When it comes to the rich tableaus offered by massively multiplayer games, some titles are able to focus on a certain element and pull it off very well. And then there are those that can focus on several diverse gameplay elements and do a remarkable job.

Put Guild Wars, from ArenaNet and NCsoft, into that latter category. ArenaNet has streamlined the gameplay to offer players an exciting, fast-paced adventure that will allow players to achieve something even if they only have a finite amount of time to play.

Oh, and then there is that other little thing that sets this title apart from other MMOs – no monthly subscription fee. That’s right, buy it, install it and play it once a month, 24/7, or once every other month – you won’t feel that monthly pinch from a subscription service.

The Guild Wars title comes in two versions: the regular box and the super deluxe – a.k.a. the Collector’s Edition. The gameplay is the same and you do get a “divine aura” (favor of the gods, apparently other players can see it) for having the Collector’s Edition, but what is also included for the $30 extra are a few pretty cool items. There is a 128-page hardcover book that shows the Art of Guild Wars, including paper dolls of the classes and the concept art that evolved into the mobs and settings for the game. There is also a Guild Wars headset, with the headphones that hook around the back of the head and over the ears (for comfort) and a microphone (the Internet Chat Headset, made by Logitech and complete with a GW logo), along with a three-month subscription to Speakeasy-hosted Teamspeak service. And there is one more little goody in the box – a CD of the Guild Wars soundtrack featuring 28 of the themes created by British Academy Award winner Jeremy Soule. Do not expect anything that gives a distinct in-game advantage (well, the headset and Teamspeak is very good stuff for PvP-team combat), but relish, rather, in the added materials.

Before getting into the aspects that mark this as a truly enjoyable and entertaining experience, perhaps the downside of the game should be addressed – if there can truly be said that there is one. The game, less than a week into release, does suffer from some lag spikes wherein you target an enemy and double click to attack and *blink* you are standing 20 feet away from where you were and may be in the mob’s face, or somewhere else. The maps of the RPG section of the game do have invisible walls, which prohibit you from jumping off a small cliff and into combat, and, more or less, guide you through the maps to destinations. The more of the world you discover, the more options open up in terms of the availability of crafted materials, skills and quests.

And speaking of crafting … For those looking for a robust crafting experience – look elsewhere. NPCs (non-playing characters) do the crafting here, players collect the resources from adventuring, using a limited-charge salvage kit to break down unequipped items into primary crafting materials. You can also buy an identification kit to solve the riddle of what that blue-highlighted item may be. It could be a precious item worth decent coin, or highly salvageable, or your next weapon as you progress through the game.

Also, if you are not fond of PvP combat (player-versus-player), be forewarned – this is a game that is PvP-centric (as in lots of it), and even if you choose not to indulge in the robust PvP aspect, you will still have to fight other players for the right to advance early in the game (Ok, it’s one battle, and that will be addressed in a moment).

For those that do relish in PvP, Guild Wars offers a robust, involved system with a playing ground that will suit most gamers in terms of balance.

To the back story, which underscores most of the game’s RPG (role-playing) elements …

The land of Tyria was a somewhat peaceful place. A great wall separated the people of the pristine lands from the warrior race known as the Charr (think bipedal bovine-based creatures with severe hatred for humans). The Charr kept attacking at the wall without success until they found a powerful magic that devastated the entire world. It was known as the Searing. Pristine valleys are wastelands with mutated creatures. Villages are ruins and the people scattered.

In Guild Wars, players can choose to build either an RPG character or PvP-only avatar. The latter is for the arenas, but comes with a finite skill set, which can be built upon as you unlock skills with an RPG toon. The RPG toon begins at level 1 and adventures through the world, beginning in the pre-Searing world. After running some quests, building up some armament and collecting a few spells (players can move on at almost any stage they wish), a visit to an official in Ascalon send players into a trial, a PvP test against another team, with the winner moving forward in the game. That means a two-year jump to the post-Searing world. PvP-only characters are automatically at the level cap (20), and only capable of competing in PvP combat in either a randomly drawn team setting, or a tournament arena where you can pick teams of up to eight players. There is also, as the name would imply, guild-versus-guild combat. The game also sports a ladder ranking system. And yes, you do gain experience points and can earn skill points and fame points in fighting other players.

Each character in Guild Wars is a dual-class character. The character classes are warrior, elementalist, ranger, necromancer, mesmer, and monk. Skills can be bought with skill points and gold (the coin of the realm) from skill trainers, or acquired through the quests one can find scattered throughout the land. If a player is a warrior/monk, chances are they are tough in melee combat with great self- and team-healing skills. Necromancers have the ability to raise bone horrors (a short-lived monster minion) from the dead to bolster the army numbers, while rangers are a pet class in addition to a host of ranged abilities and traps.

GW has achieved a pretty good balance in the six professions, and players can likely find that build that works well for him or her with only marginal time spent rebuilding and looking about.

The mission system is surprising deep. Whether entering the pre- or post-Searing worlds, players will find a variety of missions to run, with some of them taking them all over the unlocked areas of the world. You unlock the world by traveling there. There are certain areas, which you can zone into, that are community driven. In Guild Wars, all the adventuring areas, and the arenas, are instanced. Only the cities or camps are community. When one of the city areas, like Ascalon, gets too full, the servers create another district. During the first weekend, at one point, Ascalon in the pre-Searing world had 190 districts.

Fortunately, the chat system is good, and you can find players easily. Should a player log in with a different avatar, if you have him or her on your friend’s list, it will show that person online as a different avatar. If you wish to adventure, but do not have friends to journey with, and do not really relish a pick-up group of other players, you can load up your team with henchmen from the towns. They will journey with you, and the AI is really quite solid.

The controls of Guild Wars are very well done. You can use either the mouse or the keyboard. Players can only carry sets of eight skills into battle. You may have 20 or more to choose from, but before leaving a community zone, you preload the eight skills you wish into the hotbar (quickly accessed with the 1-8 number keys). Once you are in an instanced zone, you cannot move the skills. They are locked into place. Therein lies one of the challenges of the game. You can take a resurrection signet with you, and a self-healing spell or unguent, but that only leaves room for six offensive or defensive skills. Warriors and rangers get attack boosts from stances, and rangers have access to traps, and if they have a pet and wish to use it, rangers need to slot the charm animal skill. With a primary and secondary profession, choosing what skills to load can be tough. Compound that with the team philosophy and you begin to see the interplay of characters within the game.

Guild Wars has also done a great job of allowing players to jump from one place on the map to another quickly. If you have unlocked an area, simply open the map, click on the town or camp you wish to travel to and you are there.

The sounds of Guild Wars are very good, with a solid musical score and environmental effects. The combat sounds are also very well done.

Graphically, Guild Wars is a feast for the eyes. The world and locations are exquisite. The special effects are also a treat. The avatars, unlike other games, take up a real (collision) presence in the world, and you cannot clip through them to get to other players. This can have a tactical edge in PvP combat.

The game does have a few stumbling points, but nothing that deters from a thoroughly enjoyable, fast-paced adventure in a wonderfully rendered world. Guild Wars does a lot of things very right, including some of the best PvP in a current MMO, and does so with a flair and style that is addicting and a joy to play. Oh, and there is no monthly subscription fee either – and that is a HUGE plus.

Gameplay: 9.0
There are some lag spikes and using the mouse alone for targeting is an acquired discipline. But the action is fast paced and there is a plethora of missions that can be undertaken to keep players involved and challenged. The instanced zones are a definite plus.

Graphics: 9.5
The environments are superb and the special effects are very well done. Invisible walls are a pain, but that aside, this is a game that is a very nice treat for the eyes. 

Sound: 9.0
The musical score is very good, and the supporting cast of environmental effects and combat sounds do a great job.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Enter an arena for challenges sure to keep you on your toes and learning the nuances of PvP. Putting together the right skill set for the setting, and your team, only adds to the intrigue and challenge.

Concept: 9.3
A tournament ladder-ranking system, strong PvP, free subscription, instanced zones, lots of quests – sounds like ArenaNet covered most of the bases with this one.

Multiplayer: 9.1
You can “hire” (no cost) henchmen to fill out an adventuring party, but the core is team play, team combat and guild combat. The game makes it easy to contact friends and meet up.

Overall: 9.3
This is a very strong game, with exciting content, and wonderful challenges. Whether you pop it in for 10 minutes or 10 hours, the game has a wealth of content to explore and the PvP is rather addicting.