When someone says, "RPG", what do you think of? I would come back with either rocket propelled grenade or a story-driven game involving leveling and lots of monsters/bad guys. Add the prefix "online" and I get monthly fees and other people to romp around with. Guild Wars is something new. While it obeys some old RPG laws, it has also broken or bent others and introduced a few new ones. The end result is something unique and, if I may, something pretty frickin' awesome.

Before I go any further I'd like to make something clear: The true heart ofGuild Wars is not the role-playing portion. It is the player-versus-player. The RP portion's function is to add additional content and reward players who decide to invest more energy into the game by giving them better equipment and skills. It's as if ArenaNet gives you 2 games, one really good one, one so-so one, but they decide to stick them together and make you play both. Surprisingly they end up making each other better. Now, is the RP of Guild Wars bad? No, in fact, I've burned many long and happy hours running around Ascalon completing quests. Is it of exceptional quality? No, it is not. Comparisons with the Diablo series have been made and I since I feel that, for the most part, they are justified, I'm going to use them as well.