Guild Wars 2 Preview | Video Game News & Reviews | Bits 'n' Bytes ...

Posted by Tom Rippon on Saturday, October 8, 2011 ? Leave a Comment?

Bridging The Gap

When Guild Wars 2 was announced in March 2007, the final campaign of the original game had not even been released yet. For fans of the series, it was the perfect piece of news: the new campaign, Eye of the North, would bridge the gap between the stories of Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, allowing players to keep playing and enjoying the first game whilst the second was in development.

However, what followed was a process that spanned four years, and is still only just coming to an end. Whilst demos were available at Gamescom last year, among a few other events, the game has come on leaps and bounds since then. Both when looking at the game and when playing it, it seems polished enough that it could be shipped to stores tomorrow.

World War

We sat down with Theo Nguyen, a game designer at ArenaNet, to find out more about the game, and the transformation that took place for the series between the first and second games.

From what we?ve seen playing the game first hand, and what Theo has told us, the game has undergone some major changes ? Theo himself couldn?t place his finger on one single improvement, but instead summarised the new game with three.

There's much more focus on an MMO environment this time around - no more going it alone.

The first is the new play style. The original Guild Wars, despite its abilities of player to player interaction, was never intended as a full fledged MMORPG. This is most evident in the original game?s use of single player and fragmented worlds, where the only people roaming around the vast lands that Guild Wars encompassed were you and your party. You could see and interact with other players within towns and cities, and often some smaller settlements, but unless they were a member of your party, you would have to leave them behind when you went off on a quest or exploration. This single-player orientation was also clear from the use of henchmen; NPCs with different classes would gather round a certain spot in most outposts, and if you couldn?t find a real person to play with, you could get these guys on board for no cost, and without the fear of them doing something, well, NPC-like and stupid. Although the option to join friends or strangers in a quest or mission was there, it wasn?t enforced.

This has all been changed by the introduction of a mostly integrated and seamless world. There are occasionally grey swirls of mist, which players will recognise from the first title as points where some loading is required to proceed, but by crossing these thresholds, you remain in a fully MMO environment. Every part of the game is open to everybody, and you can see other players at all times. This makes the interaction and cooperation with other players easier and more streamlined, and also makes the game run a lot better, with minimal loading screens and maximum multiplayer experience.

Fight Dirty

The second point that Theo emphasised was the new combat style in Guild Wars 2. Whilst he felt that most MMO combat can be somewhat repetitive, with the monotonous pointing and clicking doing most of the work for you, Guild Wars 2 has employed a more action-combat style to its encounters with hostiles.

This means that whereas in the previous game you were stationary for the most part during combat, you can now roll and dodge the attacks of your opponents, and combat is also a lot more position-orientated, with a kind of tactical element complimenting the action; Theo acknowledged that there were some influences from other game genres ? such as action and strategy ? clear in the gameplay of Guild Wars 2, but that whilst the game was in development, the team wanted to keep it from veering too much into other gameplay styles.

From experience, the combat really has come on, excuse the pun, leaps and bounds since the last game. It is quite unlike many MMOs out there, as engaging the enemy is not as repetitive as it could be. By rolling away from incoming attacks, or dodging a blade or arrow, the combat really is as exciting and engaging as the rest of the game, which means that Guild Wars 2 really feels like a well-balanced game, no matter what you spend your time doing.

Combat is dangerous - be careful not to get downed.

Another aspect of the combat that increases the feel of action is the new down system. In the original, once you ran out of health, that was it for you. Imagine getting so close to killing that big bad boss, only to be punished with a huge attack all of a sudden. Well, whilst that might still happen, it?s not so heart-crushing. When you run out of health in combat, you get knocked down, similar to how some FPS games work. You then have a limited amount of health, and some basic attacks, such as throw a rock. You then only get back up again if you kill an enemy, which is definitely a blessing if you really were that close to killing the big bad boss.

The combat, overall, feels smooth and easy, but still provides a fun and tactical challenge, no matter how many action gameplay elements are included this time around.

It?s All About You

The final main difference between the first and second Guild Wars titles that Theo spoke about was the new character design. Of course, being an MMO, Guild Wars 2 gives you full reign of how your character looks, behaves and fights, but that?s not quite where your influence stops. Theo recalled his time with some other MMOs, noting that the story behind them always seemed to revolve around somebody else ? your character is just a nameless faceless member of a crowd trying to save a princess, or whatever. Guild Wars 2 is different ? it?s all about you. More precisely, your character.

The game is tailored to whatever you?ve made your character out to be, and this works in two ways. The first is a biography of your character. When you?re customizing your appearance, your class, your race, and everything in between, you are asked to chose between a number of personal scenarios, which will ultimately decide where you start the game and how other people respond to your character. For example, when I played the game, I chose to be a human who had never found his kidnapped sister. But more options lie in waiting ? you are given example scenarios, and you tell the game how you would react in each of them. The customization behind your character stretches far beyond the simple appearance that other MMOs provide, and it?s as if you?re creating an entire personality for yourself, which of course will influence the rest of the game.

The other way that the game works to suit the player is by giving consequences for actions. Similar to many other RPGs that are out there today, by doing something bad, something might not be available for you later in the game, or by doing something good, you may block yourself off from befriending somebody new. Whilst the ramifications of your actions may not be apparent at first, it still provides that sense of ?am I doing the right thing? that many games now want to give players.

The playable races, some new, some old.

The inevitable individuality of each player?s character means that there will be almost unlimited replayability in the game ? whilst many MMOs have this in spades due to customization options, Guild Wars 2 will certainly be ahead of the times, but providing custom stories and personalities to characters, each playthrough is bound to be different from the last, and probably by a lot.

Adding even more to the customization in the new title are the new races. In the original game, it was only possible to play as a human, but in Guild Wars 2, there are five different races to choose from.

• Humans are an obvious race to include in any MMO, but in Guild Wars 2, you might be surprised by them. In an act of role reversal, humans are now on the decline after the events of the first game and the subsequent campaigns. Theo described them as ?a little bit different?.
• The Charr should be familiar to any players of the first game. Giant creatures, big and burly, that somewhat resemble a bull crossed with a bear.
• Norns were introduced in Eye of the North, and are based on Vikings, aspiring for greatness.
• The Asura were introduced alongside Norns, and are just as amusing as they looked back in the original game. With impish features, these tiny creatures aren?t to be trifled with.
• Finally, the new plant-like race, named Savari, have only been known to exist for a handful of decades, and are therefore not very trusted by the other races. Theo hinted that their existence would prove to be important later in the campaign, but told us no more.

Despite the Charr's burly physique, everything is level-pegging for all races.

As Theo ran us through the races, he made it very clear that there was no ?easy race? to be. For example, despite the Charr being bigger than any other race, they are not favourable to blitzing through the game without a challenge. He also said that despite each race having a very distinct feel, that there were little to no exclusive classes between races, meaning that each race was pretty much level-pegging. It may make you wonder what the difference between races is other than their appearance, but when you think about the custom story regarding your character, there?s a good chance that an Asura warrior will have a very different experience in the story to a Norn warrior.

Theory vs Practice

Whilst on paper, Guild Wars 2 sounds and looks incredibly impressive, it?s understandable to be apprehensive about how good the game itself is when played first hand. But from the forty minutes of play that we were able to do following our interview with Theo Nguyen, the game really does live up to everything he said it would be, and more.

The customization process, which was one of the main things that Theo seemed enthusiastic about, is just as in depth as it was sold to us. At first, like all MMOs, you chose your race from the five available, then your gender, working your way through the physical side of your new character, before heading on to the history and background. The art at this stage is really stunning, and as you chose more and more custom features, the background screen changes accordingly, with beautiful sketches of races and weapons that give you a real feel for the game, and what to expect with each race and class.

Once you?ve got everything perfect for your character, you begin play with a cutscene that looks absolutely gorgeous. Depending on which race you play as, the cutscene will be different, but speaking for the human introduction, the graphics are flawless ? the whole process runs smoothly, and the voiceover of your own character provides a nice insight into the current state of affairs. Similar to the opening in the original Guild Wars, this new introduction really sets the scene vividly, showing off many different environments and visual effects that Guild Wars 2 is capable of.

Once you?ve been adequately re-welcomed into the vast realm of Tyria, the fun really begins. You are given quests left right and center, but of course it?s up to you whether or not you dive right in or explore the world a little bit.

Tyria is now even more beautiful to behold.

One of the first things players will notice is the slight change to the HUD. Whilst it holds a pretty standard appearance that is common throughout MMOs, with skills and abilities at the bottom, corresponding to various keys, it looks neater. The health of your player is displayed neatly but clearly in the middle of the skills bar, shown as a circle that empties of its red colour should you lose health. Furthermore, as you play through and start killing some things, you may notice that your new skills are awarded to you instantly, and you can see on the skill bar how far away you are from unlocking new talents and moves. A small bar appears at the bottom of the next empty space in the skill bar, which measures how close it is from being yours, as well as a brief summary of what it does. The skills bar really is laid out for ease of use, and everything on it has its rightful place. This is one of the many things that make gameplay simple but allow it to remain exciting and engaging.

The new quest system is also completely revamped, as Theo explained to us. ArenaNet felt that quests in other MMOs weren?t organic enough, and that the list form that they took often felt cold and unwelcoming. This is something they?re hoping to change with Guild Wars 2?s dynamic-events system. Similar to the way that events will be influenced by who you are in the game, they will also be influenced by where you are.

In many MMOs, quests that you have not yet started are available on the map, for you to simply head to and begin. This is not so much the case in Guild Wars 2, which takes into account where you are, and updates you of any quests that are in the area. It?s a nice touch that isn?t invasive, despite what might be expected. The quests are also neatly displayed on the right of the screen, and it?s a nice idea that will no doubt encourage exploration to find quests, but it did sometimes seem a bit complicated ? quests often appeared out of nowhere, and by the time I had noticed what I had to do, I was elsewhere and confused by what was being asked of me. With some minor tweaks, the system will no doubt be a welcome change, but for simplicity?s sake, I would revert back to the list-format if given the choice.

Guild Wars 2's visuals are where it stands out from the crowd.

But where the game really shines is its appearance. As you watch the opening when you begin playing the game, you can?t help but feel that you?re being teased with unrealistic graphics or environments ? not the case. The entire world is rendered wonderfully, clean and beautiful, whether roaming through a well-lit forest or a gloomy cave. No matter how far you zoom in to an environment, it looks just as good as it did when you were zoomed all the way out. It?s a very welcoming world, that only looks better (if that?s even possible) when looking at the overhead map. A full view is really needed to appreciate the sheer scope of Tyria, and the map really does the trick. It?s as if you?ve just zoomed out really far ? there are no ambiguous or inaccurate representations on the map, as everything appears to be just as it is when you return to gameplay. The whole world is gorgeously irresistable.

Looking To The Future

Finally, we asked Theo about his plans for the future of both Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2.

Regarding expansion packs for the future release, he couldn?t be sure of anything. Whilst assuring us that there were a lot of ideas currently in the works, nothing has been ironed out yet. No doubt that there will be vast expansions similar to those of the first game, though.

Some players of the first game have been worried about migration issues, such as will the old game?s servers remain open for players, or will it be Guild Wars 2 or nothing? Theo answered that with something everybody wants to hear ? as long as there are people playing Guild Wars, servers will remain open for business. He did, however, imagine that there would still be lots of people migrating to the new game. Which is clear just looking at it.

There you have it. Guild Wars 2 has obviously got a lot of force behind it, especially with so many features not only new to the franchise, but also new to the MMO genre as a whole. The future of MMORPGs could well be Guild Wars 2, watch this space.

Filed under Eurogamer 2011, Features, PC, PC Previews, Previews ? Tagged with ArenaNet, eurogamer 2011, gaming, Guild Wars 2, MMORPG, NCSoft, PC, preview, theo nguyen

Source: http://bnbgaming.com/2011/10/08/guild-wars-2-preview/

bill gates steve jobs bill gates steve jobs sara evans brett favre associated press 99% breast cancer awareness