What this means is that you can travel from town to town, which can be populated by hundreds of players, but when you travel into a mission or explorable area where combat can take place, you and your party of up to 8 players are isolated from the rest of the game world. The other major difference between “Guild Wars “and other MMORPGs is that you can only take eight skills with you onto the battlefield—these can be changed as long as you are in a town or outpost, but once you’ve entered a combat area, they’re locked. This forces you to think ahead, and to coordinate your plans with your party.

The major addition in “Nightfall” is the Heroes system, where you can have much more control over the henchmen-like characters you can use. In previous “GW” games, you could play with a party of up to 8 people, comprised of either actual people playing online, or NPCs controlled by the computer that simply took a cut of the items and gold you came across in your adventures. There was no control over them, and they simply tagged along until they were kicked out of the party. Henchmen are still available in “Nightfall,” but you can now enlist the help of Heroes. These are characters which can grow and develop alongside you. Just like your character, they’ll gain experience and you’ll be able to equip them with new weapons and armor. Their attributes and skills are also up to you to choose, so you can really customize your party.

Heroes are a significant improvement over henchmen, although they can never totally replace them due to the fact that you can only have three with you. With one fellow human player, though, you can completely alleviate the need for henchmen. This is both a boost for those who like to play solo and those who have difficulty filling up their party, as it adds life to the void of boring, basically lifeless henchmen.

“Nightfall” also (of course) sports an entirely new PVE campaign with roughly 20 missions to complete. Scattered throughout are a plethora of quests to take part in, and with the addition of PVP and the nearly unlimited number of possibilities for skill sets and profession combinations, there’s more that enough to keep you busy here.

The game takes place in the land of Elona, where you’ll receive a clichéd story of an evil force lurking, waiting to cover the land in darkness; you know the bit. The world doesn’t have quite the obvious comparison to draw, as you could with “Factions” and its Asian setting. It’s a bit of a jungle-themed land, where you’ll encounter enemies that look like the giant man-eating plant from “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Two new professions have been added in “Nightfall”: the Dervish and Paragon. The Dervish is like a hybrid Assassin/Elementalist; they wield scythes on the frontline and are able to use their holy powers of earth and wind to lay ruin to their enemies. Paragons, on the other hand, make use of spears and play more of a support role, as they are able to protect allies and give them temporary abilities.

Personally I preferred the support abilities of the Paragon to the raw power the Dervish provides, but each is fun to play in its own right. They’re both excellent additions, and following suit with previous “GW” professions, each can eventually have access to 150 skills—300 in total, once you count secondary professions.

Guild battles can be intense, and thanks to a new feature in “Nightfall,” you can watch your guild fight even if you are not involved. (Before you could only watch the top-ranked guilds.) It’s still the same basic formula you’ve come to know and love from previous “GW” titles, and additional modes and ways to play would have been warmly welcomed.

Whether looked at as a standalone game or an update to previous “Guild Wars” titles, “Nightfall” is a winner. While it isn’t particularly innovative and won’t win any awards for major technical upgrades, it is a very nice addition to the series, and most importantly, it’s simply fun to play. While it does have its issues, these are quite clearly and dominantly overshadowed by just how fun the game is. If “Factions” turned you off, don’t let that stop you from checking out “Nightfall.” Those who haven’t played a “Guild Wars” title before would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t give the series a shot.

Review Chris Pereira
October 9, 2009