Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is the sequel of an MMO game series originated in 2005, released on PC. All its installments, including the plethora of expansions for the first game, were developed by an American company ArenaNet, in close cooperation with NCsoft, which specializes in this type of games. The publisher, NCsoft, is best known for such titles as: Auto Assault, City of Heroes, and City of Villains, Lineage series, and Tabula Rasa.

The first Guild Wars consists of three separate standalone campaigns: Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall, as well as Eye of the North add-on, which requires any one of these games installed to run. The expansion introduced a system called the Hall of Monuments that enabled players to move some of their achievements from the game to its sequel, thus gaining the upper hand from the very start. Among the bonuses for veterans there are also: extra weapons, pets, and prestigious character titles.

Similarly to the original game, Guild Wars 2 for PC does not require paid subscription, unlike many other games of the genre. Instead, micro transactions system was introduced, offering extras for small payments. The second game presents a completely new, vast area, where you can meet players from around the world. The creators decided to retain some of the characteristic elements of the first game – namely, deep storytelling, various gameplay features, heavy PVP support (player vs. player) – at the same time, dropping the world construction that is mostly based on instances, instead creating a big, open world.

The story is set 250 years after the events of Eye of the North. The world has been through some transformation and development, mainly due to the return of ancient dragons. Their appearance resulted in destruction of many cities known from the first game, getting the human race into serious trouble. Similar problems also affect other, previously met races (the Asuras, the Norn, and the Charr). In the game, you can learn the story from different angles. You can also make use of new technology, even including firearms used by the Charr.

The authors decided to expand character creation process. In the second game of the saga you can play not only as a human. You can also choose from: the Charr (humanoid wild beasts), the Norn (over two-meter warriors from the north, able to take a form of an animal), the Asuras (cunning artisans) and Sylvari (a race born of a magic tree). Your hero can progress through gaining experience levels (up to 80), unlocking skills, and equipping better gear. Additionally, various character classes (eg. Necromancer, Warrior, Elementalist) have special statistics, and a lot of spells/attacks is ascribed to a particular weapon.

Most of the time you can play alone, however, fighting alongside other players is a major aspect of the game. The developers prepared a lot of interesting locations, missions, and challenges. In contrast to the first game, in most places you can meet not only members of your team, but also players from all over the world. The game almost completely does away with classic missions, replacing them with area events, in which everybody may participate. But still the pinnacle are story missions. Comparing with the first part of the series, they are more complex and multi-threaded.

Another new feature is the ability to swim and explore the underwater. Among other alterations, it is worth to mention changes in the controls and movement (which is now much more fluid), the ability to jump, as well as enhanced graphics. Again, the music for the game was composed by Jeremy Soule.

Last updated on August 14, 2015