Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Innovative"

Hi. First let me say I did play GW1 but only very casually - got a few characters up to max but it didn't grab me too much. I played WOW for 5 years - was in good guilds etc. My WOW experience on the whole was excellent and the social element with guilds and friends was tremendous. Some of the leading edge dungeons though, put stress on even the best guilds and I ended up stopping to play after I figured out I had a second job - an enjoyable second job but with too tight time commitments.rnrnGW2 developers obviously spent a lot of time on WOW and took some nice things, fixed some annoying things and wrapped it all in a very lovely package with no monthly fees. The soloing is more difficult than WOW while leveling (which is a good thing), but not tear your hair out hard. The landscapes are lovely, but I have to admit that none of the zones are very memorable like they are in WOW. rnrnAnyway, IMHO, GW2 does a tremendous job of rewarding pro players since the skill based system vs GEAR weeds out the "keyboard turners". Now thats not to say that below average players can't make it thru PVE and get top of the line gear, they just can't avoid getting rolled over in PVP. rnrnI find this idea to be fine myself - I need to get a RAZER mouse so I can really play the game. Personally, and I'm sure I'm not alone, I can't see how anyone can excel at this game with a regular setup - just too many buttons to press while you are attempting to circle strafe. And if you just stand there you will die a bad death. That's the huge skill leap this game has over WOW. In WOW "get the heck out of the fire or away from the boss during specials" sure seems trivial compared to what you have to do in GW2 to be any good.rnrnSo, the long and short of things are is that GW2 has done a very nice job of presenting a MMO for just about every skill level. Like golf, it is not easy and if you pay attention and practice you can get better and better. Thats the recipe for a long-run hit IMHO. I suspect that expansions will appease the power players who are probably the only ones really complaining since they are used to an endless equipment grind to retain their pew pew.