Guild Wars 2

PCRespect. At the core of Guild Wars 2 is this simple concept. Respect for the player's intelligence, respect for the player's time, respect for the player's investment, and respect, even reverence, for the genre.

Even so, it's obvious Guild Wars 2 offers players an exciting new fantasy world to explore, with some refreshing design ideas and without the continual strain on your bank accounts. Newcomers to, and fans of, MMOs should definitely take a look, but players who are truly tired of the formula story and endless torrent of incrementally better loot won't find anything much here to change their mind.

Guild Wars 2's biggest strength is that, for the most part, it knows when to stay the hell out of your way. From its Skyrim-style fast travel system to the way the game handles player death.

In the past 2 years we have seen many MMORPGs either go free to play to retain players or just fall flat and die off. In 2012 alone, Lego Universe, Earthrise, Black Prophecy and City of Heroes all closed down.

It’s probably best to dispel this one right out the gate; no matter what anybody might have told you, Guild Wars 2 isn’t the new dawn for MMO games. It isn’t a title that reinvents or moves the genre forward into brave new territory.

Guild Wars 2 is a paradise for explorers and thrill-seekers alike, and the best online role-playing game.

Despite following the so-hot-right-now fantasy game storyline of ‘the dragons are here and now we’re all screwed’, Guild Wars 2 manages to be one of the most innovative new titles in an often stagnant genre.

More streamlined and accessible than most games before it, this is an evolution of the genre. Guild Wars 2 brings simple yet dramatic changes to the stale gameplay formula that result in an easily enjoyable experience for any MMO fan out there.