wasn’t easy – but it most certainly doesn’t force you to level up for weeks on end before tackling one of the larger creatures. In my play-through, level five was a high number (though the option was there to start at level 20, for testing purposes we all opted to start at level one) – check the numerous screenshots for highlights of some action through our collective stay in the game.
After a while of adventuring in a twosome, I decided I wanted to explore alone. Fair do’s – click on leave party, you’re single and free to do as you please again. Exploration was my first port of call, with some of the maps being surprisingly large and full of little secrets and enemies to test yourself against. It was during my explorations I came across the real deal-breaker for me personally. Melandru’s Stalker. A mystical black panther that hung around a shrine to somebody called Melandru. Well, this name didn’t suit me, so I just went by calling him ‘Panface.’ It amused me, and that’s all that matters. Anyway, Panface – after I seduced him to my side – was a very helpful companion, following me wherever I went and smacking anybody/thing that dared get too close to me – he even had the courtesy to level up, so I wasn’t left with a pansypanther after too long.
Again, the pet system has been employed in other games, I know this, but this is the first time I have been involved myself. And it was a pleasure. I actually grew very fond of my sleek companion, and even got a (tiny, tiny, tiny) bit upset when he was killed at one point – even if he was resurrected soon after.
My adventures grew tiring – I was going to the same places and doing the same things. I was pretty badass and difficult to defeat. So I decided, with my tail between my legs, to go back to Ascalon and put in my service time. The gates to the Academy were opened and I was thrust (after another download) into the midst of a PvP battle, which totally took me off guard. While Panface handled things with all the class I would have expected, I just ran around trying not to get killed. I failed on the not getting killed count three times, meaning my team lost 4-3. Whoops… Anyway, I was soon presented with a new cutscene, this time of a group of the bad guys operating some kind of magical device. Lo and behold, the end of the world prophecy came true, and as fire rained on the beautiful green lands below, I began to wonder if this were merely a clever way of ending the beta session.
Far from it.
On the cutscene ending (and another download, surprisingly) I was thrust back into Ascalon City. A burning hunk of rubble, with devastation as far as the eye could see. This was the world I inhabited now. Dark, dank and shattered. A complete juxtaposition of the original lush splendour that had initially presented itself. This was my new world, and it was far more dangerous than the last. The players running around this city knew what they were doing. There were no ‘n00b’ questions scrolling up your chat bar – there were people selling weapons with more power than I imagined I would see on a mere weekend on the game. I actually got a bit scared, feeling I wouldn’t be able to cope with things in this new, hardcore land.
On taking a mission to defend the Northern Wall from invading forces, I assembled a group of four adventurers – random strangers who were more than happy to join my mission, and whom were thoroughly friendly and helpful throughout. As we went out into the wastelands to fight back against the attackers, I was suddenly in the midst of a wonderful feeling, as the telltale high pitched roar came forth from Panface. Thank god the little beggar was still around. The six of us slew our way through dozens of minions of the bad guys, til we reached the top of a canyon. Peering over, we were presented with the sight of hundreds of the gits. They saw us. We ran. A lot. Returning to the wall and warning the guard, we were all rewarded, and the mission was over.
Before I knew it, Sunday night had been and gone, and the beta weekend event was over. I had lived, loved and learned in the unreal life of MMORPGs. And I had really enjoyed myself. The simplicity, combined with relative depth and general ease of use all made for a thoroughly enjoyable package. Couple these with the fact that the game will not be charging a monthly usage fee, and you have all the signs of a very popular game. It can be played in short bursts and you won’t be penalised for not being a level 40000 uberman of doom. It is simple, but not easy. Ergonomically well designed, with the streaming structure and suchlike, it won’t kill your bandwidth either. It’s a good game and I’m guessing it will do well. If I do end up picking up the finished copy on its release, I can probably say good bye to my “real life.” Well, for a while, at least. And that, my friends, is what scared me.
