Distinguishing itself from many other MMOs on the market, the Guild Wars series has been termed a competitive online role-playing game due to its focus on instanced encounters rather than a large world for characters to explore and interact in. With Guild Wars 2 on its way, the game seems to be shaping up quite well as evidenced by hands-on impressions of the game.
In recent years, there has been a distinct surge in the popularity of MMORPGs.
While Blizzard’s World Of Warcraft still reigns king of the genre, free-to-play MMOs are also becoming much more prevalent and the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Old Republic has gamers itching for a chance to return to Bioware’s Star Wars universe. Then, there is the Guild Wars series.
A few small differences can make a very unique finished product, and the more and more we learn about Guild Wars 2, the more the differences are adding up. In particular, the game’s world seems to be very beautifully crafted, making the instanced combat that much more effective.
In a new video released for the game,players get to enjoy a tour of the city of Lion’s Arch. Check it out below:
With so many MMOs on the market - and more inching closer to release every day - games need to start pushing boundaries in order to stand out from the crowd. Judging by this trailer and the other footage that has been revealed from the game, ArenaNet has taken care to create a stunningly unique world for gamers to explore in Guild Wars 2. While the majority of fantasy MMOs tend to have a rather generic feel to their environments, locations like Lion’s Arch really stand out.
We’ve seen countless seaside towns and cities in games, but there’s something about Lion’s Arch that seems wholly different. Not only is its bright color palette visually stunning to look at, the city just seems to feel as if its alive. Rather than being built flat on one level, areas of the city sit down at the level of the ocean while bridges connect massive spires that contain other game areas.
The architecture in the city also seems to be much more than five different building models with some different textures. Judging by the trailer, these subtle flourishes could make for a far more engaging experience and interesting world to look at.
Alongside the new information regarding three of the game’s races, the charr, the norn, and the humans, this look at one of the game’s environments seems to be a sign of good things to come. Gamers who value style and variation have a lot to be excited for when Guild Wars 2 launches.
What do you think about the city of Lion’s Arch? Are you excited to see developers putting more thought and creativity into creating engaging game worlds, or does gameplay take the top priority for you?
Guild Wars 2 is set to release sometime in 2011.
