A MMORPG for the Masses Who Don't Want Monthly Fees

So in my last review I discussed the free MMORPG Dungeon Runners. I made not of the fact it was a good beginner MMORPG or good for someone looking for a free MMOG. What if you want more than Dungeon Runner's budget can offer you? What if you want more than three classes? What if you want more than linear dungeons to explore? What if you want a more indepth storyline to experience? There's many options out there for you. World of Warcraft, Tabula Rasa, Lineage... all of those however require you to pay a monthly fee above $5, sometimes above $10 or even $15. Should you really have to pay more than $60 per year to play a game you already bought? Should you have to pay at all? If you, like me, want everything the MMO genre has to offer without all the extra money requirements, you might want to do as I did and purchase Guild Wars: Game of the Year Edition.

Guild Wars: GOTYE gives you the ability to create a fairly customized character right from the start. There's six classes, Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Necromancer, Mesmer, and Elementalist. Each of those classes has male and female version, with a variety of hair styles, colors, faces and skin tones. Each character can also have one of 8 different colors on different parts of their outfit. Also keep in mind that throughout the game you get new armor and you can mix and match pieces to create the perfect character for you. There's even the ability to create two types of basic characters, Role Playing or Player vs. Player. If you choose Role Playing you will play the storyline, be able to explore and able to fight monsters and such in the game world. If you choose PvP though you will be entered into the arena to fight other PvP characters and will not be able to experience the storyline.

So you create your character, and are dropped inside the gates of Ascalon City, the capitol of the land you are to live your online life in. At first you might be alone, but you can also team up with another player if you so choose, it doesn't really matter at this point as you will go thru a few basic training quests to get some experience points (XP) and some skills (think of them as special abilities or powers). After your basic training you can feel free to explore the world at your leisure. You might die but at this point in the game there is no death penalty. Yes, I said this part. There are multiple parts to this game, each with it's own style and difficulty and other parts of the game do penalize you for dying, but by that point you should be a high enough level to not be annoyed by it as much.

When you are in a town in Guild Wars you will see all the online players also in that town, you can form groups and talk to anyone and everyone. When you venture out though you are in your own game world with no other players than those in your party if you have any. However, you can still talk to anybody online provided you know their characters name, or they are in your Guild.

Not surprisingly in Guild wars you can start a Guild for 100 gold in game, and you can invite people to join your guild and form alliances and such with other guilds as well. I have already created a Guild called the Imanti Guardians and have had people join already. If you are in a guild you can talk to everyone in the guild very easily, so it recommended you start a Guild with your friends online ASAP.

I suppose you are wondering that the gameplay is like. Actually it's very fun. Exploring the world and fighting monsters (or other players if you create a PvP character) is entertaining and challenging and actually quite rewarding. The controls in guild wars are fairly simple and become second nature very quickly. If there is something you do not understand you can ask about it in one of the towns or outposts and other players will help usually. It's actually quite a friendly community.

There are some annoyances though in the game, but they are few and far between. Merchants do not sell anything special really. They all sell the same basic supplies but will buy anything except quest items and things customized for your character. Also, in the first part of the game you can't buy dyes for your armor to change colors or anything, you just have to find them on your travels. Also, starting a guild can be done in the first part of the game, but getting a hall, cloak, etc. can't be done until the second part of the game.

However, all these annoyances do not at all detract from the core gameplay and are pretty much non-issues for the most part. Enemies drop more than enough weapons and dyes, and you can always progress to the second part of the game pretty early and start your guild though you might not have the gold to do so just yet getting gold in the second part of the game is much easier as more enemies drop it.

Graphics & Audio - 23
The graphics in the game are very well done. The aesthetic is very pleasing and not at all cartoonish like World of Warcraft making the game much more pleasing to look at. The sound effects and music are also very well done and are very clear. The music definitely helps set the mood.

Gameplay - 20
Combat is very easy to get in to, exploration is rewarding and you will still be finding new ground weeks into your adventure. Once you progress to the second part of the game you have a sense of familiarity but everything is changed and you have a much larger location to explore.

Creativity - 22
The storyline is very well done, the creatures are varied and interesting in design, and the characters you run across are all given their own personality. The look of the game changes very smoothly and works very well at establishing the atmosphere and storyline.

Fun - 23
The game is fun on your own, but the experience is that much better with a few friends thrown into the mix. Taking down grouping of enemies or teaming up against a particularly hard enemy is extremely rewarding. Starting your own guild is also rewarding and fun as it allows you to eventually get a guild hall, cloak, and to form alliances and such.