Game Overview

Tired of subscription fees? Ready for an adventure you can pick up and put down at any time (although once you start playing, why would you want to)? Guild Wars is probably just the game you're looking for.

Originally launched in 2005, Guild Wars is the first title from ArenaNet, founded by key members of the creative teams behind the hit games Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and the creators of Battle.net. With no sharded servers, no language-specific game versions, and a seamless global game world, these are just a few reasons over two million people have picked up a box of Guild Wars to date.

If you haven't been to the official site already, here's a few noteworthy features about Guild Wars that we here at Warcry think you should consider.

Be who you want


With each new campaign to date comes two new professions, in addition to the basic six (Elementalist, Mesmer, Monk, Necromancer, Ranger, Warrior). Interested in the dark ways of the Assassin or the mysterious ways of the Ritualist? Pick up Factions and explore the world of Cantha. Do you see yourself as a mighty champion for humanity, rallying the valiant with shouts and chants or a holy warrior? Perhaps you'd make a great Paragon or Dervish, fighting the rising tides of darkness sweeping across Elona in Nightfall.

Individual heroes can eventually learn hundreds of unique skills per character. Male or female, large or small, there are lots of possibilities from which you can choose. Additionally, your hero's skills can be changed around easily - just switch up your skills and attributes whenever you're in town, or delete your character whenever you wish and start fresh. You can also create four heroes per unique Guild Wars account, and experimenting is encouraged!

An ever-growing world waits


Explore as little or as much as you want of the world. Each expansion introduces a new campaign designed to stand alone, but mix and match them together and you end up with a vast array of possibilities. As long as you own the appropriate expansion, you can travel back and forth between worlds.

If you're tired of other games where camping, kill-stealing, and long lines to complete quests are normal, you should know that each adventurer has its own unique copy of the quest map at its disposal. This allows for unprecedented freedom and power to manipulate the world around you: Your magic can build bridges and open up new pathways, or it can burn down forests and tear the ground asunder. Each area is filled with rich lore and unique areas to explore, although the basic game is the same so you don't have to learn an entirely new way to play just to visit each one. It gets even better. The entire world expands every six-nine months with a brand new stand alone campaign to play.

Skill, not time; Teams, not solo play


Do you like player versus player combat? Once you build your first character you can go head-to-head with people around the world right away - or join a guild and engage in large scale warfare. Whichever you choose, you don't have to spend hundreds of hours just to be 'competitive'.

http://gw.warcry.com/content/index.php