Genre: MMORPG
Year: 2012
Developed by: ArenaNet
Published by: NCSOFT
Platforms: PC
#321
Feeling Like: Inner Conflict
I have an addictive personality.
It’s why I have to maintain constant discipline in the face of holiday treats, boozy nights out and working in close proximity to 143 superb restaurants downtown. I usually don’t try new things, but when I do, I run the risk of liking them. Too much.
Clive’s, Kyla and I’s favorite watering hole, is a prime example. The drinks are strong, expensive and delicious. The ambiance is phenomenal. No other place in town like it. I’ve said this out loud many times; if I was wealthy enough to not work, I would be in there every day.
Every. Day.
Dave V started me on professional wrestling in the late 90s and I haven’t dropped off since. My parents got me a stereo/radio combo for Christmas one year and I STILL listen to music as I fall asleep. I’m a creature of habit, what can I say?
So it goes with Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. I resisted World of Warcraft as long as I could, until the South Park episode aired and I dropped my inhibitions and was a heavy player for 1.5 years. I can’t help it. I love fun things.
Guild Wars 2 is an odd piece in my gaming library; I really, REALLY wanted to play more but knew that if I continued down that path, I may never emerge. It’s the same feeling I get when I see Dobbo login to Final Fantasy 14 – it’s not envy that I’m not playing, it’s pure temptation. It looks awesome. They keep improving it. It could suck all my free time away. I would meet new people. I can partake in adventures. Isn’t that what video games are all about?
There is no playing a little bit. I’m either all in, or not at all. Sorry, Guild Wars 2, it is not your fault. You were a brief, but wondrous experience.
Screenshots make it look like any other MMO (it’s so difficult for the industry to shake the World of Warcraft look and feel), but it’s hardly that. There’s a much bigger emphasis on exploration, co-operation and finding specific points on that map. These don’t necessarily increase the power of your character, but I love checking things off lists and if I get a sweeping, unique camera shot of specific landmark that establishes where I am in this massive world, all the better.
I still have my Backloggery update handy for Guild Wars 2.
Level 37 Norn Engineer, Percy Norntinker. 15% World Completion. Playing with Porco – super fun!
Sums it up. Porco, one of my good gaming buddies, recommended we play this together and here’s really the other reason why Guild Wars 2 isn’t higher on the list – I rarely played with friends. If I had found a dedicated group, I could easily have dove down the proverbial rabbit hole and still be playing. The top ranked Youtube search for “Guild Wars 2” review is “Should you play GW2 in 2019? An Overview”
2019! Seven years later and they’re still updating and improving the game with fixes, patches and Downloadable Content. It sounds like I really dodged an entertaining bullet.
Even writing about it is giving me a twitch to boot it up. I wonder if Percy Norntinker still exists. It’s tempting to look, for many reasons.
For one, it’s Free to Play for most of the content with no monthly subscription fee. The story is worth going through, and you’ll get to choose a branching path from time to time. The world is massive, which seems like a requirement for an MMO, but it’s the way it’s presented that’s appealing. The art style is incredible, I always felt it had a more Scandinavian feel to it, despite ArenaNet being located in Bellevue, Washington. There are “events” that occur in each region at particular times, usually meaning a massive attack by baddies that everybody around can join in on. It makes the world feel alive.
Menus are crisp and I appreciated how there wasn’t a healing class; everybody can heal in their own way. Combat is very MMO-y, which means you wait for your numerous cooldowns to cooldown and ensure the timing is right for you to inflict a status effect, or critical hit. I’m not wild about this type of combat, but it seems unavoidable for this genre.
Just another reminder how appealing and addicting online games can be. I’m glad I got out, but I’m also glad I got in.
The 500 