The last time we saw Master Chief and Cortana, they were drifting off into unknown space on the rear half of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn. Nearly 6 years later, Halo 4 was announced under the development of 343 Industries, and was planned to be the first instalment in a second trilogy. In this installment, Master Chief is called into service once again with Cortana to save everybody from a new threat. You know how it goes.
There’s nothing much to say about this game; it’s Halo. If you’ve played any Halo game (and I’m sure you’ve played at least one), you know what you’re getting into. This is actually a good thing since this is the first title in the series without Bungie, and 343 Industries took on the challenge and created a game that Halo fans will appreciate. Halo 4 gave me a bit of nostalgia. It’s been awhile since I’ve entered the Halo universe, so it was refreshing to play a game like this again.
There are some changes in Halo 4, but the core gameplay is still intact. One of those changes is in the game’s story, which is more emotional than previous games. Cortana has reached her life expectancy as an AI, which means that Master Chief is pinned in a position to find a way to save her partner from thinking herself to death while simultaneously stopping this new threat from the Prometheans. You’d think the relationship of the duo would be the highlight of the story, but instead, it’s actually benched for the most part and only called on when needed. The main focus is still the world-ending threat, and once in a while Master Chief witnesses his partner for years malfunctioning in front of him, even during a fight.
I applaud 343 Industries’ attempt to bring a more serious tone to Master Chief’s relationship with Cortana, but it’s hard to take the emotional cut-scenes between the two iconic characters seriously when one of them is pouring with emotion, and the other is as stoic as ever, with his helmet preventing the player from getting a sense of his reactions to a situation. Not that I want Master Chief to reveal his face, but it just didn’t make any sense with regards to what they were trying to do. Master Chief is a great character, but his deep voice (which never changes) and his “the mission comes first” approach in every situation makes emotional cut-scenes feel awkward. Keeping the camera on Chief’s head doesn’t make it an intense scene.
Halo 4 did have a chance to create a great antagonist for Master Chief, a true nemesis that pushes him to his limits, but sadly falls short at the climax (you will understand when you hit the end). The story wasn’t what I hoped for, but looking back – what was I expecting? In the end I got the usual “must save the human race” plot, which is getting old.
But of course, Halo is all about the action, and you get plenty of that in Halo 4. You’d think after years of cryonic sleep, Master Chief would get some real R &R, but no. From when he wakes up until the credits start rolling, you encounter a battle at every turn you take, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. The campaign has a similar length to previous games with the same mix of FPS and vehicular warfare we’ve come to know in previous titles. The Covenant still shows up as the enemy, but the Prometheans, which are forerunner constructs that sport cool-looking skull faces once they open up, take up most of the spotlight, or rather, most of Master Chief’s bullets. The new enemies are quite challenging, especially the Promethean Knights (whom I hate fighting when there’s more than two at a time). They make a good alternative to the Covenant enemies we’ve gone against for years, but man, how I wish they added more enemy types for the Prometheans.
With new enemies come new weapons, but the Promethean arsenal is sadly not appealing. The UNSC and Covenant guns still pack a punch and completely outweigh the new weapons. But you’re mostly forced to use these new alien weapons anyway, since you will eventually run out of ammo for your trusty DMR. Prometheans are your primary enemies in the campaign, so you’ll eventually get used to the new weapons, but as soon as I found a bunch of abandoned UNSC equipment with ammo, I instantly dropped everything I had and picked up a more familiar weapon set. I couldn’t wait to get rid of them.
It seems like 343 Industries did not seek to create anything groundbreaking, but instead wanted to bring the series back in the best way possible without alienating the Halo community. The game looks amazing and is one of the best-looking exclusive titles on the Xbox 360. It definitely pushes the console past its limits and I appreciate the level of detail they put into the game’s environments. Once I finished the campaign, I wasn’t too satisfied with the end result, but I’m definitely now eager to see how Halo 5 and 6 pan out with Master Chief out in the wild. Now that the campaign is out of the way, let’s get into the crazy famous multiplayer.
Multiplayer
Halo 4’s competitive multiplayer, now called War Games, is a way better experience than the previous offering in Halo: Reach. The game has better connections for players in Asia. The map designs are more strategic thanks to many entry points allowing access to more areas. DMR is still the most used weapon from what I can tell, but the other weapons can be as effective; it all depends on your play style. Game modes like Slayer and Team Slayer return with a good mix of other objective-based modes to provide variety for all types of players. On its initial release, the game shipped with 10 multiplayer maps, which created a good map rotation for players, preventing them from getting sick of certain arenas. Some maps are quite large in order to incorporate vehicles into play, while others are small enough for players that love to engage in close quarters. A good mix indeed.
Special weapons and grenades like the sniper rifle, plasma grenades, SAW, the Energy Sword, and many more spawn on the map and are up for grabs to the first comers. Each map has a different set of weapons spawning, so it creates some strategy and gives a bit of an edge to the team that uses it right. There are also Ordnance drops, which are another way to give a specific player an edge during a match. Once you acquire enough medals, you will earn an Ordnance drop, providing you with three choices that can range from a weapon boost to a rocket launcher drop. Sadly, Ordnance drops are only available in certain game modes, which I’m assuming was done to prevent balancing issues.
The multiplayer customization is about the same as any FPS. The Spartan program has started up again and you are among the new Spartan –IV batch stationed at the UNSC Infinity. There’s a level-up system, of course. When you level up, you get Spartan Points (SP) to either unlock a specific ability or weapon that you can include in your custom load-outs. There aren’t many abilities and weapons to unlock, but there’s tons of Spartan armour so you can really stand out visually, as well as a vast variety of designs to make your unique emblem. The Forge is also included, which lets players customize maps and game modes that can be used in custom matches.
Their third main mode, Spartan Ops, replaces Firefight and is new to the series. It’s an episodic, story-driven game mode with its very own storyline and characters. It takes place six months after the campaign and you have objective-based missions with cinematics that tell a whole new story. A new episode is released every week and season 1 is expected to have 10 episodes, with each episode having 5 missions each. I loved the concept and the story, but the gameplay is pretty much a recycling of campaign levels and objectives (based on the first two episodes). Like a TV series, we’ll just have to wait and see how the story turns out in the end.
It’s an ambitious game mode since each chapter includes a cinematic clip that looks amazing. And the fact that they call this season 1 makes me believe that they are planning to create more content in the coming months, making Spartan Ops and the multiplayer two good options for jumping back into Halo 4 once you’ve finished the campaign. So far, it falls short in gameplay due to reusing content. I’ll give it a chance when more episodes are out to see how the story progresses, but at this point I still prefer Firefight.
Halo 4 doesn’t break any boundaries, but it definitely did not disappoint. While the story was not what I expected, the campaigned entertained me for a good 10 hours, and the multiplayer remains as addicting as it’s ever been. Spartan Ops is a bit lacking in terms of gameplay but it has the potential to redeem itself in the coming weeks. When it comes to Halo, I don’t want that much change. The formula works. And if it works, why change it? 343 Industries kept most of it intact, and now that we know that this developer can take on a big franchise like this with the same quality Bungie would provide, I’m up for Halo 5 and 6.
Score: 8/10
Pros:
- Multiplayer still addicting as ever
- Best looking Xbox 360 game to date
- Halo formula still feels great after all these years
Cons:
- Weak story
- Spartan Ops gameplay
- Covenant and UNSC weapons far superior to the new weapons
XCOM. Sadly, it isn’t a commonly known name nowadays, but this franchise is considered one of the best strategy games of all time. When I heard Firaxis took the challenge of recreating the 1994 cult classic for modern-day platforms, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. When release day came, I bought it without hesitation, and after countless campaigns and finally finishing the game on classic Ironman difficulty, I can easily say this one of 2012’s best. This reboot not only retains the core concept of the original, it will also satisfy both hardcore fans of the old title as well as players new to the game. Firaxis has struck gold with this one.
Gameplay can be fun and stressful at the same time
The setting is simple. Earth gets invaded by extra-terrestrials and you are the commander of the XCOM project, a group organized to be the last form of defense against them. The game is turn-based strategy with gameplay having two parts – Base management and Squad management. Let’s focus on managing your squad first.
During missions, you prepare and send out 4-6 units to respond to alien abductions, alien crash sites, and alien craft landings. Compared to the original, how you manage your squad in the field feels more simplified. You don’t need a big tutorial to prep you for combat with this one. A simple tutorial mission covers all you need to take on the alien menace head on, but don’t take the game too lightly. Strategy is greatly required since positioning is everything in this game. The angle of cover for your unit determines how protected you are from enemy fire, and getting hit is no joke (especially early on). It mostly leads to certain death when a hit connects. Since every shot is based on a certain percentage, it can be a bit frustrating, but at the same time rewarding, especially with those 20% hit rate shots that turn the tide of the mission. This game requires patience, and really tests you on that front.
As units rack up the kills, they earn experience and eventually get promoted. Rookies that get the promotion randomly turn into one of the four classes in the game; Sniper, Support, Heavy, Assault. Each class has its own skill tree, with skills that give them an edge in battle. As they rise up in the ranks, you are allowed to pick either one of the two skills in that promotion. Each side of the tree provides a different take in class. For example – Some skills on the left of the sniper tree make the soldier more effective with a pistol. While it does look simple at first glance, you are still left thinking hard on what would benefit your squad as a whole.
When units die, they are gone for good, along with all that experience the soldier earned. It can be heartbreaking to see your assault class shottie with 30 kills die in front of you. Since death is permanent, you tend to tread carefully. You grow attached to some of the units as you go from mission to mission, and your performance when losing one experienced unit makes a big impact, especially later in the game. Units dying can sometimes also affect nearby units in a hilarious way. Units with little willpower can panic after seeing a squadmate die, which makes him randomly do stupid stuff on his next turn like shoot another squaddie, or even walk out of cover to get taken out by an alien on overwatch.
Missions can either go really smoothly, or out of control really fast. That’s thanks to the amazing AI. Depending on the situation they are in, you see aliens fleeing from their cover if it’s dangerous to stick around, or use their abilities in key moments that make you really think about your next move. They can even flank you and wait for you to be impatient.
Before any mission, you are given the chance to sort out your unit’s loadout and appearance. Again, it’s simplified compared to the original game. You get to customize the unit’s primary weapon, secondary weapon, armour, and a utility slot, which lets the unit carry one grenade or one med kit. At first, I was bothered that I wasn't able to carry more grenades like the old game, but this change provided challenging decisions during missions. Should I throw a grenade at the Sectoid applying mind flay, or save it for when I see a group of them bunched up? It made those items so valuable in missions that you sometimes regret using them when you need it the most.
When you start a mission, all the aliens are hidden, so you need find them while simultaneously strategically positioning yourself. When you find a group, they are given free time to get into cover, which mostly eliminates the chance for an ambush. That was one of my biggest gripes on the combat. No matter what, they get a chance to get into cover. For us? We don’t get that luxury. Get ready to be flanked. Most missions task you with killing all the aliens in the map, but every once in a while you are given different objectives like escort missions, bomb defusal, and terror missions where you need to rescue civilians. The amount of tasks to keep the missions fresh is enough, but the number of maps is lacking. You will do tons of missions, and you will quickly notice maps used over and over again with the same starting point.
But the maps are well-developed. Building walls, cover, and almost anything else on the map can be damaged or completely destroyed, which opens up new opportunities for attacks and strategies. The hit chance of that alien too low? Throw a grenade and watch his cover crumble. The environment can also be affected by missed shots. I’ve experienced awkward situations such as ending up with no cover at all for one of my units, thanks to a missed shot by my sniper. The game always surprises you with moments like those, especially when you miss a rocket shot, which doesn’t make sense when it happens.
The pressure of being an XCOM commander
Now to base management. This is where everything happens when you’re not on a mission. After a successfully mission, all the damaged alien equipment, parts, and corpses are brought along with your squad as they head home. These items are required so that your research team can develop new equipment and technology. Then, with the help of the engineering bay and a few credits, you will have the new gear ready for use. Since the base is located underground, it’s presented in an antfarm-like overview which is quite nice, but hardly appreciated. There’s so much to be done when in the base. It’s quite easy to manage and understand what needs to be done, but things can go spiralling out of control if you don’t pay attention. Everything is up to you on what you consider the highest priority since only one research or construction can be done at a time. It usually takes days for upgrades and research to finish, so while waiting, you can scan with XCOM’s geoscape for alien activity, which is pretty much where you find missions to do.
Another aspect to manage is your interceptors and satellites. Satellites are used to scan for alien activity in that country and earn extra funds per month, while interceptors protect satellites and shoot down alien UFOs. During the early stages, shooting down UFOs is easy stuff, but just like everything else in the game, it gets harder later on, so upgrading your planes is another thing to consider. A small mini-game occurs when dispatching planes to take down a UFO craft, and when you successfully take it down, it’s time to send your squad.
In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the XCOM project is being funded by leading countries around the world. If you have 7 countries that cut their funding, it’s game over. Yes, you can lose the fight against the aliens if you don’t get enough support. So you become a babysitter to these countries. But missions like the abductions happen in multiple countries all at once, so it’s not an easy task to keep them all happy. Not assist a country enough and you will see them cut their funding in the next XCOM monthly report. You will lose countries, but you are left in a position to decide what’s best as you move forward. The base management is as strategic as ever, which shows that Firaxis was definitely the perfect choice for a game like this. Sadly, the reboot only has one base to manage, whereas in the original you were allowed to make multiple bases.
Playing the game will lead to different outcomes every time. Each campaign turns out different thanks to the many decisions that shape your game, which gives a strong replay value. If you want the perfect XCOM experience, Firaxis included Ironman mode, which disables your ability to save the game. The game pretty much saves the game for you in one file, and you are forced to live with whatever has happened in your campaign. No more loading to save a squad member. To really appreciate the game, turning on Ironman mode is the way to go, but not everybody would be keen about the idea, so it’s good to see it as just an option.
It isn’t the smoothest game though. Playing it on the Xbox 360, I’ve experienced many bugs. Most of the bugs I’ve encountered are during missions. One example is after taking a shot, the game locks up and doesn’t go to the next unit, forcing me to exit the game or reset (happened three times).
The character models and animations are nothing to brag about, but the tone of the environment and soundtrack is spot on. The feeling as if something, or someone is out there is greatly captured on each map in the game. Aliens hidden can still be heard when moving around the map, and the sounds they make are quite distinctive for each alien type.
I played XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the Xbox 360. It’s clear that the PC version is the ideal platform, but I chose a console version since this is the first time XCOM will be hitting consoles. I needed to see the difference in controls. To my surprise, playing XCOM with a controller is as easy as playing it with a keyboard and mouse. It’s quite user-friendly and I had no problems with it at all when playing it. Firaxis did a good job at making this strategy game very friendly to console controllers. Everything is smooth and easy to access, even when you are maintaining your base. If you are planning to get the game on a console, the controls won’t be an issue.
Multiplayer mode, who needs it?
XCOM: Enemy Unknown actually comes with multiplayer, but don’t get all excited. It’s quite simple really. You fight against another player, and the first guy to lose all their units loses. There’s no base building or anything. It’s just a mission against another player. You are given a point budget, where you can spend in order to create your squad for the match. Each unit costs a certain amount depending on how strong they are. The multiplayer is quite disappointing really if you compare it against what the single player brings. The only good thing about playing multiplayer is that you get to control the alien units as well and make interesting strategies with human squad soldiers and aliens to win. But the online is quite laggy and very unbalanced. You might get a kick out of it after a few matches, but it will grow old pretty fast.
Firaxis has done it. A game that has stayed true to its roots, and at the same time revived a franchise that’s still loved by many players around the world. Fans of the old game might not appreciate some of the changes to the game, but most of what made the game so appealing is still intact. At the same time, the game is simple enough that any player unfamiliar with the series can pick it up with ease. XCOM: Enemy Unknown lets you make hard choices that have painful consequences at times, but the feeling when you succeed after all of that makes it even more satisfying. A successful reboot that I find myself coming back to every now and then, just like I did with the original.
Score: 90/100
Pros:
- A great reboot of the 1994 XCOM classic
- Addicting gameplay
- The difficulty of the game is welcomed
- Ironman mode
Cons:
- Can be quite buggy during missions
- Not enough maps in the game, maps get reused a lot
Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead: a world that’s seeing success in the graphic novel and television worlds now creeps its way to video games. The Walking Dead Game is not at all the typical survival horror you see in other titles. This game is here to tell a story, and Telltale Games not only creates their best story-driven experience yet, they also retain the dark and bleak world that makes The Walking Dead so great. People will die, hard choices have to be made, and these choices will matter. This is a game that focuses purely on telling a great story based on your choices, and it’s one of the best gaming experiences I had all year.
The Walking Dead Game is composed of five episodes that can run about three hours each, depending on how you play. It tells the story of Lee Everett, a man heading to prison for being accused of murder. He then meets Clementine, an 8-year-old girl who was sitting on her tree house waiting for her parents to come home. Lee takes full responsibility of the little girl and their journey through the zombie-infested world begins. This is the choice-driven game at its best. You interact with a series of very well-written characters and depending on how or what you say to them, you can and will affect the future of your playthrough.
The Walking Dead Game has graphics that fit perfectly to the universe. It brings the feeling that the game was cut straight out of the comics itself. The environment created for the player to explore and interact with gives you that post-apocalyptic feeling and the struggle to survive. The exploration is limited, but enough to satify your curiousity. Character models look pretty stiff when they move, especially when they are running, but thankfully the voice acting makes up for it.
When I say “well-written”, I mean that these are characters that you will either care for, or despise. The voice acting did a good job at establishing each character’s personality, affecting your choices in the game. Hating one character can sway you into siding with another character in a heated argument, or from what a character is saying to Lee, you get the feeling that you don’t trust him/her. As you move forward in the story, the characters act differently based on what has happened or what you have done, so you see their personalities mature in front of you. You feel the pressure of each choice, big or small. For the most part, you have four different choices to pick from with either the directional pad or buttons. There’s always a timer on how long you have to decide. It can get intense, which can lead to mistakes. Each time you make a decision or say something, the game informs you that a character will remember what you say, which brings that feeling of regret or relief.
It wasn’t a smooth experience playing all five episodes. Every now and then were random FPS drops that all but ruin the experience; they can be random, but they often show up at the worst possible times. They were apparent on each episode, and sometimes sparked frustration.
It’s an emotional roller coaster ride in The Walking Dead Game. As you go from episode to episode, the stakes get higher, and you start to feel the weight of your previous decisions. Each episode brings a new atmosphere. It’s still dark and gloomy, but the focus shifts every time. New characters are introduced, and within each of them lies a shocking surprise, making it so there’s never a dull moment. If you’re hoping it will ever get better for Lee’s group, it never does, which is perfect because this stays true to Robert Kirkman’s original style. The score also contributes to the feeling that there’s no hope left in this world. You are in for some top-notch storytelling, but don’t expect a happy tale.
The control scheme is very straightforward and simple to understand. Like I said earlier, each decision or answer is assigned to either one of the directional pads, or buttons on the controller. You move Lee with your left stick and your right stick controls the cursor, which lets Lee interact with the world around him. There are a couple of QTEs (quick time events) that occur when you’re in a situation, but they only happen every now and then, so you won’t constantly be pressing X to save your life at each turn you take. Playing this game is very easy to control, so that you give the narrative your full attention. With that in mind, since it’s such a story-driven experience, it can appeal to the more casual crowd of non-gamers that have never held a controller in their life. Even fans of the comic and show who don’t play games will get a kick out of this.
There are in-game puzzles, but they are simple road blocks for players. The real challenges are the interactions with the characters. How will they react when you do this, or choose this? How can I keep Kenny in good relations with Lilly? Do I want Carly to watch the motor Inn? There’s a lot to think about. There are situations that when I’m allowed to move freely, I pause and really think what’s best for the group. Those are the real puzzles that you are left trying to figure out.
Just like any good episode straight from a TV drama series, you have a cliff-hanger that makes you want the next episode. It’s a thrilling experience and it hardly dies down as you progress through each one. The story gradually gets better, and the bump in quality lasts all the way to the finale, which ends the game with a bang. The choices become harder, and you can see that they take an effect on Clementine, the little girl that Lee is hell-bent on protecting from this world; after a few hours of playing, you want to protect her the best way you can as well. The quality of the characters in this game lets you feel that these decisions you make really matter. These characters grow on you, and you just hope things turn out well in the end.
Like a few other titles focused on player choices, The Walking Dead can be played with different results. Playing a new file differently from your old one does change how the story goes. Some choices result in some characters showing up in an episode when they didn’t in your previous game. I've shared my experience with other players that played the game and we have different outcomes. It brought interesting conversations between players. If you are connected online, after each episode, the game tracks your choices and you see the overall stats on what other players decided during the really big decisions.
There’s no right or wrong in this game, really. The choices you make are based on what you think is right for the characters you are now invested in. You want them to survive, you want Clementine to find her parents, and you want Lee to protect the group in the best way he can.
Telltale Games is known as the studio that prioritizes storytelling over other gameplay aspects. The Walking Dead is their best effort yet, and will leave a lasting impression that will make it one of the most memorable gaming experiences of this generation. The writing for the characters and the flow of the story were top-notch, while the weight of your decisions are what make the game. A narrative that juggles with emotions is rarely seen in a videogame, and the player’s level of responsibility makes the experience unique. I have no doubt in my mind that this is the best story-driven game I’ve ever played. We need more games like this and hopefully this sparks some inspiration in other studios to develop more games like this in the future.
Score: 97/100
Pros:
- Memorable characters
- You feel the consequences of your choices in the game
- The visual are a perfect fit to the game
- Story gets better and intense as you progress through each episode
If you're reading this article, then you probably play video games and/or spend a significant amount of time in front of a computer screen. Growing up, our parents would always tell us not to sit too close to the TV. I'm sure none of you listened. Neither did I. And even though most of us have LCD or LED monitors, staring into bright digital screens during most of the day can't be good. That's where Gunnar Eyewear come in.
I understand how one could be skeptical about the entire concept of Gunnar glasses because I, too, was immensely skeptical about them, yet at the same time very curious. I've looked up reviews of these brand of glasses repeatedly but I knew that could only satisfy my curiosity if I tried them myself. The pair I bought is called the EDGE. Sporting a rimless design and soft-touch thermoplastic temples, they have a good grip and are pretty lightweight.
The glasses do exactly what they say on the box. The pair magnifies your vision so you get a better view of your screen/s. I wouldn't really agree with the whole "increased contrast" part because turning everything yellow doesn't mean a sharper image, but the amber tint works by reducing the whites on your screen, which put the most strain on your eyes. I tend to not notice the yellow tint the longer I wear the optics, but I do not recommend wearing them when working on programs such as Photoshop, since working with different colors is important and the yellow tint will prove to be distracting. Aside from reduced eyestrain, I find myself being able to focus on my screen or HDTV easier when I have the glasses on. However, I will say that it took me a while to get used to them. That may be different depending on the person, but do give the glasses at least a week before you make a final decision.
For me, the two main points of my skepticism were "do the glasses work?" and what probably is the main deterrent: price. Yes, I honestly think that these glasses are overpriced. According to Gunnar, the only difference between the advanced gaming eyewear and the advanced computer eyewear are the frames, which I believe are also what dictate the difference in price.
Bottom line, Gunnar glasses do what they claim to do but are a bit on the steep side pricewise. I'd recommend getting a pair only if you have the money to burn as I feel that they are not a necessity. I got the Gunnar EDGE for 3995php at DataBlitz.
I never thought I would get back into an MMO. I’ve played them for years and have completely lost interest with the standard MMO formula. Yet, when Guild Wars 2 was announced, I wanted to give it a chance. Arenanet’s promises about the features in the game were ambitious and completely out of every MMO player’s comfort zone. After years of development, the game has finally gone live, allowing players to populate the world of Tyria. After playing the game from day one up to the day I decided to sit down and finally write this review, I can honestly say that Guild Wars 2 is a step forward in the right direction for the MMORPG genre.
Just like any MMO out there, the first thing that needs to be done is creating your first character. Aside from the usual customization options such as class, race, and visual appearance, you are given a set of questions that shapes your personal story. Instead of dumping the player into the big issues of the world right away, you are given a personal story that lets you experience your character rising up the ranks and becoming an important part of the main plot. When your personal story ends (Which is roughly halfway through), that’s when the pre-set story starts. The main plot, going against the elder dragons, is pretty straightforward. Guild Wars 2’s storytelling only shines through the personal stories. I was more interested on finding out what happened to my character’s father who was branded a traitor, rather than finding a way to defeat the elder dragons. This does not mean the characters or voice acting are bad, though. While the main plot of the game doesn’t draw you in enough to really give a damn, the characters you meet are quite memorable. From Zojja’s arrogant remarks to Warmaster Forgal’s comebacks when someone calls him old, the NPCs can bring a smile every now and then.
You will appreciate the overall presentation during the main story. You’ll also encounter a lot of cutscenes, mostly conversations between your character and various NPCs. All are well crafted and thankfully the lip-syncing was done well enough to provide the impression that they are really saying their words. Occasionally, you are treated to cinematics that use the amazing art assets of Guild Wars 2. You first witness one after finally creating your character and while it’s not the heavy graphics cinematics we are used to, the mixture of character models and designs used to create these presentations was so unique and artistic that it brought out the feeling that I was about to be part of an epic journey.
The excitement to see what happens next, though, ended for me when I stepped into the main plot, but thankfully, you are not required at all to do the main story’s quests. Finishing the main story was actually one of the last things I did.
The freedom to choose
This is one of the beauties of this game; you are given the choice to do whatever you want. Want some storytelling, go ahead. Want to not level and just do PVP at level 80, sure, jump right in. Want to go to war with other server, that’s possible too. After you complete your race’s epic introduction quest, you are placed on the first map and depending on what kind of player you are, you are just one click away from embarking on any of the main aspects of the game.
PVE is a bit different here. All you’ve got to do is explore and you will eventually find an ongoing event or task to participate in. Leveling is actually fun and it doesn’t end up being tedious. When done with a dynamic event or a task, you are rewarded on the spot based on how much you contributed, which saves so much time. If there is one thing I hate about the standard questing model, it’s traveling all the way back to the NPC to earn your reward. The fact that in Tyria you earn your experience and rewards on the spot keeps the momentum going. You are constantly moving forward.
If near the area, other players can participate anytime in any task and event, and their joining the event doesn’t take any experience from you; it actually makes it better at times. Since everybody gets their own loot and experience, nobody can complain, and it doesn’t get easier with more players as the event will scale based on the number of players in the area, so the challenge levels are still in check. Even if you don’t like being side by side with some random player, you will actually find yourself working together with these people as if you are in a group. The game encourages team play discreetly. For example, you just finished an event and it spawned a new one, only it requires the participation of a group in order to succeed. Wait just a few minutes and you will start noticing that players are flocking to the event to participate. Out of the blue, you have 20 players all ready to take on the group event. These events are everywhere and you are informed easily if there is one nearby.
Level scaling is one of the best features in this game by far. Let’s say you’re level 40 right now and wish to play with your buddy that’s currently level 10. You can actually go to his map and adventure with him, without ruining the fun for him, while at the same time not getting bored for joining. Going to a lower level map scales the higher level players down to the preferred level. It keeps the low level content still relevant and a bit challenging for a stronger player, and if you have not explored that low level area, it actually can turn out as new content for you thanks to the scaling. You’ll still have an edge since you have better gear, but don’t expect to be invincible – you will still need to bring your A-game. Oh, and the best part? You still have a chance of earning gear for your level.
There’s one thing I could not quite understand though – not having a personal trading system. I have no idea whatsoever as to why Arenanet chose to remove any form of trading between players. All we have is a mailing system that allows you to receive and send mails, anytime, anywhere. The mailing system is quick and effective, but I don’t get why they can’t add both. Guild Wars 2 does have online trading though, which is an equivalent to Auction Houses found in other MMOs. The Black Lion Trading Co. lets you sell your wares to anybody in the game, and I mean anybody. This trading store is linked to all servers, so it was actually unavailable for the first few days of the game’s release because the store was flooded with player orders. You can post your wares for sale, and if anybody is interested, they can buy them instantly. Your earnings can be picked up at the various trading posts in the game. Buying is just as quick and simple. Search the item you’re looking for, and if you like the price, press buy and it will be ready for pickup in any trading post. This trading post system is way more direct than the common auction house that allows players to either bid or straight up buy out the item.
The Black Lion Trading is also an online store if you wish to spend real money on the game. You may use real money to purchase gems, which can be used to buy online store items (mostly cosmetic) or be converted to in-game gold. What’s good about this system is that while you can convert real money into in-game gold, you can also do the exact opposite. If you wish to buy a cosmetic item on the online store with gems, you can convert your hard-earned gold to gems in order to purchase. So with this feature, everything can still be accessible without spending a dime.
Exploring is actually fun
Everything you do in this game rewards you for it. Explore, do crafting, revive some random player, completing Vistas, even chopping trees for materials, you will get experience for it. And if you do everything there is in the map, you get map completion rewards. You always feel like you’re moving forward in the game even when you’re getting sidetracked.
Exploring the game is quite a treat for the eyes as well. You can tell that Arenanet took its time to construct the world of Tyria once again for Guild Wars 2. The game looks amazing on high settings, and the visual details for each area in the game are quite impressive to look at. Since the game encourages you to explore, I really appreciated the level of detail they put into every single portion of the map. You do sense that grand scale. The environments all look different and have their own personality. Among the various cultures, each really stands out from the rest. Exploring the world is mostly bug-free as well. You will do a lot of jumping thanks to the vistas and jumping puzzles scattered across Tyria, and thankfully, they modeled the game well enough that you don’t see yourself unable to do them because there’s a hidden wall blocking your way.
Quality is definitely in check. You really feel that you are traveling through a rich and lively world. NPCs go about their day and make small talk about the issues in the area. Troubles abound everywhere and even when you don’t help out, life goes on. An event pops up that a bunch of centaurs are capturing a town. If no one helps, the centaurs actually take over the town and that event fails, but a new one pops up asking you to retake the town. With the town off the map, the waypoint to that area and all the merchants are gone until you complete the event.
Rather than looking for NPCs to give you quests, NPCs that need help go straight to you asking for a minute of your time so that they can tell you what’s wrong. You read that right. In Guild Wars 2, roles are reversed. Instead of the player seeking out NPCs with quests, they look for us. These are mostly seen in town, which encourages players to stop hanging around the towns and get out there.
Goodbye class roles
There’s so much variety in this game. Even the classes all have something unique, and their own style of play. Arenanet wanted to eliminate the holy trinity of MMOs (Tank, DPS, Healers) and you instantly see that right from the start. Each class has a little bit of everything. It’s either you go support, be tough, or go all-out damage. Every class can do it, so it’s all up to you. You don’t need a specific combination of classes to succeed in a specific context. This, again, makes playing with others easier. You won’t feel left out because you are this kind of ranger, or that kind of level.
The gameplay has a lot to do with player positioning. You always need to be on the move in this game, and if you can dodge an attack, do so. Double-tapping your movement keys or rather pressing the dodge button lets your character roll on the direction you choose. If done right, you can negate any incoming damage heading to you. To roll, you need to use endurance, represented by the bar above your life that’s enough for two dodges. Your endurance regenerates slowly, so you have to roll wisely. The fact that a lot of movement is required keeps every combat intense.
In Guild Wars 2, skills are set a bit differently. You have 10 skill slots: the first 5 slots are for your weapon skills, with your 6th slot being your heal skill. The next three are utility skills, and the final slot is for your elite skill. There are also unique skills located on the F-keys, dependent on the type of class you are playing. For example, if you are a Ranger, F1-F4 keys are used to control your pet, or for the warriors, F1 activates your adrenaline skill. Even underwater you are given a set of weapon skills suited for underwater combat. The switch to underwater skills is almost instant when you hit the water.
While the healing, utility, and elite slots can be changed at any time out of combat, the first 5 skills are based on the weapon you have equipped. Each class has a set of weapons they can use, and each one has different skills based on which hand they are on. If a warrior puts on a one-handed sword on his main hand, skills 1-3 will be sword skills. Then when you equip, let’s say, a shield on your off-hand, your 4 -5 skills are shield skills. Take out the shield and replace it with a one-handed axe and you’ll get 4-5 off-hand axe skills in addition to your sword skills. Equip a two-handed weapon, and that weapon will use all 5 weapon skills slots. To make things a bit more interesting, certain classes have the ability to swap weapons during combat, providing some pretty interesting combinations if done correctly. Make your warrior fire his rifle from afar, and when the enemy gets close, swap to your dual axes and start hacking away. If your character is using a weapon for the first time, you will need to keep using it to unlock all of its skills, though. Which is fine since it’s a good way to get a feel on what the weapon gives you as you slowly unlock its skills.
When you hit level 11, building your character gets deeper. You will start earning 1 trait point each time you level now, which can be added to the 5 trait lines for that specific class. With every 5 points invested in a trait line, you are given a passive trait, and every 10 points invested earns you a major trait slot. If you want your leveling even deeper, here you go: each point invested in a trait line also provides certain stat increases, so there’s a lot to think about when building your character.
If you’re interested in raiding, well, sorry, there is no raiding in Guild Wars 2. For you dungeon crawler junkies, there are 8 dungeons in the game that have two modes – Story Mode and Explore Mode. Story mode is a dungeon that tries to tell a story connecting the main characters. Next is Explore Mode, which is considered the hardest PVE content in the game. Each dungeon in Explore Mode will have three paths to choose from, and each path has a different set of events and bosses. So it’s like 3 dungeons in one, and they can be a pain if not with an organized group.
Since roles such as tanks, healers, and DPS are out of the picture, if not done right, the fights in Explore Mode can get chaotic pretty fast. This is for experienced players. The first Explore Mode is accessible once you hit level 35, so as long as you hit the level requirement, you can participate in what’s considered endgame, but be ready to carry your weight, since it’s not easy at all. Yet, don’t get discouraged if you’re a low level. I was able to successfully complete a path without level 80s, so yes, it’s possible. This was hard to get used to. With the lack of information in the game about Explore Mode, people will get surprised at the difficulty.
This is a big change in terms of dungeons and definitely needs work. Veteran MMO players used to the standard style will not feel comfortable with how the dungeons work in this game. Players will be shocked by the experience, so you need to keep an open mind. I had to throw what I know about MMO dungeons out the window to get used to these 5 main dungeons.
SPVP and World vs World
If you get bored with PVE or just want a change of pace, either World vs World or structured PVP will do. Let’s start with Structured PVP.
Structured PVP is completely separate from your PVE character. Regardless of what level you are in, once you enter the sPVP area, you are instantly scaled to level 80 with all of your skills unlocked. Since you are not allowed to use your PVE equipment, you are given a set of equipment which can be upgraded for free in any way you like. You can also change your traits and skills of your character anytime in the Heart of the Mist (PVP area). This allows you to play or experiment on your class any way you want in PVP. Once you get your build all sorted out, you can join any of the PVP servers to start playing. It’s usually an 8v8 match to capture 3 nodes in the map to earn points (Like Domination). The team with the most points at the end wins the match.
It’s currently the only mode in the game, which is sad. The current map count in Guild Wars 2 PVP is only four, which is definitely lacking. While they could add more maps in the future, I was hoping for more maps to play on from the get-go, since each match is quite fast and you can easily get bored playing the same map over and over. The biggest problem for sPVP at this point isn’t about the gameplay or the lack of maps and modes; playing PVP actually feels good. The problem is that there’s no other reason or incentive to keep playing the mode. The rewards given when you go up the ranks in PVP are mostly cosmetic. People interested in mostly PVE won’t bother too much with PVP since you don’t earn anything from it in the end. Not everybody is in it to play the game at a competitive level.
World vs World, though, is a different story. It is a battle between three game servers trying to dominate the four huge maps. This is MMORPG war at its finest since you have hundreds of players from each server, on each map, duking it out. It’s a three-way battle and it can get intense. There are keeps and towers to be captured, supply camps to defend, and siege weapons to build. This isn’t a team effort, but more like a server effort, since each match is a week-long. Each structure owned by your server earns your server points on the overall score. When you have more points, your server receives rewards such as more life and gathering bonuses. It’s pretty amazing to be a part of an epic siege with a hundred players breaking down a keep gate. To prevent matches from becoming unbalanced, winner servers for the week get bumped up in the rankings while losing servers go down.
Unlike in sPVP, your PVE gear are what you use for World vs World. If you are a low-level player, you get scaled up to 80 so you can be on equal ground with everybody else. The best part of World vs World is that you get to earn experience for your character. It’s another alternative to levelling, just in case you prefer progressing by owning players.
Small groups can still contribute to WvW. Fortifying towers and keeps, building sieges, and repairing all require supplies, which are provided by the supply camps scattered across each map. These are key to a server’s success. Having a supply camp under your server’s control will spawn supply caravans that take trips to the nearest keep or tower. A small group of players can retake supply camps and take down these supply caravans. While it doesn’t seem as epic as laying siege on a tower, you will see how strong of an effect cutting enemies’ supply lines can do after a couple of hours. Some people might not be in a guild focused on World vs World, but it’s great to know that you can still contribute even if you can only organize a small force.
If you don’t have a monster of a PC, then expect heavy FPS drops, because World vs World is very demanding. While I can run the game smoothly on high settings in other modes, all the players and effects going on during a large-scale battle could slow down performance and ruin the experience. There was one battle that included all three servers trying to take the only castle in World vs World. It was hard to fight, since the battle looked like a side-show on my screen. I’ve never seen that many people in one area doing all kinds of flashy skill effects.
Arenanet should be proud. They have created an amazing MMO game that breaks the standards of modern MMOs. The reward and questing systems are spot on, and teamwork has never been this fun in an MMO. Exploring the world of Tyria is actually rewarding and the visuals are absolutely stunning. Guild Wars 2 has it all – A rich and fluid PVE experience, a well-balanced PVP system, and a World vs World that is complex and demands further teamwork from players. It’s still hard to believe that an MMO with this kind of quality requires no subscription fees. Veteran MMO players, keep an open mind when you step into the world of Tyria. It is definitely a different game. It wants to be a different game.
Score: 95/100
Pros:
- Exploring the world is rewarding and fun
- Combat is fast and intense
- World vs World is a blast
- Level scaling based on the map you’re in
- Visuals are stunning
Cons:
- With a game filled with variety, PVP needs more of that
- Explore mode can be a shock to first-time players
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