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Guild Wars Factions Preview March 31, 2006 John JCal Callaham |
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Summary: ArenaNet is about ready to release a stand alone continuation of their hit multiplayer action-RPG and we went hands-on for a closer look.
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Guild Wars took the normal MMORPG model and turned it on its ear when it was released in April 2005. The game, created by developer ArenaNet and published by NCSoft, was a fantasy action-PPG themed game but with no monthly fees and it turned into one of the best-selling PC games of the year. Now ArenaNet is close to releasing Guild Wars Faction, a standalone continuation (ArenaNet doesn't call it an "expansion) of the original game. Last weekend, a preview weekend was held for people who pre-ordered the game and FiringSquad briefly checked out parts of the new expansion for ourselves.
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Guild Wars Factions takes place on the fictional continent of Cantha , which the game's official FAQ states is located to the south of the original title's setting of Tyria. While both games can be played as separate products, ArenaNet has stated that people who have both games can have characters visit both lands via boat connections between the continents. Players who own both games will get two additional character slots for new characters to add to the original four. Cantha's art and graphics style definitely has some Asian influences so don't expect Factions to look exactly the same as the original game either.
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Factions adds two new professions to the Guild Wars mix, the assassin and the ritualist. Assassins are as you might expect: the swift and stealthy part of the bunch, charging in quickly and taking out enemies with their daggers and various abilities.
During last weekend's preview event for Guild Wars Factions we were able to check out some of the adventure and quest-oriented parts of the game with some AI controlled party hench folks. We made the journey into a location that was partly frozen by a kind of jade-like ice (naturally the jade ice is a magical creation). The land actually freezes up massive creatures inside the ice and we were a little spooked when we approached what we thought was an unusual building and found out it was a huge turtle-like animal that moved around slightly while trapped in the jade ice. Of course all of the creatures you encounter are not stuck in the ice. During our brief time in the preview weekend our party encountered large tree creatures, floating slug like monsters, and various other new denizens of the Guild Wars universe.
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These won't just be big arena battles either but conflicts that will have a persistent effect on the game world. If you are on the winning side you get extra rewards such as unlocking special role-playing elite quests. Yes, there's a reason why they are "elite" missions as they will generate some extra nice loot and awards if they are completed.
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Visually Guild Wars Factions does indeed improve somewhat on the looks of the original title, with ArenaNet adding some DirectX9 specific effects to spice things up. Of course everything that people liked about the original game's visuals are back as well, such as the imaginative creature design, the large outdoor areas, and a solid user interface that makes things easy to access. Like the first game, Guild Wars Factions client is actually quite small and uses ArenaNet's streaming technology to download art and content assets while you are playing.
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If you are one of the many, many people who bought and enjoyed the original Guild Wars a year ago you are already likely to pick this game up but even people who have never tried this game out might want to give this title a look see. ArenaNet and publisher NCSoft already have a pre-order incentive for Guild Wars Factions that will allow people to start playing 24 hours before the rest of us sign onto the servers. However keep in mind that this game is multiplayer-only and that a final verdict cannot be reached until it ships to stores in late April.
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