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I hate to admit it, but Guild Wars was recommended to me years ago and I avoided it at the time. My time was taken up with another MMO designed by Cryptic Studios and after my experiences of online games that do not charge ongoing monthly fees I was loathe to explore Guild Wars at all.

That decision was a mistake, as the game is a real gem.

The Guild Wars advertising blurb on their website states that the game has over 4 million players. Assuming this is correct it is approximately one third the size of the Warcraft player base, but this is hardly a problem. I am sure you will find many players to game with. Server populations are reasonable and unlike Warcraft I have not encountered long wait times to log in.

Although Guild Wars is an online game it does not charge ongoing monthly fees.  Once you buy the game, that is it.  Play as long as you like, as often as you like.

Guild Wars Expansion Packs

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Is it too good to be true; an online game that charges no monthly fees?  Well, yes and no.  A software company has to make money somehow and Cryptic Studios are no different.

The difference, for the player, is that charges are only incurred if you buy a new expansion pack.  This makes costs controllable, which is no bad thing.

As these expansions age the price of them drops.  The picture link here is for a pack of Guild Wars products for the PC (Guild Wars Trilogy) at a very reasonable price and will get you a great start in a fun game.

Here is what Amazon has to say about Guild Wars Trilogy:

Step into Guild Wars, the award-winning fantasy online role-playing game enjoyed by millions of players. For the first time ever, Guild Wars Trilogy combines Guild Wars, Factions, and Nightfall into a single amazing experience. Begin in Guild Wars on the continent of Tyria where the human kingdoms are under attack by the vicious Charr. Journey on to the ancient continent of Cantha in Factions, a land torn apart by political strife, and threatened by the restless spirit of a long-dead traitor. Lastly, explore exotic Elona in Nightfall, where players must do battle against a god to save the land from descending into eternal night.

Sound interesting?  It should.  Guild Wars is a great game.

There are of course other content packs available and I will review them as I come across them, along with Guild Wars 2 which is currently in development.

Conflagrant.