A guild warring we will go...

So...it's finally time for my first Nerdware Review. Joy! There's strong overlap between me and my fellow reviewers here, but also some differences. I don't blog about my car, for example. *grin* (sorry, Lee!)

But my first review here will cross into territory that historically has been Lee and Eldred's. That is, online gaming. (RPGing, that is...I don't think any of us play the Internet slots or anything). I've bumped my (MM)ORPGing up to two games now, and I figured I'd review the second one first. Guild Wars. (Don't worry...the Second Life review is coming...it's just longer, so it's still in draft.)


So, anyway...Guild Wars. As I mentioned, I'm not a big MMORPGer, so I can't compare to Everquest, SW Galaxies, etc. Consider me an experienced, but casual computer RPG'er...I've played Baldur's Gate, NWN, Doom, Quake, and a ton of others, but it's not frequent that I spend too much time on them. A little bit here, some weekend gaming there...etc. More back in years past than recently, for the most part.

I am familiar with the MMORPGs, of course...I have tons of friends that play. When GW came out, I noticed from reviews that it seemed to lean in the direction I might like (more adventuring and poking about, less PvP PK Hell)...and no monthly fee! So I could try it for the cost of the game, and play as much or as little as I like, without feeling bad about paying $15/month for something I don't use all that much.

After much consideration, this past weekend I took the plunge. I had given it a month or so, and I have a few friends that play (Lee, in fact, has also reviewed it here). I've heard nothing horrible, and much positive talk.

So far, so good! I'm not all that into grouping up with random folks, so it plays to me so far like a single player game. Which is fine...I haven't really played one since NWN; it was about time. And the multiplayer aspects seem like they could be fun at times. From what I've read (while trying to keep specific spoilers to a minimum), I'm nearing the end of one phase (I'm level 7), and about to enter a arena-like PvP environment. That could be fun for awhile. It could be neat to do some cooperative quests as well...I've hooked up with a couple of people for short ones, but I haven't joined any permanent groups or guilds or anything.

Game looks good...I have little to compare with (EQII and WoW would be perhaps the most valid comparisons, I imagine), but I enjoy the environments. I tend to like to poke around in all the corners of a game, both to try and find all the quest stuff, and just to see neat things. There's plenty of eye candy here, and I know I'm still pretty early on. I haven't even finished the initial area yet (though I'm getting pretty close).

Gameplay seems good; again, little comparison. Character creation, skill allocation, etc. seems similar to other games I've played. It's cool you can keep four characters in an account...there are some interesting choices (Mesmer, Necromancer) that I may want to explore, but not necessarily keep forever. That'll keep things fun.

I'm such a MMO newb that I can't really speak to the PvP aspects yet...my last experiences with multiplayer online were some years back, when I played quite a bit of Counterstrike. Very poorly, I might add. *grin* This is a very different environment, so I'll have to spend some time in it to get an idea of what I think.

Overall, I'm enjoying it. I have another game (Second Life) that I find engrossing on a completely different level, but Guild Wars promises to be a fun escape. What more can you ask? So far, definitely worth it...I might even buy some of the expansions as well. I like that concept for payment.

I'll keep ya updated.