Guild Wars News & Events & Guides

I am "fairly" new to this whole MMORPG playing thing, even though I am a professional published RPG writer with a stack of indy credits to my name. Even though I have been running a text-based online RPG world for the last 8 years, the whole MMORPG phenomena passed me by, because I never really gelled with the other games out there. I tried and watched WoW and EQ2, Asheron's Call, Anarchy Online to name but a few but they didn't grab me for some reason.

I note here: I am not however new to the whole RPG thing, I have been involved with RPGs and games since I built my first ZX-80 and programmed a tiny text RPG for it. I have played hundreds of PC and console based RPGs and run virtually every RPG under the sun tabletop. I put this in to clarify for some people that I am not a newbie to the genre or field.

I have to admit that I am often put off by monthly fees and charges in that respect, since I have spent a lot of my time offering an RPG rich in story, theme and character for nothing. I understand the overheads these games have to deal with so I can’t blame them for charging a fee, but when a new MMORPG hits the scene with no monthly fees and offers a chance to experience a colourful and detailed fantasy world, complete with a compelling backstory – even I have to sit up and listen.

And find out later on that it's not a MMORPG but a CORPG (Competitive Online Roleplaying Game)

My esteemed colleague Gabriel Strange ran a short preview of his experiences with Guild Wars Gold over the beta and press events, he was impressed – but me, being somewhat of an RPG veteran with a long history of involvement with the hobby/business, it takes something truly worthwhile to actually impress me in this respect.

I didn’t play Guild Wars Gold a whole lot compared to Gabby (I only managed a few hours every event) during the beta and press weekends, but when I did I actually found myself really enjoying it. So you’re about to learn why a non-MMORPG gamer has become a strict convert to the rich world of Guild Wars Gold and the Kingdom of Ascalon.