Guild Wars 2 is a must play. This is your game, no matter if coming from another mmo, or starting your first.
Guild Wars 2's business model is pay to play. Meaning you have to pay a normal price for the game and everything it has to offer without adding a monthly subscription fee. Their business model offers hope in a genre considered by many to be a "cash-grab."
First of all, the combat in Guild wars 2 is extremely good and offers the best of both worlds, mixing good action combat while still having a more traditional targeting system. The movement and gameplay is also extremely good. Dodgeing incoming attacks, strafing and overal movement feels smooth and fluent. The attack and movement animations are also very impressive and spells especially look rich, detailed, and intimidating.
Similarly, the graphics in Guild wars 2 are as good as it gets for mmos. In fact, Guild Wars 2 has top notch graphics when compared to most any game. And, with such graphics powerhouses starting to pour out, that's saying alot. The environments and characters really draw you in to the world and all that inhabit it. The land is vast and beautiful and while the soundtrack feels a bit short, it's fantastic and fits your adventure perfectly.
The way you build your character's playstyle in guild wars 2 is really unique. Weapons have different abilities. You can swap weapons mid-battle, and pair different weapons and weapon sets together. Your character also has class based abilities that are earned along your journey. You only have a maximum number of class and special abilities you can use while in combat, but a great number of very useful abilities available to you, forcing you to make some really thoughtful and tactical choices concerning which abilities and weapons to bring into battle. This makes it possible to really branch out and make some very different and possible playstyles, as most if not all weapons and abilities are equally useful, depending on the situation and what style your going for.
The questing in guild wars 2 is a great step forward in the genre. No more quest text. Npc's in this game talk and explain their situation. When you return to the area after completing a quest, npcs will talk and treat you as if you've made a difference in their community. Because of this, Guild wars 2 is really immersive and there is very little feel of a "grind." Quests don't feel like quests, and this game really supports grouping well.
The Endgame isn't terribly special. And so far, it's the biggest knock on this great mmorpg. This game is built for casuals and not hardcore raid fanatics. There are no traditional raids, and no traditional gear grind. There are however many enjoyable dungeons with different modes as well as really impressive world bosses and world events. But those who absolutely need traditional "raiding" may shy away from Guild Wars 2. Although if they do, they'd really be missing out on everything else the game does superbly.
In Guild wars 2, PVP is overall, very good. The only knock here is that there is not any traditional world pvp or pvp servers. There are however, some very strong pvp modes like battlegrounds and massive pvp battles where 3 servers go against each other in a large 4 zone battle. These battles especially are tense and exciting, lasting a week's time. As the next week arrives, your server is pinned against 2 different servers and records are kept and accessible. GW2 also offers competitive ranked tournaments sort of like Wow's Arena mode, which is welcomed by many mmo fans who crave serious pvp.
An interesting note about pve is that there are no dedicated roles in guild wars 2. No dedicated tank or healer is needed for dungeons or boss fights. That's because everyone can heal to an extent and movement, dodging and avoiding incoming attacks are what Guild Wars 2's Combat is all about.
Bottom Line: Excellent Graphics and combat. Immersive world. Innovative non grindy questing. Good pvp and pve. But, no traditional endgame with raiding.
-Graphics 9.5/10 Beautiful world, highly detailed characters, and excellent design style.
-Gameplay 9.5/10 Excellent responsive combat and movement. Mix of action style combat and traditional mmo targeting. Unique way to refine your character's playstyle and abilities
-Animations(movement and combat/spell effects) 9.5/10 Flashy, smooth and impressive.
-Questing 9.5/10 Innovative, unique and non grindy
-Immersion (storyline, lore and soundtrack) 8.5/10 The storyline is a bit foggy but the world feels alive in every way. Quest givers and npcs talk freely and converse with one another as well as you. Your actions such as helping their cause will change the way npcs talk and act when you return. The music, while alittle sparse, is beautiful, thematic and fits your adventure well.
-PVP 8.5/10 No traditional world pvp or pvp servers but innovative 3-server massive player battles, ranked arena style competition as well as a solid battleground mode gives you more than most everything else-mmorpg.
-PVE (dungeons, bosses and endgame) 7.0/10 Pretty impressive world bosses, exciting world events, pretty good dungeons but sadly for hardcore PVEer's, no raids. Thus, not alot of addicting endgame for those who crave it.
Score: 9.0