Guild Wars 2 Preview

Should you be interested in reading a new preview for ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2, seen by many as one of the most interesting upcoming MMOs, IGN has you served, with a brief report from the Korean G-Star video game expo. Here’s a sampling:

The demo featured a town besieged by some nasty centaurs — a familiar setting for those of you who have followed Guild Wars 2’s development closely. Other players in the demo, already locked in battle with the invaders, fought bravely as I stumbled through the village. An NCsoft representative playing next to me pointed at nearby centaurs and mentioned that I could help defeat them without taking away from the other players’ experience.

You mean I don’t have to party up with people to cooperate with them? Fantastic.

Once the players — united in a giddy battle against an earth elemental — repelled the siege, the village opened up into a hive of optional activities. A farmer requested my help with these sand worms ruining his crops. Villagers called for aid as bandits ravaged the innocent. The threat of a poisoned water supply rushed through the town. All these events exist outside of one individual player. I can kill those sand worms without talking to the farmer and still save his garden. Then those sand worms vanish for the time being. The event doesn’t immediately reset like a traditional MMO quest.