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Guild Wars: Nightfall - All News

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Wednesday - January 24, 2007
Thursday - January 18, 2007
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Tuesday - December 19, 2006
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Sunday - December 10, 2006
Thursday - December 07, 2006
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Box Art

Wednesday - January 24, 2007

GW Nightfall - Review @ WomenGamers.com

by Inauro, 21:22

WomenGamers.com reviews Nightfall, the latest installment in the Guild Wars franchise.

Gameplay in most MMORPG's has to do with similar tasks. You need to develop the power of your character by killing off inferior enemies and gain in skill, that's called "leveling up." You receive training through missions, and then you advance along in the story line by completing quests. Your time is consumed by not only wielding weapons and spells, but also by outfitting your characters with more advanced weapons and armor. At times you are asked to retrieve items, or rescue missing persons. This is all in a night's work in Nightfall.

Thursday - January 18, 2007

GW Nightfall - Review @ MMORPG.com

by Inauro, 21:23

MMORPG.com reviews Nightfall, the latest installment in the Guild Wars saga.

As with Factions, Nightfall adds two new character classes: The spear throwing Paragon and the whirling Dervish. Both classes come with new skills and weapons, although some feel very familiar, like they slapped a fresh coat of paint on some old skills. The Paragon is a good ranged damage dealer, and also has a variety of buffs for himself and his party. The Dervish fights in close with scythes and damage dealing spells.

Source: MMORPG.com

Wednesday - January 10, 2007

GW Nightfall - Reviews @ Game Chronicles & Real World Benchmarks

by Inauro, 21:28

Game Chronicles and Real World Benchmarks have both posted reviews of Nightfall the latest installment in the Guild Wars series.

Game Chronicles

There are a number of other ways Guild Wars sets itself apart from other MMOGs besides no monthly fees. The character level is set at 20 and powerful gear is available even to casual players, meaning Guild Wars has a lot less mindless grinding than other games. (Unfortunately, Nightfall requires a certain level of grinding but I’ll talk about that later) What makes playing your character challenging is the skill-based system. Each character can only have 8 skills active at any one time, so you must carefully choose which skills work best together.

Real World Benchmarks

Nightfall is set in the lands of Elona and your adventures begin on the island of Istan. You are part of the Order of the Sunspears, the military force of Istan. A ruler of the land, Warmarshel Varesh, has gone mad and it is up to you to stop her. Stories surface of a long forgotten god named Abaddon, a god who will unleash chaos and madness unto the lands if awoken. Warmarshel Varesh has set her sites on Abaddon and if her dark desires and machinations are realized, the lands of Elona will be plunged into an epic apocalypse. You must venture forth into the lands of Elona and undo Varesh’s evil deeds.

Tuesday - December 19, 2006

GW Nightfall - GameSpy's GotY 2006!

by Kawika, 23:02

Guild Wars: Nightfall has just received GameSpy's PC MMORPG of the Year award for 2006 amid some very tough competition. Congrats to ArenaNet!

This year found the Guild Wars expansion-machine in full swing, with two standalone campaigns released six months apart: Factions and Nightfall. While we were very much into Factions, Nightfall edged it out in our minds. Its North African-inspired setting was extremely cool, and the two new professions introduced -- the vicious Dervish and the stalwart Paragon -- were just too cool for words.

Source: GameSpy

Monday - December 18, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ CVG

by Dhruin, 20:37

Despite labeling Guild Wars: Nightfall as "derivative", the score in Computer & Video Games' review is 8.9/10:

That's the greatest annoyance of Guild Wars, and consequently Nightfall. The new expansion is a great deal more polished, well-presented and downright fun than most expansions for pay-per-month games, and is genuinely a joy to play. However, no matter how hard it tries, it's doing everything that every other MMORPG does, except with a few old ideas spruced up and hammered in. For instance, the hero system is constructed out of bits and bobs pulled from RPGs from Planescape: Torment to Pokémon, and the main core of the gameplay is the work of every other MMORPG out there. It's not so much that these are bad ideas - far from it - it's more that you've probably seen them a thousand times over.

Sunday - December 10, 2006

GW Nightfall - Animation Reel by Bobby Pontillas

by Kawika, 10:41

Bobby Pontillas, character animator for ArenaNet, shared some of the wonderful work he did for Guild Wars: Nightfall in his latest blog. Included are several creature animations and character dance animations that are just too funny for words!

Here are some of the monsters and layer animations I worked on in Guild Wars Nightfall. I took a break animating player characters this time around and just concentrated on monsters( and dances.) As always, looking back, there are tons of things that I feel could be better and spent more time refining, but sometimes( especially towards the end) I get to a point where I just have to move on and hit whatever is next on the schedule.

Thursday - December 07, 2006

GW Nightfall - Free Swag Giveaway @ Eurogamer

by Kawika, 23:03

Eurogamer asks the question, "Nightfall is the follow-up to which Guild Wars game?" If you think you know the answer to this multiple choice question, head on over to the Eurogamer Guild Wars Nightfall goodies page for your chance to win an exclusive Guild Wars: Nightfall t-shirt or cap, or even a copy of the game!

Tuesday - December 05, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ 2404

by Inauro, 21:35

2404 reviews Nightfall, the latest installment in ArenaNet's Guild Wars series.

Guild Wars has always been about player versus player combat especially in teams, but Nightfall adds something to grant solo players more reason to play.  There have always been henchman available for hire, but these useless goons lacked personality as well as strategy.  Now, certain missions offer non-player character “heroes,” fully customizable in weapons, skills, and attributes, as well as combat strategies and able to use specific attacks against specific opponents.  Armor auto-levels, but you can influence it a bit via merchants and runes.  Alas, only three such heroes are available, but this still goes a long way to making GW more solo-able than ever, quadrupling the dress-up possibilities for outfitting a party.  You can still have henchman to round out the party, but heroes have a major impact, truly changing the solo experience into a much less frustrating one.  Alas, this does cut both ways, as less hardcore players will have a harder time getting into a “pickup” group, since most folks will stick with the strong and reliable heroes over an unknown human player (although the latter is still usually a better deal than a henchman).

Friday - December 01, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ GameZone

by Dhruin, 21:20

Rounding out this collection of Guild Wars news is a review of Nightfall at GameZone, with a score of 8.3/10:

Guild Wars: Nightfall is a tasty expansion that adds more goodness to the Guild Wars legacy. With elite quests and a robust system of story-driven quests, this is a game that is certain to occupy a lot of hours. PvP is fun and fast paced and the Nightfall adds more of what makes this free-subscription game so entertaining.

Thursday - November 30, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ ComputerGames.ro

by Dhruin, 21:17

Guild Wars: Factions has been reviewed at ComputerGames.ro.  The score is 88% and here's an excerpt:

 Like the first two chapters, Nightfall is made up of two modules: PvE (Player vs. Environment) and PvP (Player vs. Player). In PvE, the campaign takes place in Elona, a land which reminds us of the age of Egyptian pharaohs. The visual changes made to the environment not only underline the excellent technology that Arena.net is using but also the great level design, which will prove to be a breath of fresh air from ruined locations infested with inflicted creatures from the previous chapters. The story begins with the defeat of the Sunspear order and you, as a new member of the order, must help rebuild it and bring it to its former glory. As you complete tasks, you will be promoted and the final mission will see you investigating a mystery that threatens all of Elona and your task is to put an end to it.

Tuesday - November 28, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ GameShark

by Inauro, 21:38

GameShark takes a closer look at Nightfall, the latest installment in ArenaNet's Guild Wars series.

Arena.net and NCSoft have done an excellent job of introducing new content by way of expansion packs. Normally I am not a fan of expansion packs but each of the expansions to the Guild Wars franchise has proven to be a worthwhile, if not a ‘must have’, addition to the library of even a passive Guild Wars player.

 

True to form, Nightfall boasts several significant feature enhancements, not the least of which are a number of new skills for each profession, updated quest system incorporating Collectors and Quartermasters and new arenas, but perhaps most significant are the two new professions of Paragon and Dervish and the ability to recruit Heroes. While all of the additions and enhancements are welcome, it is these last three that bear special attention.

 

Friday - November 24, 2006

GW Nightfall - Site Update

by Dhruin, 22:55

From the Guild Wars site:

Nightfall Section Expanded; Skill List Updated

Over the course of the last few weeks, we've been adding website content about several novel features of Nightfall. Today we're adding two new articles to our Gameplay Section. One is about the Sunspear and Lightbringer titles, and the other concerns Hero Skills and their acquisition. Head over to the Nightfall Features Section for more information on the game. Also this week, the Professions Skills Listing was updated to include all the current information about every skill in the game. Find that wealth of skill info here.

Thursday - November 23, 2006

GW Nightfall - Reviews @ Games Radar & GameWorld Network

by Dhruin, 21:10

Two new reviews of Guild Wars: Nightfall are available on the 'net.  Games Radar scores 9/10 in their review, despite these comments:

Unfortunately, you’ll still pay the price for the lack of a monthly fee with Nightfall.  Although loading screens rarely last more than two or three seconds, they are frequent and occur anytime you leave a town or enter a new zone. This ruins the feeling that you’re playing in a persistent world and makes the game sometimes feel more like Diablo II than your average MMORPG as your interaction with other players is restricted to major cities and PvP arenas for the most part.

...while GameWorld Network's critique echoes similar comments with a score of only 71%:

It is nice to have a Hero that grows along with your created character, but Nightfall just does not seem like an MMO to me. Players are able to group with other players online within the city walls; however, it just seems like a RPG with a chat room thrown in. This gameplay will appeal to some who do not have the time to invest in a MMO, as the game is really created for a niche casual gamer environment in my opinion.

Tuesday - November 21, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ Boomtown

by Rheric, 15:56

Boomtown has also posted their review of Guild Wars: Nightfal. A small taste:

There really is very little that can be said detrimentally about Nightfall; it's one of those games that, if it gets its hooks in you, could have you playing for weeks or months. Possibly the best compliment I can give the game is that I've racked up over 40 hours play in a little over a week, and I've nowhere near experienced all that there is to see (there are some convenient indicators in one of the interface screens that tells you how many of the missions you've completed and how much of the content you've explored).

Monday - November 20, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ Strategy Informer

by Dhruin, 21:06

Guild Wars: Nightfall has been reviewed at Stategy Informer.  The score is 8/10 and here's a snip:

I soon learnt exactly how Guild Wars stands unique from other MMO’s and I was pleased with the discovery. Others like World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies have a giant land or lands with everyone everywhere. Guild Wars however delivers both a huge multiplayer and single player experience at its core level. Now I’ll clarify, when you enter any town or outpost you can see plenty of other real players darting about, talking, trading and accepting or completing quests. Step outside those four walls and you’ll enter explorable areas that only you are present in, each real player has basically their own ‘version’ of areas that they can tackle.

Tuesday - November 14, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ Jolt

by Dhruin, 23:08

Jolt has whipped up their review of Guild Wars: Nightfall.  The score is 8/10 and here's a grab:

To be fair, Nightfall has a lot of unique things going for it, and right now it probably serves as the best introduction to the series for those who have so far overlooked it. Whether or not it’s capable of converting the already preached-to in large numbers is another matter. For those unfamiliar with the game’s concept, it essentially sets out to break down MMO gameplay into its component parts, and then presents them in a much more approachable manner.

GW Nightfall - Review @ AtomicGamer

by Inauro, 21:33

AtomicGamer reviews Nightfall, the latest in the Guild Wars series from ArenaNet.

And now, we have the second expansion, Nightfall. This expansion seems to have more of a focus on the single-player game. The levelling has been slowed down (but still not to the degree that the first game’s curve was at) and there have been some massive additions – namely slightly smarter henchmen and the concept of Heroes. The PvP is just the same as ever (with a couple of minor changes), complete with flavor-of-the-month builds and lots of bloody fights. So, do the PvE additions to the world of Guild Wars make Nightfall a worthwhile purchase or should you wait until the inevitable multi-pack with all the expansions comes out?

More... 

Monday - November 13, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ Games Extreme

by Dhruin, 20:38

Games Extreme has reviewed Guild Wars: Nightfall.  The score is 9.2/10 and here's an excerpt on the changes in this third entry:

To be honest very little has changed with the new instalment, though the new features do make the game play very differently. Heroes have been introduced to the game. Heroes are similar to the games henchmen in that they are computer controlled characters that support your character in the various missions and quests. The key difference is they are highly customizable. You can set the heroes secondary profession, attributes and skills, you can also put runes into armour and give them weapons of your choosing. This makes them far superior to the standard henchmen counterparts. You may control 3 heroes at once. Customizing the heroes is one part of the new system, you can also give orders, in combat you can tell a hero to stop using skills, whether to attack or remain passive and also where to stand, this allows you to keep your ai support out of the way whilst you scout ahead. The hero system is a mixed blessing, it removes the frustration found with henchmen in previous instalments and the sheer power of heroes once fully souped up is impressive. Two human players can now put together a powerful team of eight and take on the most difficult of missions. This does mean there are less pick up groups in the game, I completed a massive proportion of the game without grouping with another human player. This can make the game a touch anti-social and means newer players won’t have a group of friends around them to chat to or help them when required. As heroes are so powerful I’ve found Nightfall to be the easiest of the three games.

Sunday - November 12, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ DriverHeaven.net

by Inauro, 21:27

DriverHeaven.net reviews Nightfall, the latest installment in ArenaNet's Guild Wars saga.

An important addition to the series is the concept of Heroes. Whereas before the players had the choice to adventure together and complete quests in groups composing of human players or to roam the world with the help of computer controlled henchmen, Nightfall gives adventures another option. It comes in the form of Heroes, computer controlled but completely customizable henchmen which can be told exactly what to do. In past games the henchmen were a nice substitute when you were unable to form a full group, but their lacking AI and the inability to control them made adventuring with the lot less than a perfect experience. With heroes this problem is solved, as not only is their AI better (henchmen AI also got improved) but you can tell them who to attack, what to do when attacked and which skills to use. Yes, those of you who know Guild Wars will be happy to hear that you can tell heroes which skills to use. When you are in an outpost you can even select which skills they will take into the fray. Basically you can tweak every aspect of them, just as if they were your character.

More... 

Saturday - November 11, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ GameSpy

by Dhruin, 23:06

GameSpy has posted their review of Guild Wars: Nightfall, scoring ArenaNet's third part of this series at 4/5:

 Though Guild Wars as a whole bears the remarkable honor of being a successful and compelling MMO that manages to fly in the face of some of the genre's most basic tenets, its third "expansion" takes things even further. While many MMO newbies are rightfully loathe to jump into an established game around the time a major expansion is launching, Guild Wars: Nightfall is an ideal point of entry for new players. With Guild Wars, the term "expansion" is used loosely; like the previous two installments of the game, Nightfall essentially stands alone, providing a self-contained play experience for newcomers, and compelling new content for veterans. Specifically to the advantage of new players, Nightfall introduces a system that allows you to control powerful NPC companions, which makes almost every aspect of the game's PvE experience much more accessible.

Friday - November 10, 2006

GW Nightfall - Reviews @ GameSpot, Yahoo! Games

by Dhruin, 21:28

GameSpot has kicked up their review of Guild Wars: Nightfall.  The score is a solid 8.2/10 and here's the opening:

It's scarcely been six months since the release of Guild Wars Factions, the follow-up to ArenaNet's innovative online role-playing game, but here comes Guild Wars Nightfall--another massive game featuring plenty of solo, cooperative, and competitive questing and combat. Whereas Factions took place in an Asian-inspired setting, Nightfall has an ancient Egyptian look and feel, and unlike Factions, it's more focused on solo and cooperative questing than on a mix of that and high-level player-versus-player battles. The result is unmistakably similar to the other Guild Wars titles despite a few new features, though it can still be a good starting point for those who haven't given the series a chance yet. However, in spite of all the new content that's on offer in Nightfall's large new continent of Elona, the underlying game hasn't changed much and is starting to show signs of aging.

...while Yahoo! Games goes for 4.5/5 and a bit more enthusiasm:

 The original Guild Wars broke a lot of rules. It was a fast-paced, stripped-down, competitive MMOG, with no monthly fee to play. Guild Wars: Factions broke the rules again: not an expansion pack, but a whole new game which could be played without buying the original. Guild Wars: Nightfall doesn't break any more rules. But it does deliver new game play, a new continent, new professions, and a great story. And it all adds up to the best installment in the Guild Wars saga yet.

GW Nightfall - Review @ IGN

by Dhruin, 12:38

Guild Wars: Nightfall has been reviewed at IGN.  The score is 8.4/10 and here's a snip:

Though the core gameplay remains the same in Nightfall, plenty of frills have been tacked on. Heroes are the most prominent new feature. As you complete primary quests that advance Nightfall's narrative, you'll acquire these permanent NPC party members. They can be switched in and out as you see fit, but they'll always be available to bring along should you need some extra swords or spells. While henchmen can only be hired and directed to attack, Heroes are more controllable and customizable. You can give them new weapons and off hand items, buy new skills and customize their eight slot skill bar, and augment their statistics however you see fit. Up to three Heroes can accompany you at any time and each can be given individual move orders, use specific skills on specific targets, and told to adhere to three behavioral patterns: Fight, Guard, or Avoid Combat. Their armor auto-levels with them, but can be customized with runes purchased at a vendor or salvaged from identified items.

Tuesday - November 07, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ GameDaily

by Dhruin, 22:37

GameDaily has posted their review of Guild Wars: Factions, praising some aspects but also saying "the game's story takes a long while to pick up, and some design issues from previous games still exist".  The score is 3.5/5 and here's a snip:

What makes Nightfall's gameplay unique is the new hero system. For the first time, players will have fully customized computer controlled characters at their side. Unlike henchmen, which can be hired at any town or outpost, these heroes will level up alongside players, use items and skills the player assigns them, and can even pick up secondary professions. If a player unlocks a skill for their hero, and they share the same profession, they unlock those skills for themselves too. Heroes are optional, and can be left out of a mission. Later on, if the player out levels the hero, this unit will gain extra experience bonuses until it manages to close the gap. These heroes can even be taken into PvP. Players can control up to three different heroes at the same time, commanding their movements through an add-on to the game's compass. This feature is probably one of the best reasons to pick up Nightfall, because the control mechanism applies to all Guild Wars campaigns. Although the hero feature can only be found in Nightfall, characters in other campaigns can use the feature to move henchmen around. Rangers and Necromancers can use it to strategically place their pets. Once players get used to using it, there can be no going back.

Monday - November 06, 2006

GW Nightfall - Review @ Eurogamer

by Rheric, 22:36

Eurogamer has posted a review of the latest expansion for Guild Wars, titled Nightfall.

Opening up new regions and introducing its own new features, Nightfall ushers in another swathe of cleverly-instanced quests for Guild Wars' online adventures. This time the story-driven action takes place on a new continent, which is tinged with African folklore and populated by a lavish cast of African and Arabian characters. The new lands are, once again, exquisitely beautiful, with large, open areas and inspired African architecture. This is a large and impressive single-player expansion for Guild Wars, and it really concentrates on delivering an interesting story just as much as the last pack, Factions, concentrated on making changes to PvP.

Wednesday - November 01, 2006

GW Nightfall - First Impressions @ 1UP

by Inauro, 21:32

1UP spends some time with Nightfall, the latest expansion for ArenaNet's Guild Wars.

Factions fixed the grind and much of the linearity, and Nightfall fixes the NPCs. The new hero NPCs -- vital to Nightfall's rote storyline, which involves some bad guys who worship a Big Evil God-are highly customizable, on par with a human-controlled character. You can custom-tailor a hero's skill bar, equip him with new weapons, and upgrade his armor, just like you can with any other character. In battle, you can order these heroes around and trigger their skills manually, in a sort of pseudo-RTS fashion. Or, if you're the lazy type, you can just let your heroes do everything themselves...and they usually wind up outperforming a lot of human pick-up groups in terms of efficiency. You can add up to three heroes to a group (and you ultimately get over a dozen to pick from at any given time), which is usually more than enough to get you through anything.

More... 

Tuesday - October 31, 2006

GW Nightfall - Out of the Box @ GameSpy

by Inauro, 21:27

The code is barely dry on Nightfall, ArenaNet's new expansion for Guild Wars, and already the reviews have begun.  GameSpy fronts up with some out of the box impressions.

If Factions' primary feature was territory control, then Nightfall's has to be hero characters. Think of them as henchmen characters that are way more powerful, and much more persistent. As you progress through the campaign's story, you'll get access to heroes, usually in the form of quest rewards. Once you get them, they're with you forever, and they'll progress in level alongside you. You'll get to allocate their attribute points every time they advance, and while their primary professions are fixed, you'll be able to change their secondary professions whenever you wish. In terms of skill access, they'll be able to use anything that you've unlocked in PvE, as well as hero-specific skills taught by trainers around the world. 

More... 

Source: GameSpy

Saturday - October 28, 2006

GW Nightfall - Shipping to NA

by Dhruin, 04:00

ArenaNet has announced that Nightfall has shipped to NA retail:

Thursday 26th October/...Guild Wars Nightfall™, one of the most anticipated PC game releases of 2006, is on its way to retailers and will be available on store shelves in Europe and North America on October 27, 2006. Nightfall™ is the latest campaign release in the award-winning Guild Wars® franchise created by ArenaNet® and published by NCsoft® Europe, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games.

Set in the land of Elona, an evil ruler is attempting to summon her outcast god, and the stout of heart are asked to answer the rallying cry to fight back the looming darkness that falls on the land. As you explore opulent cities, brave savage coasts, delve deep into ancient monuments, and find your way across poisonous deserts you will determine the fate of the new realm of Elona.

To aid you in your duty, Nightfall introduces exciting new features such as: · Heroes– customisable companions that level up with you, use weapons and skills of your choosing, and go forth with you into battle. · Hero Battles, the ultimate one-on-one challenge, this new PvP (Player versus Player) game play allows two players, and their Heroes, to compete against one another. · Templates will let players save, store, and exchange Hero builds, providing countless combinations to create the ultimate team of Heroes. · Along with the new features are new missions, hundreds of new skills, new armour, two fierce new professions, and endless replay ability.

“The response to the recent preview events has been over whelming, so much that Guild Wars Nightfall is already being heralded as the best of the Guild Wars series,” says Geoff Heath, CEO, NCsoft Europe. “Nightfall brings innovative new features to the game that revolutionised the online gaming genre and NCsoft is thrilled to launch this flagship game.”

Guild Wars Nightfall will be available in both Standard and Collector’s Editions. The Collector’s Edition includes the Guild Wars Nightfall game as well as a Making of Guild Wars Nightfall behind-the-scenes DVD produced by Gameplay HD, a collector’s art book, collectible skill pins, a character mini-standee, a poster-sized map of Elona, the Guild Wars Nightfall soundtrack CD, and more. Guild Wars, an instant bestseller in Europe and North America upon its release in April 2005, and Guild Wars Factions™, the number one game in both Europe and North America earlier this year, are global online role-playing games. With a suggested retail price of £29.99 and still no subscription fee, Guild Wars Nightfall will be available worldwide and servers supporting the new release will “go live” at 8:01 BST / 9:01 CET on October 27, 2006.

Thursday - October 26, 2006

GW Nightfall - Interview @ FiringSquad

by Inauro, 23:29

Gaile Gray, ArenaNet's Community Manager, speaks with FiringSquad about Nightfall, the soon-to-be-released expansion pack for Guild Wars.

FiringSquad: This is the third major game in the series and there is only a six month difference in the release date between this title and Factions. How hard is it to create that amount of content in what seems to be a short amount of time?

Gaile Gray: Let's just say it's been a really, really busy six months since Factions was released! Of course, the truth is that some of our team members were working on Nightfall before Factions was finalized. We have key team members who work on both titles under development, and then there are others who are assigned to one specific project or another. This assures continuity within the development process and assures that the games and stories meld together seamlessly. This system has allowed us to produce a Triple-A title in less than a year but admittedly it's still quite a challenge to do that.

 More...

Source: FiringSquad

GW Nightfall - Update Notes & Halloween Event @ Official Site

by Inauro, 23:24

Stop by the official Guild Wars site for the latest on the upcoming expansion Nightfall, and a glimpse of what's in store for players this Halloween.  Here's a sample of the Nightfall feature preview.

Today we are publishing the new features of Guild Wars Nightfall in anticipation of the campaign’s release this Friday, October 27 at 12:01 am PDT. Players won’t be able to acquire Heroes or participate in Hero Battles until they can play through the Nightfall campaign, but many of the other features of Nightfall are available today as free updates.

Skills and Attributes

  • Skill selection, attribute adjustment, and secondary profession selection are now centralized on the new Skills and Attributes panel.
  • Your characters can now change their secondary professions whenever they are standing in a town or outpost. PvP characters can change to any secondary profession, while Roleplaying characters can change to any profession that character has previously learned.

 

Source: ArenaNet

Wednesday - October 25, 2006

GW Nightfall - Trailer #3 @ Official Site

by Inauro, 23:38

A new Nightfall trailer is available at the official Guild Wars site.  Head on over and catch a glimpse of the upcoming expansion for ArenaNet's free-to-play MMORPG. 

Source: ArenaNet

Tuesday - October 24, 2006

GW Nightfall - Preview @ Games Radar

by Inauro, 23:28

Games Radar previews Nightfall, the upcoming expansion pack for ArenaNet's Guild Wars.

While the original Guild Wars was based in a traditional fantasy world, and Factions took on an Eastern flavour, Nightfall heads into Africa and the Middle East, with settings that seem one part Prince of Persia, one part Tarzan and one part Indiana Jones.

It's also a lot less linear than Factions, leaving room to explore. Most excitingly, it moves closer to a traditional RPG in its addition of sidekick heroes to the game. Rather than the faceless Henchmen, these sub-heroes are gained along the way and develop directly in power with you. You're able to bring any three you have with you on a mission, and they can be directly controlled like pets.

More... 

 

Thursday - October 19, 2006

GW Nightfall - Preview @ GameSpot

by Inauro, 23:23

GameSpot previews Nightfall, the latest expansion pack for ArenaNet's Guild Wars.

The big new feature in Nightfall is the addition of heroes, unique characters that play significant roles in the campaign's storyline. And yes, we did say "storyline." That's because ArenaNet is looking to deliver a more comprehensive narrative than in earlier Guild Wars games. The story has you starting Nightfall as a new member of Order of the Sunspears, the military order that protects the subcontinent of Elona, an arid and dry land that's the setting of the new campaign. After the Sunspears are defeated in battle at the beginning of the game, you have to help rebuild the order, and this will allow you to gain ranks and titles as you move up the promotion ladder. Your ultimate goal will be to find out what evil is threatening Elona and take it down, and that promises to be quite an adventure.

More... 

Source: GameSpot

GW Nightfall - Hands-On @ PC.IGN

by Dhruin, 01:04

A new hands-on preview of Guild Wars: Nightfall is available at PC.IGN, offering coverage of "NPC Heroes, new classes, and ridable wurms":

Though in both Prophecies (the original Guild Wars, also known as campaign one) and Factions players could enlist the help of henchman NPCs, they never distinguished themselves with any character or backstory. In Nightfall 14 Heroes can be recruited, all with their own backgrounds and motivations that actually play a part in the game's overarching narrative. As players journey across the desert lands of Elona they'll be forced to make choices as to who they want to bring along. In other words, at specific story points players will have to make a decision between recruiting one Hero or the other. To offer solace to obsessive collectors out there, we were told all 14 can eventually be recruited once the narrative has been completed. 

Monday - October 16, 2006

GW Nightfall - Preview @ Boomtown

by Dhruin, 23:43

Some hands-on impressions of Guild Wars: Factions are up at Boomtown:

So here we are again, logging on for God knows which time, this time preparing to get into the next chapter of the saga, Nightfall. The title screen now has a sort of African-Arabian from-the-desert-to-the-seas thing going, and as usual, Jeremy Soule's music fits the mood. It feels like I'm about to date an old flame again, and she's changed ever so subtly, but somehow significantly. The thing is, though, that she's still the same, my Guild Wars. She may now have even more to do, this time focusing on single-player content rather than the multiplayer-fest that is Factions, she may have two new classes, the Dervish and the Paragon, lots of new items, quests, et cetera up her sleeve, but really, folks, she is the same.

This is essentially what I have to say about Guild Wars: Nightfall. I could go on and on about the new features and details and whatnot, but this is not a review. It is my reaction to my somewhat brief encounter with the game on the second Press Wednesday that ArenaNet kindly arranged for us lot. And I must say that in spite of everything, I felt very much at home in Nightfall right from the start. Almost too much, in fact. But this is by no means a bad game.

GW Nightfall - Nightfall - FAQ Update and Heroes Overview

by Dhruin, 23:37

ArenaNet has updated the GW: Nightfall FAQ and has short bios of the new Heroes in Nightfall:

An idealistic and brutally effective soldier, Koss has great hopes for the latest generation of Sunspears. He's proud of what they've done, sometimes to the point of arrogance. With brute strength and overwhelming confidence, he cheerfully muscles his way through one confrontation after another, often using the same approach when dealing with people. For the good of the Order, he's used a combination of ruthless charisma, physical intimidation, and flexible morality to build up a network of contacts and informants. Of course, some of those contacts aren't entirely trustworthy. Dealing with the dregs of the underworld has its risks, but when the fate of his homeland is at stake, he'll do whatever it takes to keep Elona safe. When push comes to shove, Koss is a loyal ally, a dedicated Elonian, and most importantly, a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound fighting machine.

Information about

Guild Wars: Nightfall

Developer: ArenaNet

SP/MP: Massive
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: MMORPG
Combat: Real-time
Play-time: Unknown
Voice-acting: Unknown

Regions & platforms
World
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2006-10-26
· Publisher: NCsoft