Guild wars 2 pc game review

These issues will probably be lessened as I grow more familiar with the area, and once I've unlocked all the traversal methods it requires more on that later.

But the other areas feel more instantly and intuitively navigable. Four maps might sound slim for an expansion, but they're big, multi-layered affairs. Verdant Brink, Heart of Thorns' first map, has you move between the canopy, the floor and the jungle's roots.

Bits of the roots, at least. The majority of the undergrowth is a pulsating, deadly mass. Instead, each map is made up of a series of public events that scale based on the number of people who participate. Many are comprised of multiple stages that ultimately build into a map-wide metaevent.

In Auric Basin, collaborating to activate multiple pylons in each quarter of the map results, eventually, in a huge boss-fight.

In these moments, the entire map must work together to jointly take down their section of the boss—using the map chat to organise, plan and execute on the fly. It often fails, but sometimes everything comes together and your hard work pays off as the map's population congregates in the centre for their rewards. It's also a clever approach to MMO design in general—highlighting the massively multiplayer aspect in a way that makes other players a welcome sight, rather than an irrelevance or, worse still, a hindrance.

Guild Wars 2 has always done this, but Heart of Thorns draws on ArenaNet's experiments across the last few years of updates. The new maps feel like a logical extension of the approaches found in last year's new zone, The Silverwastes, or the time-limited Twisted Marionette and Escape From Lion's Arch events from the season before.

So far in my travels, Auric Basic has been the most consistently successful. Elsewhere, I've had a couple of ultimately doomed attempts on the expansion's final map, Dragon's Stand, and am yet to see anyone even attempt the Tangled Depths. Obviously, it's still early—it will take the community a little while to get into a consistent rhythm with these huge, demanding events. Whether each map's metaevent can stand the test of time is, right now, a question without an answer although, three years later, people are turning up for Shatterer.

And he's pretty boring. It doesn't add any new tiers of gear, either. If you were level 80 before the expansion, you're still at the maximum level now. If you were fully kitted out in ascended armour before the expansion, you've still got the best equipment now.

XP gains instead go towards unlocking bonuses in the new masteries system. Masteries are a little complex, but they're central to Guild Wars 2's reworked progression. There are four mastery tracks for the Heart of Thorns region, each containing multiple unlocks. By selecting a track, you start earning XP towards it—your progress displayed at the bottom of the screen where the levelling bar used to be.

Earn enough XP, and you can purchase the unlock with Mastery Points gained through specific achievements, or collected throughout the new zones. Heart of Thorns' masteries offer a wide selection of benefits. The gliding track, for instance, enables a hang glider that can be deployed at any time.

Later masteries in the track let you ride 'updrafts' found across the new maps, or give unlimited endurance to prevent you from unceremoniously falling out of the air.

Other tracks unlock access to specialised merchants, specific daily challenges, warp gates, hidden shortcuts, etc. The further into a track you get, the more expensive the masteries become. The first unlock on the gliding track requires , XP—about twice what it takes to level from 79 to The last, that lets you glide along ley line energy, costs 4,, To unlock all of Heart of Thorns' masteries, you'll need to earn 49,, XP, or about ten times the amount required to fully level an alt.

In layman's terms, that's a shitload of events. The Guild Wars 2 community is—and I'm being diplomatic here—conflicted about this fact. But there are a few things that lessen what could otherwise be a serious grind. Firstly, masteries are account bound. Unlock them for one character, and they're unlocked for all. As with many of the systems introduced to Guild Wars 2 over the last couple of years, it's extremely alt-friendly. Secondly, most masteries are pitched as quality-of-life upgrades.

Most of the ones that unlock traversal options are lower down their respective tracks. Even now, after a week of play, I can glide, ride updrafts and use bouncing mushrooms. I can happily navigate most of each map. Despite this, the implementation isn't perfect.

In places the balance feels off. As previously mentioned, ley-line riding is the final unlock of the gliding map, and, without it, there are areas locked off to me. I like exploring, so I balk at the idea of missing out on places because of the high cost to reach them. Worse still, it's not clear which masteries are required to unlock specific activities. I'm currently stalled in my personal story because I didn't have the prerequisite mastery.

Buy on. Play Sound. Please enter your birth date to watch this video:. January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Enter. Guild Wars Gameplay Movie Critic Reviews.

Score distribution:. Positive: 52 out of Mixed: 1 out of Negative: 0 out of Detroit Free Press. All this publication's reviews Read full review. Computer and Video Games. Guild Wars is all about the gaming experience and that experience is one of absolute pleasure from moment to moment.

Gamers' Temple. Masterfully blends the best of MMORPGs and collectible card games into a unique and enjoyable online gaming experience. Game Chronicles. The world of Kryta is still evolving, as is the game of Guild Wars. Cheat Code Central. It's as though my complaints have been addressed and someone has crafted an almost perfect example of an online, multi-player, role-playing game.

All this publication's reviews. Armchair Empire. What really makes the game work so well is the pacing of the combat, coupled with a story that one actually wants to experience. Edge Magazine. At its best only when the structure is there to support it. Find eight people to play with regularly, and invest in voice communications to streamline tactical discussions, and Guild Wars offers an intelligent and demanding thrill - bringing the best of the skill and strategy of FPS deathmatches to the grandeur of a role-playing world.

User Reviews. Write a Review. Positive: out of Mixed: 14 out of Negative: 17 out of One of the best games I have ever played in my life. The company ArenaNet took some chances with this game. They went for a bit of a One of the best games I have ever played in my life. There were a few dull areas but those were overthrown by the glorious rest of the game. The missions were fun and enticing, the gear was visually appealing and could parts mixed and matched.

The graphics were very good for a companies very first game. It was fun I still play it from time-to-time but it just wasn't able to keep its playerbase. Too bad. Moonie Jolley Dec 7, Chris Sep 28, Miguel Domingues Aug 4, Mateus Santana May 15, Critic Reviews 26 Reviews. Video Gamer. Lauren Wainwright — Sep 14, The lack of monthly fees cements ArenaNet's wish for players to take their time and explore all of the content available, but the developer needs to rethink its approach to rewarding the game's most devout players if it still wants people to be actively participating in Tyria over the coming months.

Rewarding players' hard work should be paramount.