Guild Wars Hands-On Demo Impressions

Though ArenaNet previously announced that Guild Wars would be playable beginning on the first day of E3 (this Wednesday), the company decided to launch the temporarily trial a couple of days early, which is decidedly good news. Even in its early stage, this action-packed role-playing game features some very impressive graphics and plenty of pick-up-and-play appeal. The game lets you quickly create a fantasy-themed character, grasp the basics of combat, and then has you get out there to start fighting, with or without other players at your side.

One of Guild Wars' technological innovations is quite obvious. The initial file needed for the game is minuscule in size, and after you run it and complete the simple, free registration process (free for this demo version, anyway), the game proceeds to download the additional files you'll need. This isn't a super-fast process--there's a lot of data that needs downloading--but it's more satisfying waiting to get into the game for the first time after going through the cool character-creation process than it is to just to sit and wait through a long demo download. The game will similarly pause to download new content each time you enter a new zone, but that download subsequently is cached so that the next time you transition between those zones there's very little delay.

Gameplay itself is reminiscent of the Diablo series, though with a fully customizable camera angle. An isometric vantage point is strategically useful, but it's tempting to zoom in to get a look at the game's vibrant graphics up close. Guild Wars' fantasy setting has a distinct look to it, as though it's set after a nuclear apocalypse, yet the medieval-style warriors and wizards are the telltale sign that this is a fantasy game.

The demo starts you off quite strong, and allows you to easily get into a group with other players for some multiplayer questing. The game incorporates an interesting skill system, which takes a page from collectible card games. Characters may have only eight skills at their disposal at any given time, so players will need to be strategic about balancing their powers. Supposedly, this system is partly there to allow the more casual players to be able to play alongside the hardcore; it'll come down to your tactics as well as your experience level when trying to fend off Guild Wars' powerful foes.

The game seems to run smoothly with multiple players around, though we experienced sporadic fits and starts during gameplay in general when it seemed that data needed to keep streaming in. Regardless, this is a nice treat during the already eventful week of E3, and it's a good opportunity to help ArenaNet test its promising upcoming game. Guild Wars will not follow a subscription model like other online RPGs, but it will instead offer unlimited play out of the box once the game finally ships later this year. We got a great impression from this demo version of the game.