// PC GAMER — GAMING
A new MMO announcement is more exciting than all the other SGF news combined
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The same thing happens every summer—the jaded, cynical monster inside me mopes around and pretends he's not going to get excited about SGF (and before it, E3) announcements. There are too many of them, and I've been around too long to become a victim of hype.
And every summer, the hype starts bubbling away anyway, more and more, until it engulfs the jaded, cynical monster. There's usually one announcement that does it for me. This year, that honour went to Guild Wars 3.
I've been a fiend for MMOs as far back as my addled brain allows me to remember, but it was Guild Wars 1 that really turned me into an MMO guy, staying up until 4 am, the glow from my screen emphasising my beautiful, pallid—some might say "corpse-like"—complexion. I expect Guild Wars 3 might spell doom for my social life next year.
MMO announcements get me buzzing with anticipation quicker than most game-related news. I love an MMO. I usually have at least two in rotation, though frequently more, which really shouldn't be the case now that I'm a middle-aged man with limited time and too many responsibilities. But I always find room for my beloved timesinks.
The excitement is even greater this time, though, because it's the latest in a string of brilliant MMOs.
OG Guild Wars taught me to not be terrified of PvP, and instead to thrive on it, by creating structured, accessible PvP that didn't just throw you into a big mess and watch you get murdered over and over again. And it could have just been that alone, but Guild Wars also conducted some brilliant experiments in PvE, as well, and solo-PvE specifically, most notably in the form of NPC companions.
Guild Wars 2 then shed that PvP focus, but not by ignoring PvP—it was given the same attention and love that it received in the original game, but it shared the limelight with a PvE layer that still feels revolutionary today. It swapped heavily-instanced co-op PvE with traditional, text-heavy quests for a more organic structure.
A lot of MMOs like to talk up their living worlds, but Guild Wars 2 took this boast seriously, replacing quests with events and activities that were constantly popping off, ready for you and every other player to jump in. You would just encounter things happening as you explored the map, often in media res.
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