"Despite some shortcomings, a worthy sequel"

About a year ago, the original Guild Wars came out, impressing many people and selling over a million copies. Now, in 2006, the long-awaited second chapter has finally come out. Will it have the same effect? We shall soon find out.

Story: 8/10

Many years ago in the continent of Cantha, a man named Shiro Tagachi rose quickly to becoming the Emperor's Hand. Unexpectedly, he slays the emperor, and after a fierce battle is slain himself. However, his death cry spreads across the land, turning the forests to stone and the sea to jade. 200 years later, he has returned, and it is up to your character to try and stop him.

The story of Guild Wars: Factions more or less has great potential. You start out as a student in a monastery and rise up to be the potential savior of the realm. Due to its mission-based format, there are many different missions you can do, each adding more and more to the plot, and quests which give small storylines of their own when you embark upon them. While some parts seem elongated to try and add more content to the game, some parts shortened to give it a reasonable length, and some parts unexplained to allow for one to be able to make their own story, the amount of content-related storyline is very well done for a game of this caliber.

Graphics: 10/10

These are probably some of the best graphics I've seen that remain constantly in the game. If Tyria's landscapes were good, Cantha's are marvelous. There is incredible detail put into the landscape everywhere, so much so that it begins to feel realistic. I especially prefer the graphics of the Kaineng City area, with Asian-style buildings all around. The character designs are also well done, with outfits and armor very much suited to the new area of Cantha. As usual, the skill graphics add a nice effect to the characters too. Most of the characters actually do look like this is their homeland, and the whole package is sleekly executed overall.

Music and Sound 10/10

The renowned composer Jeremy Soule returns to create more marvelous music for Guild Wars in the Factions expansion. Even the game's main theme has been renewed with an Asian twist. The orchestral sounds often fit the epic battles which Guild Wars has come to be known for. The Guild Wars music library has gained some great additions with the new music of Factions.

As for the sound, there are many interesting effects used and timed well with the game that add to the experience, from tigers roaring to swords clashing and magic raining down upon enemies. In addition to these sounds, Guild Wars has enlisted some voice actors who may be recognizable, such as Steve Blum and Paul Eiding. From my experience of hearing Blum's voice, it is not his best work (not that it's bad, but he sounds a little too intense ALL of the time in this game), but it is still great nonetheless.

Gameplay 8/10

Guild Wars is a game that stresses the fact that it is not a "traditional MMORPG". Instead, it is described as a "CORPG" for its cooperative missions and battles. The fact that you cannot simply go into an area and fight everything alone most of the time is one of its most impressionable aspects of the game. ArenaNet is always trying to balance each of the skills so that it is player intelligence that determines whether one wins or loses, and not just a supreme skill that kills everything.

In a welcome change from the last campaign, Factions introduces the Ritualist and the Assassin class. These two classes surprisingly balance well into the fighting of the game, each fulfilling a role of their own. However, the fact that there are only two classes also tends to hinder some of the gameplay, as new people who buy the game to get into Guild Wars or people who are buying for the new classes fill the game with just this class. It is usually Assassins, due to the widespread popularity of ninja-type characters. Due to this, many missions seem to be imbalanced and Assassins have trouble getting into groups. However, ArenaNet has done well to combat this by letting characters from the first campaign join in the Factions campaign at the third mission, which greatly helps the balance, even though it still feels like there are more characters from Cantha's side.

Many new battle modes have been added into the game, along with an increase in types of skills, many more quests, a different armor system, and even different types of missions. However, this does not stop the game from feeling a little more rushed than Prophecies. While there is plenty of content within, the area of Cantha seems smaller, and your character is rushed to become the highest level usually by the end of the second mission if they play the game at a certain pace. Guild Wars has never been entirely focused on leveling, and this does cut down on the amount of low-level "farming" that is in the game, but the campaign seems to span only a small area, with about half as many missions as there were in Prophecies. Also, less rewards skill-wise seem to be given from quests, and you are required to buy most of your skills from the game's "skill trainer". While this does balance the game, it seems to rework the system in an odd way.

Replay Value: 9/10

Despite the fact that the world of Cantha is so much smaller than Tyria, the game still has plenty of things to keep one coming back again and again. For example, one may try to get all the skills, or see how long of a record they can hold in PvP. The "titles" system that was added sets goals that the characters have tried to reach, for example, exploring all of the continent. The bosses of the game all drop a rare that can come only from them, leaving a reason for people to want to try and collect as much as they can. And of course, the game will always have many free updates coming from ArenaNet to add all sorts of great things. If ArenaNet can continue adding great content to the game, Cantha will become as popular a continent as Tyria, doing well to keep us busy even long after the next chapters of the game are released.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/18/06