You’ll explore the Northern Shiverpeaks, the area north of where the “Prophecies” campaign took place. Once again we’ve got a clichéd story about an immensely powerful enemy that threatens to destroy everyone. Does that sound run-of-the-mill enough for ya? “Guild Wars” has never been one for intricate storylines, and “Eye of the North” is no exception; it’s there if you want to care about it and learn more about the lore, but skipping it won’t hurt your experience one bit.

There are no new professions to be found in “Eye of the North,”, and only 10 new skills per profession. These are easily attainable at a skill merchant, and are perhaps the only item that players only interested in PvP will care about.

The story itself is extremely short when compared with the previous games, which is really surprising. A solid weekend of playtime will see you through to the end, although the ride, short as it may be, is more entertaining than previous campaigns thanks to its focus on dungeons instead of missions. Early on, the story will split into three different paths as you choose to help three different races, two of which are brand new: the Norn and the Asura. They both look like the prototypical race you’d expect to find in a fantasy game, and really are just a tease for what lies in store with “Guild Wars 2.” Your choice of storyline to follow first is ultimately irrelevant, as you’ll eventually complete all three races’ quest offerings, leading into a final showdown.

Extending the length of the game are the various minigames and side tasks you can choose to take part in. Minigames include a few different distractions from the main game and include a “Pokémon”-like game, duels, and boxing. The side tasks are a major deviation from previous “Guild Wars” in that they heavily promote the concept of grinding your character. Before, “GW” was always accessible thanks to its low level cap and focus on strategy and preparedness—not amount of time played. While this hasn’t changed, you’ll need to invest a lot of time to complete all of these quests.

It’s nice to include that for those who are interested, but my biggest issue with “Eye of the North” lies within the new sidequests; you need to complete tons of them to allow yourself the privilege of using the Hall of Monuments. The Hall is a way of transferring things (weapons, Heroes, armor, titles) from the original “Guild Wars” titles to “Guild Wars 2.” It’s a nice feature for series vets that I was really looking forward to, and it was, in fact, the selling point of “Eye of the North” to me. But it’s disappointing due to the requirements to actually make use of it. You’ll have to complete the aforementioned grinding quests if you’re interested in storing your stuff. Perhaps even worse than that is the fact that only “Eye of the North” weapons and elite armor can be transferred using the Hall. What the hell? The entire way the Hall works seems to contradict what the series has stood for. All of a sudden grinding is not only encouraged but required to make use of a core feature.

Justifying a purchase will come down to two things: are you ready for more “Guild Wars” action? Any of the three campaigns would be the better pickup right now, as they’ll offer a lot more gameplay than “Eye of the North” does. The other factor is, if you’re looking to use the Hall and take advantage of everything “Eye of the North” offers, can you deal with grinding? Ask yourself that before you drop the money on this expansion. For the “Guild Wars” lovers out there, it’s a must-have and you’ll undoubtedly get your money’s worth out of it. But for the casual fan who might not even achieve the higher-end gear to send into “Guild Wars 2,” you’re better off picking up one of the campaigns.

Review Chris Pereira
October 9, 2009