Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

It's amazing to think that NCSoft has released 3 Guid Wars games (Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall) but have yet to release a "true" sequel to the popular MMORPG. Well, they finally decided to do so with Guild Wars: Eye of the North, an expansion pack that gives GW fans even more of a reason to skip school or work for a few days, but don't do that.

The story in EotN is pretty compelling (as the others in the series are) that (like the others) has an ancient menace that is resurfacing to take over/destroy the world. In this case, they are called the Destroyers, very creative..... Who are popping up like dandilions from their long forgotten underground ruins and threaten to kill everything in their sites. You are dropped into the land beyond the Shiverpeaks of the original GW and run hastily to meet the humans who have settled there to combat the Destroyers. There you meet somebody from the original GW who was thought to be dead and the story goes off from there. The 3 previous installments in the GW franchise have all been seperate games in their own right, while Eye of the North (EotN) really does just add a few more features to spice up the gameplay and give GW veterans an even greater challenge to face. But, it truly is worth it for the GW junkies out there clammering for more dungeons to explore, armor sets to get, mini games to play, and monsters to slay. This game is really for veterans of the series, as you have to have a level 20 character to gain access to the territories in EotN and even when you do get there, about 95% of the creatures there are above level 20, so this is no walk in the marketplace for GW noobies. So, if you are new to the series and getting one of the games to play, you will want to hold off on EotN until you feel that you have enough experience with the series, before you tackle this expansion.

One of the downsides to this expansion, however, is that there are no new classes to jump into and take for a spin around the wilderness. You are stuck with either the original 6 (Warrior, Monk, Ranger, Necromancer, Mesmer, and Elementalist) or if you have the other campaigns the Assassin, Ritualist, Dervish, and Paragon. Though, the lack of new classes is kinda made up for by adding a slew of new skills for your avatars to master. There are also 40 new armor sets, 4 per class, for you to grind to the netherworld and back to get. There has also been additional mini games added in for players to take part in to earn more faction points for a particular group in EotN. There is Polymock, a sort of "Pikachu I Choose You!" type game that the Asurans play in their down time and there are the Norn boxing matches played out in a tournament style. The faction points that I referred to earlier, gain you more favor with that particular group in the land of EotN. There are the Asurans, a tiny Stitch lookin-a-like race who excel in Golem creation and the mystical arts. The Norn, who are basically overgrown dwarves who solve everything by fighting....or getting drunk to the point of incapacitation, which you can take part in an ale drinking contest (note: those who cannot handle their computer screen swirling like a lava lamp, just about 10x worse, do not play that mini game) And there are, well, the Dwarves who excel in mechanics and, like their Norn cousins, ale drinking. Earning favor with each of these groups gets you rewards, in you can buy from their Weapons, Armor, and Consumables shops. But, of course, you have to earn a certain amount of points to gain access to these shops. These races, along with one more, will be playable in Guild Wars 2, and the achievements you unlock with them and other things in EotN can carry over to GW2.

After playing the other 3 GW games, I still have to say that this one takes the prize for best graphics. NCSoft outdid themselves with the graphical overhaul EotN bombards you with. When you first step into the snowy fields of the Far Northern Shiverpeaks, you can almost feel the chilling air and the snow flakes gently landing on your characters face. The jungle portions of the land are even more beautiful to behold, the views that EotN can produce will make you just want to sit and stare in awe at your computer screen for minutes. The monster designs are also very detailed to the point that you want to take a screenshot every time you see one, so you can continue to look at the beauty even after you're done playing.

Sound design is on par with the graphics, the VA in this game do an excellent job at bringing the characters to life (even though there are still only 2 VAs for your male/female characters....) The musical score keeps the pacing of the game exciting in those intense battles against hordes of ferocious Raptors (yes, apparently dinosaurs exist in EotN). To when you are on a simple stroll through the snowy fields and everything is tranquil and peacefull, till you get ambushed by some shadow beasts....

If you are a fan of GW, then by golly you should already have this expansion!!! If you are not a fan of the series and are just getting into one of the other games, then steer clear of this one for a while, this one is for veterans. GW is a nice introductory MMORPG, but as with others, there is the grind factor and the A.I for the henchmen is still....well..."special". But, all the extras added into EotN make it a must have for fans of the series and hopefully it'll hold fans off till Guild Wars 2 is released.