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Wow...Why All The Whining?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 100 / 113
Date: May 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well I was surprised to see so many complaining reviews. I have been playing this game since the original came out...and I've played Factions since its debut.
So...let's see what all this fuss is about.

1. Bugs...
I have yet to be unable to complete any mission because of bugs. I did on one occasion become 'stuck' in the scenery. My team simply ported to a new location and all was well. However, I was not at all concerned...the game hasn't been out for a week yet. Did you expect perfection in 3 days? I find that unreasonable at best. Now if the problem were to persist say a month from now...well maybe then you'd have cause.

2. Oh Poor Me They Keep Beating Me Up.
Well yeah. probably because, like many players I've seen, you didn't bother to do any of the multitude of very high experience giving quests before you left the starter island. (Doing them all takes approximately 2 hours- I timed it) You just skipped em all and went straight for the primary 'get off the island' quests. I've seen many a level 10 on the mainland trying to get in a group. Then they complain they keep dying. Well of course you are. When I left the island I was level 17...from quests only, I didn't do any 'farming' and after about two quests outside the first 'mainland city' I was level 20 with both sets of bonus 15 attribute quests (available on the starter island). And so you know, I did all of this with one partner and the rest henchies.

3. They All Look Alike...
Yeah, but they did in the first Guild Wars too. What's your point? They added all new armors...new appearances for the new classes as well as the old ones. For a game that has thousands of players did you expect every one to look different?

4. PvP Is Cookie Cutter.
Yup. It is. But hey they all started somewhere. Each month finds a new PvP trend. Gale Warriors one month... Massive Minion bombing the next. So, if you wish to try a new tactic I suggest you gather a few friends and do it. There's nothing stopping you. I'm sure you've also had occasion to put down someone elses strategy so maybe the problem is inherent in the system. But nothing really prevents you from doing anything you want, provided you have good people willing to try.

In conclusion, considering the fact that this game basically has a yearly fee of about $45 (the price to buy the game)I think it's a worthy addition to any MMO fans collection.

Do You Have A Choice?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 24 / 26
Date: August 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Let's face facts--when you sign up with an online game, you're pretty much buying in for the long haul. As far as that investment goes, if I'm reviewing the Guild Wars franchise as a whole, I still think you're probably playing the best game of its kind that's available on the market.

That said, Factions could have been better. For instance, when you, as a developer, know that you have problem with changes in the z-axis (which this game doesn't really recognize), it doesn't make a lot of sense to put a lot of stairs in the game. If you know you're introducing two new professions, it makes sense to include lots of things that they would be good at doing in the cooperative content.

Don't get me wrong--I like my ritualist. I'm kind of enjoying playing through the campaign a second time with my old character from Tyria. Sort of. But if I had picked this game up as my introduction to the series, I think I would have a MUCH more negative opinion of it than I already do.

The problem, of course, is that this is NOT a stand-alone game, no matter what their marketing department says. If you don't know how the professions are supposed to work and you just roll up a character with no extra money in storage, you better hope that you're lucky enough to figure out an effective way to do things the first time through, because the skill acquisition system has a HUGE built-in penalty for experimentation (skills, which are the lifeblood of the game, are only acquired in this expansion by purchase from skill trainers, but the ramp-up in cost is pretty dramatic, and before you even leave the training area you can find yourself spending 1000 gold - the maximum - for each new skill you open up for the character). The game has never done a particularly good job of explaining effective cooperative play either, and this is only emphasized in this expansion by the inclusion of two somewhat subtly nuanced classes, at least one of which (the Assassin) is not ideally suited to the cooperative game in the first place.

In terms of additions to the competitive arenas, there's not much to find fault with. The two new professions are effectively balanced against the existing ones to a certain extent. Their utilization, however, is not now and never will be on the scope of the six core professions. There are some interesting tricks and gimmicks you can use, but ultimately, if you're buying this game as a competitive player, you're getting it for completeness. The new skills added for the existing professions are, in some instances, critical new additions to the competitive game environment and are a lot of fun to play around with.

On the whole, for new players, I'd have to recommend starting at the beginning and buying the original Guild Wars (Prophecies). The slower ramp-up, quest-based skill acquisition, and graduated complexity present a much better learning environment for somebody new to the game. For players who already have the game, you probably know what you're getting--a new set of maps and a couple of new professions. The maps are adequate, though the composition of enemy groups in this edition is just as homogenous as in the previous release (though different) and haunted with more of the frustration that plagued some of the late-game areas of Prophecies. On the whole, I'm not sorry I bought it, as an established user, but I had certainly hoped for more.

Excellent game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: August 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I won't go into a lot of detail because most have described the game enough. But just wanted to say this is an excellent game.

My Opinion:

The graphics are very good along with nice sound effects. I LOVE the opening music that Factions has on its character select screen. Normally I don't care for that kind of music.

The main thing I miss in this game is the feeling of an entire real world. All the fighting zones in this game are "instanced" zones, meaning the only people you will see in a zone while fighting is either your computer controlled teammates, or human teammates. If they had made this game with non-instanced zones it would easily kill games like Everquest.

I still love this game though even with the instanced zones. I also wish you were able to wield your weapons inside of cities (the only place where you get to meet real, live players). It would be nice to be able to "show off" your cool looking weapon, which this game has a lot of. Currently the player model does not wield his/her weapons inside of cities.

The no monthly fee is a HUGE plus for this game over other games of this type. Its also gives you the freedom to take however long you want to level, there is no rush because there are no fees. And your best taking your time.

I do plan on buying the next expansion that comes out for this game if I can afford it, although $50 seems a little high. I purchased my copy on sale.

World Of Warcraft is also an excellent game, but costs a monthly fee. Most of these newer games have learned from the apathy of the Everquest authors and designed the game towards the player.

Great follow-up to Guild Wars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: May 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Guild Wars: Factions presents itself as a huge sucess both as an expansion to the original Guild Wars and as it's own standalone game.

If you enjoy the original Guild Wars, this add-on is highly advisable. The two new professions are well made and enjoyable to play. It comes with an entire new world, new skills, new armor and other such features that increase the gameplay.

If you never played Guild Wars before, this is game is still worth the shot. It's graphics are stunning, especially compared to the normal MMO (Massively Multipler Online) games. However, it is not an MMORPG and should not be viewed as such.
The game is centered around how you can develop your own combat style by the way you customize your character and its skills, not on levelling him up and finding that super-powerful weapon. While it does stay true to the RPG genre, it is so much more.

On top of that, there are no fees.
Nothing wrong with not paying extra,eh?

Not what you think you're paying for...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 24 / 38
Date: May 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you bought the first Guild Wars (now called Prophecies) and were inclined to believe that Factions would offer more of what you loved, then you might be in for a suprise.

The good:

The Visuals:
Visuals in this game are very nice and a good change from the older Prophecies campaign. In Prophecies I often felt like I was being blinded by glare because some of the maps (notably the Cyrstal Desert and Shiverpeaks) were so monochromatic and tended toward white/yellow. The city of Cantha is impressive if not a little repetitive. What really shines are the Luxon and Kurzick areas. These provide a very nice atmosphere for adventure with the Kurzick tending to be very dark and forboding while the Luxon is more of a bright hill country-meets-frozen sea.

New skills:
Many new skills have been included with quite a few elites. This makes taking an older Prophecies character through the game quite worthwhile as you'll be able to purchase and capture many new skills for your character.

New classes:
You now have the opportunity to play the ritualist and assassin classes. The ritualist being a versatile hybrid of healing/protection and damage dealing class via the use of spirits. The assassin a lightly armored class that specializes in killing caster/soft targets. The addition of these classes provide a nice rounding out of the pre-exisiting classes from Prophecies.

Challenge Missions:
A nice diversion where you race against the clock to do things like kill as many foes as possible. High scorers may be rewared with faction, experience points and gold depending on the challenge mission.

The Bad:

Quests:
The quest system is boring and in the FedEX style. Go to point A, then point B, then point C, then back to A. Talk to person A, A says talk to B, B says talk to C. All the while you be killing endless mobs of the same monster.

Skills:
There are new skills for each class, but many are simply renamed versions of older Prophecies skills. Sure, it's fun to have two of the same skills on your skillbar, but it's not that original.

Timed Missions:
All missions are now timed. If you finish them quickly you earn more experience points and more skill points. This puts players in the awkward position of having to rush through missions in order to get the best bonus. In a mixed pickup group some players may be on the mission for the second/third/forth time and wish to rush while new players will want to take their time. This can lead to mission failure.

The Map:
To prevent running/bypassing of the storyline (which was common in Prophecies) much of the Factions map is gated. Characters may only progress further by completing quests and missions. This is fine on the first character through, but many times a player may wish to bring a second and third character through the game but bypass the more tedious parts. This is no longer possible in Factions.

Alliances and Elite Missions:
There are new elite missions in the Factions campaign that are only available if a player happens to be a member of a controlling alliance. Alliances are formed by guilds allying with each other. To control an outpost/town and hence elite content an Alliance must gain faction point via PvP or PvE. Town/Outpost control is costly (500k-1.5million faction). Only large alliances with several hundred players can hope to control outposts and access elite missions. This locks out the casual gamer from some of the higher end content. Casual players may still be able to access this content by paying the controlling alliance. This system is ripe for exploitation in the form of price gouging. It also encourages consistent farming for faction. This farming is a form of grinding play that was originally what the Guild Wars team set out to abolish. Sadly they've only encouraged it in Factions.

Too little content for PvE fans:
The power gamer or those with highly addictive playstyles will find they finish the content Factions provides within 2-4 days. You can stretch this out by doing most of the quests, but their FedEX style is painful and somewhat annoying.

Well hey... its free

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: June 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Guild Wars Factions is not an expansion pack, meaning you need the original game to install and play it. This game is a stand-alone game which, if you have the original Guild Wars, can bring over your previously made players and complete the missions with them.
Now Personally, I have both Guild Wars and Factions and I must say its quite different. Of course the combat system etc. remains the same but I found Guild Wars factions a disapointment compared to all the hype it was given.
Of course the graphics remain the same but the environments have changed immensely. From bleak battlegrounds and deserts to... Asian environments. Now I'm not saying this is bad, but not everyone will enjoy all of this.
I found it was quite easier to lvl up in this game. The basic hack & slash gameplay, although, isnt revised. I got a new person to lvl 20 (Top lvl) in far less time than it took from playing prohpecies.
The quest system is what did this and the reason is they want the new players to get the full benefit of the game. A very nice act of charity.
I agree that the story is much richer and I felt more compelled then in the original where [The story] just hopped around.
Hmm... ahh yes pvp. I always have liked pvp in Guild Wars. PvP here is basically just fighting against similar lvls without any pro-longed risk. Guild Wars Factions all in all, didnt change the pvpv as it didnt change any other gameplay elements. The only new and interesting elemnt in this department is the alliance battles. It was an interesting idea but not the best.
Now we come to Guilds, Guilds are easy to get into but a lot of guilds basicly do... nothing. So many guilds are inactive with so many of the members off doing their own things and only occasionally commenting something like "Oh I found a gold sword!" and then going back to their business. Quite frankly it takes luck to get into a good guild. Oh sure there's gvgs and scrimmage but how many guilds actually do that actively? Not many considering the thousands of players who are always so ramped up to actually do something and mostly get fed up and end of creating their own guild just to watch it fall apart before them.
The graphics are crisp and lucious which I enjoy.
Finding a party is a must do for this game as most missions you cant do with just the henchmen (NPC's who you can add to your party which can basicly function as a party except lacks the communication skills to be an actual asset) In some cases I found it hard to find a useful party and in other cases I found it suprisingly easy. Once again, takes luck (right time and place).
The character customization is pretty nice but is pretty limited and isnt useful or exciting.
Their are 8 proffesions (Warrior (Tank), Monk (Healer), Mesmer , Elementalist Necromancer, Ritualist and Assassin. Word from the wise, Assassin isnt what it was hyped out to be so dont expect the most awesome thing ever.
Well, Overall this game is great for people trying the genre or trying this game, and overall a must have for Guild Wars players (Mostly due to the 2 new slots for players) but not as good as it could have been

A Fun, Streamlined MMORPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: July 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Guild Wars Factions is the second release in ArenaNet's Guild Wars product line. It is a standalone product; however, players who have purchased both products gain the option of moving their characters between the two areas, and can have six characters on their account rather than the normal four.

The Guild Wars series is standard computer fantasy role playing fare ala Diablo II or EverQuest. Players create a character by choosing a profession and gender, then battle monsters, complete quests and missions, and collect treasure and gold as they progress through the game's plot. Players can either team up with other players they can meet in the game's many towns, or adventure on their own with the help of computer-controlled characters called henchmen. The ultimate goal is to experience all the plot and to unlock skills and equipment bonuses that can then be used on characters created especially for the Player Versus Player components of the game.

While Guild Wars games are technically "massively multiplayer online role playing games" (MMORPGs, for slightly shorter), they are exceptional in that they make it easy for players to advance through the game by limiting time-consuming "grinding" to gain levels and power, by providing extremely effective henchmen to allow players to play solo, and by giving players the ability to immediately create maximum-level characters for Player Versus Player competitions. The latter in particular makes Guild Wars games extremely friendly for players seeking something more like a classic first-person shooter.

Guild Wars Factions, as the followup to last year's Guild Wars, goes even farther than its predecessor in making its content accessible. For new characters created in Factions, an initial series of missions and quests on an isolated island serves as a tutorial that introduces the game's mechanics and plot. The game then moves characters to a hub city that grants access to the best possible equipment and a wide selection of skills. With these tools, even a fairly casual player can get a character to the maximum level of 20 in a few days of play.

The game introduces a few new mechanics, most notable of which are two new professions: Assassin and Ritualist. Assassins so far seem to be a little flimsy and underpowered compared to their Warrior counterparts, and it seems likely they will be rebalanced. Ritualists are complex multi-role characters best suited for experienced players. Neither profession feels as mature as the six original jobs from Guild Wars, but over time it seems certain they will be developed more thoroughly.

Beyond two new professions, the game also introduces some new Player Versus Player combat options, including Competitive Missions and Alliance Battles, where players fight for one of two factions and help determine their control over a disputed area on the world map. While these new Player Versus Player options are promising, so far the rewards for participation are somewhat limited, leaving the entire Factions segment of the game feeling incomplete.

The art and music in Factions is exceptional; the locations are stunning and the sound compliments the beautiful scenery. The voice acting, unfortunately, does not live up to the promise of the music. Most of the game characters' voices are bland (Master Togo) or actively grating (Danika). One of the nice touches of the original game was that the party leader would speak in some cut scenes; in Factions, too often the party leader's voice contribution is being confused or uncertain, rather than heroic. Combined with an overall in-game plot that includes very few twists and a great deal of hackneyed, uninspired dialogue, the game's cut scenes often end up feeling more like a punishment than a reward.

Despite the underwhelming plot, the missions themselves are a significant positive part of the overall experience. They are more challenging than the original game's missions, and both more rewarding within the game and in terms of satisfaction from successful completion. They are also structured to prevent players from skipping characters forward without completing missions, a noteworthy change from the first game.

Overall, despite some blemishes, Guild Wars Factions is a delightful addition to the original game, and an extremely enjoyable way to casually enjoy a modern MMORPG without requiring a lengthy grind or extensive time commitment. That the game has no monthly fee makes it even more attractive to the casual gamer.

A great sequel for those who own Guild Wars, a great game for anyone who likes rpgs!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: June 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm a 36 year old woman with more hours logged on this game than I care to mention. The graphics are stunning, the story line is interesting, and game play is intuitive and addictive. Over the past year, the AI of the npcs has improved which makes enemies more challenging to kill and henchmen and npc allies more useful.

You can play this game as pvp or pve. There's a wide varitey of armor, weapons, skills and pets- and plenty of quests and missions.

The servers are always up, load screens are fairly instantaneous, maps are unique to you and your party- so there's plenty of spoils, and game play is free.

Games don't get any better than this.

Simply Beautiful

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: May 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Factions is a fantastic game and a perfect addition to Prophecies. Combining both accounts is the way to go. Sharing worlds, storage, outfits, gold, etc. expands the gaming experience exponentially. When a character gets to the point of crossing over between games, suddenly there is a proliferation of characters and everything gets 'really' interesting.

I've got to mention how beautiful this game is. Starting with character design (which puts the butt-ugly characters of WoW, EQII, Oblivion and all others to shame... who the heck cares how far apart the eyebrows are!!!); the Asian-influenced landscapes are like walking through a movie; and, even the battles made my wife look over and comment "Wow, that's really stunning." As an artist, I've impossibly high graphic standards and this one hits it.

I think the most important element that sets these games apart from their competitors is Design (with a capital D). Loading times are invisible; the log-in/character creation screen appears instantly, is straight-forward, and very easy to navigate; the game experience is not overly complicated and has an intuiative user interface; the storyline (mostly non-existent in other MMORPG's) is engaging and drives the action forward (c'mon... you get to the "end" of WoW and what happens?... what?... nothing... they want you to keep playing and soaking online fees out of you); and finally, speaking of no online fees there's no need for the Guild Wars website to be sneeky... (try logging onto EQII and not having the feeling you're being charged for something!).

The only problem is you'll find yourself buying multi-copies of the game, setting up several accounts, and maintaining a large character base (I've got 3 copies each of Prophecies and Factions with 18 characters in 3 guilds).

Suggestions for future builds would be: increased interaction with the environment making use of the great emotes available; unlockable character traits & outfits for a second go-round; more variation on where monsters spawn; and, a bit more control of your henchmen.

All that said... buy this game! Pick up both while you're at it, combine your game keys into one account and you won't regret it.

And don't get me started about the Dance Parties... the new Assassin and Ritualist dances are to die for! Makes the chat part of the game a hoot!

Awesome Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: May 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Guild Wars Factions is great! There are now over 50 new armor, weapons, etc. Quests are plentiful and fun. But there is one thing that still haunts this game, the level max, which is 20. That isn't very high considering little games like RuneScape having Lv126. I don't think that they understand that people like to have a challenge of trying to higher levels. All that set aside, this game is powerhouse of fun. Leveling up is still fun. Here is something good about this game, you still get to keep your account from the original and play it on factions. There are 2 new professions, which are the Riualist and the Assasin. The game also provides new skills for professions. The graphics are still amazing, and the enviroments pump life and never look the same. There is no repetitive monster killing, just like the original. This game surpasses the original Guild Wars due to the new content, This game is amazing, there is barely anything wrong, except the max level, but that doesn't stop such an amazing game like this.

Good: Graphics are amazing and enviroments look amazing.
The 2 new professions
Bunch of new skills
Fun to level up
No repititive creature killing
Over 50 new armor, weapons, etc
You get to keep your account from the original
New Quests and Continent to play on

Bad: Max level is 20

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