Guild Wars: Eye of the North (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Kevin VanOrd
• Reviewed on: 09/13/2007
• Released on: 08/28/2007
• Originally published on GameSpot: Guild Wars: Eye of the North (PC) Review

Guild Wars: Eye of the North (or GWEN, as players affectionately refer to it) is the first true expansion for the popular online role-playing game. Factions and Nightfall were both standalone products; Eye of the North requires players to own an existing Guild Wars game, and the content is available only to players who have reached the level cap of 20. This sounds limiting, and indeed, the expansion isn't going to bring new players into the fold. However, fans of the original Prophecies campaign in particular will find a great deal of content to sink their teeth into. There are new skills, a pleasant return to the story, minigames, and fantastic new dungeons. Sure, it's more of the same in some ways. But in the case of the addicting and satisfying Guild Wars, more is never a bad thing.

You can access the content from three different cities, and explore the campaign from three different perspectives. Eventually, you'll be joining Gwen (remember the little girl with the flute from Prophecies? That's her, all grown up) to fight creatures known as destroyers. The dialogue in the Guild Wars titles has never been all that great, but the narrative is interesting enough, and the cutscenes are attractive and acted well. At the very least, it's nice to see some familiar faces, and the story serves the new campaign nicely. After all, what would a return to form in gameplay be without a return to the story that started it all?

Of course, there are a bunch of challenging side quests in addition to the central mission. The ensuing exploration is great, and the quests are splintered into multiple parts that take you across new regions such as the beautiful and snowy Far Shiverpeaks. The game engine may be over two years old, but it still looks lovely, and the new areas are full of stunning architecture and gorgeous vistas. Furthermore, the missions are often full of easygoing charm. How often do RPGs form quests around Office Space references, anyway? These gusts of fresh air are found everywhere, and they complement the game's unique action-focused battles, as well as its intricate character and team builds. In other words, Eye of the North is, like the other Guild Wars products, a constant surprise. Throw in tons of new skills, and suddenly you have new and exciting ways to crush monsters and other players.

Keep in mind that the content is all geared toward player-versus-environment questing; player-versus-player enthusiasts will find little of interest aside from the new skills. However, cooperative grouping is expanded and enhanced in Eye of the North, thanks to some of the hardest dungeons the series has seen. You might be able to get through some of them with some AI-controlled henchmen and thoughtfully formed hero characters, including the famous Gwen herself. Nevertheless, with dungeons such as Raven's Point--which requires you to defeat hostiles while staying shielded in the radius of a slowly-moving golem--the severe limitations of the henchmen AI is a hindrance. On the other hand, two or three players with some decent heroes and a little patience should be able to eke through, if a decent adventuring party isn't to be found.

Continue reading

Where to buy

Guild Wars: Eye of the North (PC): $11.95

store	price	in stock?	rating
	$11.95	Yes

see prices from 1 store

Compare prices for Guild Wars: Eye of the North

Amazon.com

$11.95

Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 0 stars Not yet available
  Back to product review
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 1 of 1 user review

• 3.5 stars

  "It's a winter wonder land, but more intense!"

  by Shmernik on January 28, 2009

• See 1 user review Write review