MMOs always had the same basic formula that is to say one always expects certain behaviors in every MMO. We never get surprised when the monster we just killed seconds ago magically reappears out of nothing and While in real life we'd probably be pretty crossed if someone were to ask us for help and stands by watching calmly while we risk our lives for him, strangely in an MMO we do not mind that at all. We also expect irrational behavior in MMOs We learned that attacking a village for an NPC actually means wondering around in a field waiting for brave warriors to come and stop their supposed raiding and pillaging.

In 2005 an MMO called Guild Wars was released it deviated from the general formula of MMOs in a number of ways. Perhaps the most notable was that Guild Wars didn't have a subscription and neither did it use Micro transactions to support it, instead its business model followed the traditional single player game model, that is you buy the game and thats it you can play as much as you want. There was a catch however the world was not fully persistent like that of traditional MMOs only towns were, once you leave a town you would be effectively joining an instance and if you had no other human player in your party then until you entered another town you would not meet any human players at all. When I checked out the game years ago this fact bothered me, it felt like the game took the core of what made it an MMO away but since it was a bit of sensation I decided to give it a go anyway. The game's trial was only 10 hours long and expired in 14 days, it was a busy period for me and I think I barely played 2 out of my 10 hours, what I saw in those 2 hours didn't Impress me much and due to my perception that this wasn't a real MMO I let it go.

Fast forward to today, Guild wars 2 is in development and they are very active in releasing new information about the game every single week. What they have shown thus far is amazing but this is another story which we'll be tackling in a separate article. Suffice to say that I am so impressed with what they're planning to do with Guild wars 2 that I just could not wait, I forked out the cash and bought myself Guild wars and all of the expansion packs and gave the game another try. I am really happy with that decision as it turns out those 2 hours I played of Guild wars in my trial didn't show anything of what the game has to offer. Guild Wars is brilliant, it addresses the short comings of all MMOs and creates a huge believable, stunning world.

What makes Guild Wars stand out from the rest of the crowd? In short Everything. Guild Wars literally redefines everything we know about MMOs. It is so revolutionary that I am amazed how in the 5 years since its inception no one tried to emulate the formula. Guild Wars doesn't force you to make concessions, it puts you in a world which from your point of view is alive and evolving. If you're sent on a mission to save 10 stranded soldiers behind enemy lines when you get to them you will find them fighting enemies that stray too close and once you save them you will never ever meet them again no matter how many times you visit the location. They will not magically re-spawn or fall for the same trap again for the benefit of the next guy.

NPCs aren't stupid in guild wars either. Enemy forces do not roam around in groups but still neglect to defend their comrades and are happy to watch idly while you exterminate their friends as if you're not going to bother yourself with them later when their friends are down. In Guild Wars enemy forces travel in units of multiple soldiers. Units can be quite numerous as well and even if you manage to ambush a member of said unit out of their usual aggro range when engaged or that soldier notices you he cries out for his team who finally learned you do not leave a friend to be massacred by enemy soldiers but you have to join and die along side with him :)

Another nice thing is that Leveling up and getting new skills does not make a world of difference in Guild wars. This is actually a very interesting approach. Realistically speaking if I am killed by 2 stab wounds, no matter how much experience I gain I will not survive a lot more then that. In traditional MMOs once you reach 10 level from your opponent then you're pretty much immortal to them, they can attack all they want they have no chance of killing you most likely even if you go AFK. Not so in Guild Wars. In Guild wars there is a level cap of 20 and at level 10 I needed to pay attention while traveling in the area I started in as while there was a difference now that I was 10 level higher as there should be still a couple of mistakes would still have cost my life.

Death in Guild Wars also brings with it crucial decisions. As we said before every time you step in a mission or go questing you enter an instance. If you leave and renter that instances the level will reset and monsters will come back and repopulate the area. If you die you will be force to restart in case of missions or be reborn next to a save point when simply roaming and questing. However you also incur a 15% cumulative death penalty up to a maximum of 60% to your health and energy (mana) that effectively means if you encounter a strong force and you die twice you can forget about being able to ever win without a lot and I do mean a lot of perseverance. Removing the death penalty can be done in two ways, killing enemies or faster yet killing bosses but with a 60% penalty this is not likely at all, what is likely is you will die in the first second of the battle or you could got to a city and your penalty will be lifted but that also means restarting your journey to complete your quest from scratch, killing the same enemies again and possibly do it all for nothing as you may end up dieing again just like the first time around. Those who like to perceiver they could keep at it, possibility trying to kill 1 enemy at a time since these once death remain death so long you don't leave the instance.

NPC in Guild Wars are also not lazy and greedy either. If someone is having trouble picking up those life saving eggs from a nearby cave due to the egg's over protective mother they're not simply going to ask you to do it for them while they enjoy a very much undeserved holiday, no, like you'd expect they'll accompany you, leave you to do the fighting that you're good at while they concentrate on the tiring task that it is pick up the eggs.

Another thing worth mentioning is the diversity of monsters in Guild Wars. Each area has its own native monsters and these all look different sometimes in drastic ways. Forget the notion that most monsters in MMO generally look the same only with a different color scheme to differentiate them, in Guild wars monsters not only look completely different but also act differently. A minotaur for example will charge using its horns to get the kill. A mounted soldier on an armored gigantic looking bear thing will have the beast stomp you and knock you around. Monsters are not size restricted either a drake is 5 - 10 times bigger then you and a gigantic armored bear will tower you 2 - 3 times your size.

In a few words monsters in Guild Wars do not feel like the same skeleton with the same animation but in different skins, monsters look drastically different have different sizes and behave differently this all makes meeting new monsters an interesting experience. We can admire their artistic work, their animation and behavior and then proceed to brutally kill them.

A big concern I had about the game is how non MMOish it will feel due to its instancing nature. Ironically Guild Wars addresses this in a way that makes it even better than other MMOs in my opinion. To Survive in Guild Wars it is imperative you travel with a party. This party can consist of other players or NPCs. While Players are obviously preferred NPCs still carry out the tasks adequately and still make you feel like you're traveling in a group and the talking to other people can still happen in the Guild or Alliance chat window. This means that while in a traditional MMO sometimes you find it hard to find a party to join for questing in Guild Wars you simply recruit a team of NPC henchman and constantly get that team play feeling.

Finally Guild Wars has another thing that distinguishes from other MMOS. The world in Guild Wars is HUGE! And I really mean HUGE! I didn't manage to find any hard figures however one article that compares Land Masses in games estimated that nightfall, the largest of 3 Guild Wars maps as being 15,000 square miles. By comparison World of Warcraft in the same map comparison claimed that in 2004 the world of Azeroth stood at 70 square miles while oblivion had a world size of 16 square miles. That being said the map size doesn't give a perfect picture of the area that can be visited (not all areas are accessible) however it is still a huge world which feels very much alive. When you visit a mining colony you will see carts moving across towers carrying materials. On mountains ranges it will most of the time be snowing while you can see fauna roaming around and monsters and enemies inhabit the explore-able zones by the troves. The world is also visually stunning in most cases exploring the regions is all the incentive you need to keep pushing forward.

The story is also very engaging. A main quest carries the main story forward while a lot of side quests fill in the canvas with the bigger picture. For example as you start the main story line leads you to the fall of your city. You have been holding out for 3 years fighting against an endless siege. The side quest deal with the consequence of that scenario, bandits harassing people on the outskirts of the city. Scavengers looting abandoned outposts and deserters running from their duty to the city.

The game doesn't only break artistic boundaries it is also has some revolutionary technical features as well. One excellent ground breaking feature is that the game allows you to download a small client 700mb and then simply downloads portions of the data as you enter new areas. Whats really impressive is that these downloads are a mere couple of megabytes while the areas are huge full of new monsters, creatures and environments.

Guild Wars also offers standard features such as crafting, looting, professions (more classes then traditional MMO professions), attributes and a skill system. Unlike traditional MMOs however Guild Wars doesn't tie up a character with his decisions. The game so long as you are in a city allows you to redistribute your attributes allowing you to change your focus between battles. Crafting also has some nice creative features. When you get drops and find items with some nice enchantment but alas that item can only be used by a character with a different focus then yours not all is lost. You can salvage the item and get normal crafting materials, or you can use an expert salvaging kit and try to get the enchantment you want. You have a 50% chance of just loosing the item but if you succeed you can then use that enchantment on a piece of equipment of your choice. In essence it lets you create your own perfect equipment!

All in all Guild Wars is still an Amazing MMO even over 5 years since its creation. And while Guild Wars 2 might be released soon (no release date known yet) I still have no trouble recommending people buy Guild Wars 1. At 18 EUR for the whole game including all expansion packs this is a steal. It is essential cheaper than a Free to Play MMO! For you 18 EUR you get to play free forever without bothering about micro transactions, you get a huge, spectacular online world biggest in any MMO than I am aware off, you get an interesting evolving story, you get to fight countless monsters and enjoy countless hours of fun.