Guild Wars

Ya know, if there was one genre I had to pick that I hate above all others, it would probably be the RPG or MMORPG. Don't get me wrong, I was a big AD&D fan 15 years ago, and I still poke around in games like Diablo2. I think the main thing is that I simply don't "get" the RPG. I think I dream of the days where virtually anything was possible with AD&D: it was basically up to the Dungeon Master to determine.

I was uber-bored today, and discovered "Guild Wars" has some free dealio going on between Oct.29 - Oct.31. So I DLed the game and gave it a shot. It was very simple to set up- probably too simple because there aren't very many options available for your character. (5 different hair-dos, 5 different skin tones, 5 different faces, male/female, and 5 different classes) Oh, and you can adjust your height.

Well, I always like a challenge, so I chose an uber-petite female elementalist/ranger (with blue spikey hair). Yeah, she's just looking for an ass-whoopin :)

Guild Wars still doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and most people tend to gather in the main city (Lions Arch or something). There is a heavy focus on building a guild/team, although players can wander into the wilderness by themselves. Which is a hell of alot of fun for me. I don't bother anyone else and I don't screw up a good campaign. I tend to get myself into trouble, as I "test" the engine. Sometimes I get the opportunity to help another NPC wail on a couple Larvae thingies. So I kick their butts and get mauled by some big ugly orc thing.

Luckily I end up back in Lions Arch (somehow) with all my equipment, prepared to go cause more trouble with the big uglies in the wilderness. I have yet to join a campaign/guild until I learn the tricks and effective attacks.

Of course this game has a ton of noobs that ask constant questions. What online game would be complete without that?

One side effect is that entering new areas requires a DL, which could be painful for people on slow connections. But once you DL it, you can pretty much move back and forth between the areas- a DL menu pops up for a second in between and "pops" to 100% download complete.

This game looks like it could have been done in Torque. I have no idea what engine was actually used, and netcode is kind of spotty but that is understandable considering the 100+ players that were in one tiny area (Lions Arch). I really don't know where this game stands compared to other games in the genre. But for "free", I'll be playing this until Oct. 31.