£20 isn't that bad a price for an Art Book... though people got it for free at PAX are you saying?
How big is this art book? Is it more like those "Art books" you get in special editions, that are more like "samples" of the full art book, or are they the full proper art books?
@Cptn.PaxtonAstypalaea(Corsair): No this is seriously a real proper Artbook. It's hardbound, big wide and beautiful printing.
Of course the real downer isn't that people at PAX got one free, they got one free and got several chances to get it signed by the artists at the show. Some even doodled in mine.
The trailer was nice, though it didn't show a lot. I'm still interested in this game.
I'm just uncertain about getting it because I never finished Guild Wars, and I don't know if I could bring myself to finish it now. I was thinking about going back to it yesterday, but just lacked the drive to do so.
It's going to be a completely different animal if you read the interviews and such. It's going to be more like a traditional mmo but they want to keep the things that made the first one unique in there. No aggravating boring grind to max level, no real emphasis on gear and especially not when pvp rolls around. It's all about skill, strategy, TEAMWORK, etc. Can't freaking wait.
All three campaign collector's editions came with art books, and I was always impressed by them. I imagine that this is at least as good, and can see why they'd want to feature it if it is.
"The whole value of a video game art book, for me at least, is that the images are enhanced by my memories of playing the game"
well, that's the difference between the concept art from guild wars and that of most other titles. the guild wars art is good enough to stand on its own merits.
As much as I loved the original GW, the entire "instanced game play" thing is kind of a turn off for me. No doubt I will give it a shot, but I hope that they can extend the party limit to higher than 8. If not, it needs to launch with the Heroes that were added in the later "expansions". The henchman AI was putrid.
Anet did a great job with the environment art in the previous games (excluding most of post-searing Ascalon, don't get me started), and I'm sure GW2 will be as visually satisfying as the first.
@nukednova: I enjoyed it. Made the game seem more epic in scope, since I wasn't constantly seeing other people killing the same boss i was for a quest.
@JohhnyDamage: Well yeah, but if you want the single-player RPG experience why play an MMO? The only way I personally could justify playing an MMO is if it was mostly persistent, and this usually entails a design philosophy like UO where you simply aren't trying to give every character the same 'faux-epic' arc. I give Guild Wars a pass because there's no monthly fee; you could pick it up and simply play it like an RPG and it would work okay.
@4xis.black: "if you want the single-player RPG experience why play an MMO?"
That's one of the things I thought was so cool about Guild Wars 1: PvE played like a single-player game, only one where you could team up with friends to do missions. I liked the fact that once your group left town, it was just the eight of you against the world.
Very impressive and imaginative environments.
My friend tried to talk me into Guild Wars, and I would have joined in if my school schedule weren't so busy. hopefully by the time this drops I will be able to indulge.
Looking excellent, I really don't know what to say. I never played the original Guild Wars (just watched someone) but this makes me glad I have a new PC.
@xMindPrintsx: Its a Diablo-esque RPG, or as I like to call them CMORPGs as they are not MMORPGs (creating more subgenres!). Meet up with people in town, venture out in your own (party's) instance.
@xMindPrintsx: I wouldn't say its Diablo like, because it's not so much about the loot. It's all about the 8 skills (out of hundreds) you take with you into battle. Unlike other MMO's, ALL the skills have uses, it all depends how you chain them together that makes them effective. Don't expect to grind your way to get the best stats, planning your build is key.
@Asbestos_Underwear: Thanks, man! I will give it a spin. I've been looking for something to play that is in-depth, and that I can put some time into. And hearing that there is no subscription is a plus! Thanks for the link, also!
@xMindPrintsx:
I did enjoy the first game. Got multiple characters to level 20. Finished each campaign multiple times. You can definitely put some hours into the game.
@ionicc:
I should be more clear. I didn't mean gameplay wise like Diablo, but how it is setup. The towns in GW are like BNet, create a party (or go solo), and then when you head out you get your own instance instead of a persistant gameworld.
GW2 will be more an open world, there are a few instances probably to create a strong narrative, but most of the places ingame are persistent and you'll meet other players while out exploring.
They also claim you won't see a single ! above any character. I'm looking forward to see how that turns out.
@xMindPrintsx: If you're downloading the trial that gives you access to all three campaigns, I'd personally recommend focusing your attention on the "Nightfall" campaign. Try all three, and play how you want, of course. I just kinda feel like Prophecies is the same old LOTR medieval fantasy world we've all seen a million times before.
Factions and Nightfall have a little more unique setting and personality if you ask me. And Nightfall lets you train heroes, which are almost as fun to build as your main character.
09/24/09
How big is this art book? Is it more like those "Art books" you get in special editions, that are more like "samples" of the full art book, or are they the full proper art books?
09/24/09
Of course the real downer isn't that people at PAX got one free, they got one free and got several chances to get it signed by the artists at the show. Some even doodled in mine.
09/04/09
I'm just uncertain about getting it because I never finished Guild Wars, and I don't know if I could bring myself to finish it now. I was thinking about going back to it yesterday, but just lacked the drive to do so.
09/04/09
It's going to be a completely different animal if you read the interviews and such. It's going to be more like a traditional mmo but they want to keep the things that made the first one unique in there. No aggravating boring grind to max level, no real emphasis on gear and especially not when pvp rolls around. It's all about skill, strategy, TEAMWORK, etc. Can't freaking wait.
09/05/09
09/04/09
[bldgblog.blogspot.com]
Two other prolific contributors to ArenaNet's artistic success:
[www.kekaiart.com]
[www.tyler-west.com]
09/04/09
08/28/09
well, that's the difference between the concept art from guild wars and that of most other titles. the guild wars art is good enough to stand on its own merits.
08/28/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
Anet did a great job with the environment art in the previous games (excluding most of post-searing Ascalon, don't get me started), and I'm sure GW2 will be as visually satisfying as the first.
08/20/09
Gave you the lone badass type feeling.
08/20/09
08/20/09
That's one of the things I thought was so cool about Guild Wars 1: PvE played like a single-player game, only one where you could team up with friends to do missions. I liked the fact that once your group left town, it was just the eight of you against the world.
08/20/09
My friend tried to talk me into Guild Wars, and I would have joined in if my school schedule weren't so busy. hopefully by the time this drops I will be able to indulge.
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
I tried the free trial of WoW, and didn't much enjoy it. Is it similar?
08/20/09
[www.guildwars.com]
why don't you give it a try. You get all four campaigns for $50 right now and you can sink around 400h into it easily.
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
There's a lot of useless skills.
08/20/09
I did enjoy the first game. Got multiple characters to level 20. Finished each campaign multiple times. You can definitely put some hours into the game.
08/20/09
I should be more clear. I didn't mean gameplay wise like Diablo, but how it is setup. The towns in GW are like BNet, create a party (or go solo), and then when you head out you get your own instance instead of a persistant gameworld.
08/20/09
They also claim you won't see a single ! above any character. I'm looking forward to see how that turns out.
Still no monthly subscription.
08/20/09
Factions and Nightfall have a little more unique setting and personality if you ask me. And Nightfall lets you train heroes, which are almost as fun to build as your main character.
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09
08/20/09