Staff Writer Nate Wong is impressed every time he gets to play Guild Wars 2. The PAX Prime demo continued that trend.

While I didn't get a chance to participate in the PvP challenges that were running at the Guild Wars 2 booth and across the hall in various hardware partners' locations, the PvP battles looked just as harrowing and competitive as they were in the original Guild Wars. Unfortunately, the massive amounts of people and relatively loud din of PAX made it hard to determine exactly what was going on besides people killing each other. I could tell that there were some interesting mechanics going on in each fight, and there's definitely going to be more to worry about than the dude that's swinging a massive sword at your face.

Some other things that I brought away from my play session:

• The limited ability slot bar is a refreshing change from the array of action bars that most MMOs force you to use.
• There's a depth to the game that is teased out slowly to the new player. Each new area exposes you to something new while not force-feeding it down your throat.
• The Asura are a love or love to hate sort of race.
• Moving while you cast is extremely freeing and makes the game feel more action-oriented, even if it's not truly that much more intense than a “standard” MMO.
• The ArenaNet team makes excellent massive monsters. They just look fantastic.
• People looking for new stories will definitely find them here.
• The PvP looks like it will be up-to-snuff for the current Guild Wars crowd.
• Having abilities change with your weapons is fun. 

Every time I get my hands on Guild Wars 2, I can't help but be impressed anew. The ArenaNet team has really captured many of the “intangibles” that the longtime MMO veterans have desired for years, the things that make a select few of our MMOs extremely popular. If the later levels, progression and PvP of Guild Wars 2 are as robust and expertly fashioned as the chunks of the game, this game will change the MMO landscape in a very, very good way.

Nate Wong, Staff Writer