Yes, that's right, you saw it first hand.. Guild Wars. It was in June of 2005 when my best friend told me that he was going to buy it for me and demand that I played with him. I was living here in London, England at the time and he was still in the United States (since I originally come from there). He transferred the money for it to me via Western Union and I was on my way to the nearest GAME (video game retailer here in the UK) to pick up my copy. With glee, I found myself skipping down the streets of London like a giddy little schoolgirl... alright, not really, but I felt like I was!
Installation of the game was a breeze, even though it seemed to take ages (it was just my imagination). I heard a fair amount of good things about Guild Wars from looking online when my friend聽became so demanding that I play it (Hey, a man can only trust the insane ramblings of his best friend for a decade before he starts double-checking the information!). The previews, articles, and reviews that I read for Guild Wars were incredible, very few people had anything nasty to say about it. By the time it was installed, I knew what type of profession I wanted (or at least a close idea to it) and was ready to jump into the world of Tyria.
Who is going to argue with a mosh-pit Necromancer/Monk? That's what I thought!
I decided to brand myself a Necromancer/Monk - creating minions out of dead bodies and keeping myself buffed up so I don't die like the whimpy Rangers (this isn't an opinion of mine, I love Rangers too y'know). The world was intense and so realistic, the only problem was that my cruddy graphics card at the time couldn't handle the immense power that is known as Guild Wars (on max graphical settings, anyways). The storyline kept me literally begging for more, I couldn't keep my posture long enough to not be at the edge of my seat. I couldn't stop but think about all of the sub-plots and the full history of Tyria throughout the entire journey.
Yet...somewhere along the lines, I got distracted. I felt like I had been smited by the forces to be and I stopped playing Guild Wars. As with all games, they tend to make me try them out even for a little while - and thus, I started playing various other games. In my heart, there was something missing... the lore, the passion, the tactfulness that I once found in a game that I had nearly forgotten. Until there was news, news of a new update to Guild Wars. News that there was going to be more storyline, more information, new professions, new skills for all professions, and so much more. And that news became Guild Wars Factions.
And we welcome a new character, a Ritualist/Necromancer, by the name of Tsukioka Yoshidoshi!
With my passion as a Necromancer, Ritualist seemed like the next best thing. Instead of rising the dead, you summon spirits that look like freaks on leashes. Hey, nothing wrong with that...right? Psh, I'm not listening to you anyways! It was beyond awesome! Around this time, so many more of my online and offline friends were playing because of Factions and the fact that others were playing it as well. This, of course, lead to the eventual creation of a guild. We've never been some huge guild that was out for territories in Guild Versus Guild; instead, we focused on building our friendships in-game and all. My best friend and I were still playing together from time to time, and we even began to share an account together (just so my wife and I could play at the same time as well ;}).
OHSHI---! This symbol is just that bloody scary to make even the great "Master Togo" freak out.
Again, I jumped head-first into the storyline. It was interesting, riveting, and almost impossible to beat in the MMORPG scene. More characters were created, more skills were found, and more quests were completed. And with everything on the verge of getting good..it happened, again. That's right, I got side-tracked on other MMORPGs because another group of friends were pulling away for a break (since they were 'hardcore gamers' that played pretty much 24 hours for a few days). Regardless, with every step I took in another MMORPG, I found myself thinking about Guild Wars in some manner or another. Sometimes the guilt would set in too greatly, making me log in just to find that I couldn't do much without my friends with me any longer. And other times, I just felt like Guild Wars was just too much for a 'semi-busy' person like myself.
But, just like last time, I got sucked back in because of another 'campaign' of the Guild Wars franchise. Even as I write this article, I find myself wanting to login and start playing any character that are on the accounts I have access to. Heck, my wife and I own two accounts now ourselves. The titles you can earn by doing absolutely mundane and crazy things (like getting drunk and being called a 'drunkard') can get absolutely silly-sounding. The humour in Guild Wars is unique as well, as they tend to make fun of pop culture or the gaming 'lifestyle' (games, quotes, sci-fi, etc). It pulled at the geek within, even though I'm (admittedly) 'proud' to be a geek. There will never be another MMORPG out there that pulls me around like a yo-yo. I get side-tracked for an ungodly amount of time and Guild Wars is still there...installed..and ready to take me into a fantasy world filled with insanity, crazy pirates, mutated monsters, and intense Player Versus Player rounds.
And you're a Meany Meany Poo-Poo Head! Really, you look like you've got...emotional problems, yo!
I find that Guild Wars is much like one of those pop-punk Green Day songs called "Poprocks and Coke". The line goes "Wherever you go, you know I'll be there". Guild Wars is just that game that will always 'be there' just in case I lose faith in the MMORPG genre due to some horrible game that I've wasted too much time on. It can give me a nice big 'hug' because there is no grind here - there's no endless hours leveling and trying to get better. Heck no, instead you have to train yourself to be aware and accustomed to your skill set in order to get better. There's just too much one can do in Guild Wars and it never really gets bothersome, unless you're too impatient to wait for things to work out.
The storyline is, to say the least, captivating. It will capture even the most hardcore readers out there, no doubt about it. As for me? It's got me for now and for a while, even to the point that I'm highly expecting its sequel - Guild Wars 2. I only wonder how they're going to improve on the already-existant engine and techniques. It makes me feel that 'schoogirlish prance' coming on again..lets just pray it doesn't actually happen this time.
All-in-all, Guild Wars is my favourite MMORPG to date. I've played a plethora of them, no doubt. I started on AOL's Neverwinter Nights back in 1994. I've played through Ultima Online and Ragnarok Online and... the list goes on and on. But in my gamer-heart, Guild Wars will always be there for me.. even if I'm not there for it. Thanks NCSoft, Thank you Guild Wars, you both have made this gamer the most gleeful guy in London whenever I hear its sweet melodies.
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