Guild Wars 2 initial impressions

I was really debating buying Guild Wars 2. Not so much because I didn't think it would be a good game, but because it's been so hyped up by everyone. I've seen so many games come and go in the recent years that had so much potential and just didn't cut it for me. Why? I'm not entirely sure. It could be that I was too into the other games I was playing to really give them a chance, or perhaps they didn't just draw me in well enough right at the start. First impressions are everything, so if a game just -isn't- that fun in the first five to sixty minutes chances are you're going to have a hard time going forward just to see if things pick up.

Guild Wars 2 immediately grabbed my attention in a way most games haven't in awhile. When you create your character, after you've customized them visually, you also write their story. A brief background of who the are, the choices they may have made, and so on to give your story it's own unique feel to it. The graphics are spectacular, running everything on the highest settings is truly awe-inspiring. The full reflection detail on the water, the way the grass moves in the wind and beneath your feet, to the sparks and puffs of smoke every time you fire off a pistol round are just some examples of the incredible detail put into this game. 

The gameplay itself really caught me off guard, upon looking at the UI I really expected a typical MMO experiance - boy was I in for a treat. First off your attacks vary completely on your choice of weapon, no matter what class you are. My thief for example can use pistols, daggers, swords, and bows (maybe more, but this is all I've used so far). Simply upon switching weapons your action bar changes to new skills specifically for that weapon type. Bored of hacking and slashing? Swap out to pistols and do some rapid fire running and gunning. Tired of that? Switch to a bow and take on the ability's of a marksman. It's a concept I really enjoy myself, and keeps things interesting. 

The questing is also very different - no more are the days of hitting up a quest hub for 10 different goals then running back when you're finished. In GW2 you have areas all through the land to "help" those in need. Perhaps the local farm is overrun by Centaurs who are burning down the village and you want to help. Simply entering the area pops up a window with many things you can do to help and raise your own personal completion bar for that area, like killing Centaurs, finding sprinkler parts, etc. Once you fill the bar you are awarded with a large amount of experience and other bonuses, then you can stick around to find an event or move on the the next area. Events are kind of like public quests from Warhammer online, or rifts in... well.... Rift. They start by themselves and depending on your level of participation you are awarded experience, karma points, and money. It's wise to always participate in any event that you can, as they help a lot with getting you leveled up so you can move on to the next area.

I could go on and on about the game all day, but this is already long and drawn out as it is. Personally I would recommend the game to others, and if this hasn't sparked your interest I would definitely check it out further. I have a comedy "Billy Bob" video posted on YouTube that you can check out to get an idea for how the game looks and plays.

Thank you for reading and let me know what you think!