Which, not coincidentally, is #1 for April.
Now, I will freely admit before I get started that I have never yet gotten to play the retail version of Guild Wars.
Having gotten that disclaimer out of the way, I DID participate in the open event at E3 last year, and although that was what the ArenaNet folks called "early pre-beta" it was amazing. The graphics are utterly incredible, the sound worked IN THE BETA, (take that, Asheron's Call 2! 4 months into retail indeed! HAH!) the chat system worked, (!) the quest system worked, and a good chuck of the skill system was up and running.
Over a year later, the game is up and running in retail, and appears to be continuing the trend. Apparently, between ArenaNet (the programmers / creators) and NCSoft (the owners of ArenaNet and publishers of Guild Wars) they've managed a solid, relatively bug-free launch, and are maintaining a quality product. Notably, this is the only MMORPG currently available that does not have a subscription fee; once you purchase the retail game, you can play for free as much as you want. Updates are free, with the exception of occasional retail expansion packs, which NCSoft promises are 100% optional.
Oh, I've gotten your attention now, eh?
Now, to me this isn't much of a surprise: ArenaNet is mostly made up of former Blizzard personnel, notably members of the teams behind StarCraft and Diablo II. So they start out with both experience and talent. To me, ArenaNet is to Blizzard what Megadeth is to Metallica: castoff members who've made good in their own right. (Metallica once sported Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine as a member. After they booted him out for drinking, he got Megadeth together, and now they're working on their 14th album. Not bad, for a castoff, eh?)
NCSoft is the company responsible for City of Heroes, City of Villains, Tabula Rasa, and Lineage I and II. They make great games and are clearly willing to invest in their future products, which is good. They've also set up an online store, so that you can buy their products without having to go through retailers, which is a courtesy.
Now if you'd like to get a look at the game, there are several different trailers available in the GamersHell.com download section here.
There are other reviews available most recently at ActionTrip and GameDaily. I'm looking forward to this game, and will be playing soon.
