Guild Wars 2

Yeah, Greyfeld, that is an important point. Some of the story missions even pair you up with your race’s Destiny’s Edge hero, so you’d expect them to blitz through at least a couple of the packs quite happily. Yet in practice these renowned adventurers can’t hit for toffee. That’s pretty depressing! I kinda want to be in awe at how powerful they are, knowing that one day I too will be that strong.

But the way it works now, they just feel neutered.

Rumors of Trouble in the Norn 10-20 Lost Heirloom story also needs to be looked at, if it hasn’t already. When I did it with a pal we got absolutely swarmed by Varg’s hard-hitting minions. I tell you, all drama and momentum vanishes from that quest the minute you have to respawn, respawn, respawn. We eventually did it, but not without feeling like the point of the quest was ruined.

Today, having completed the “Choose Your Order” strand of the human storyline, I went to Lion’s Arch to witness the thwarted reunion of Destiny’s Edge. Before the main event, though, I got to see a bunch of local kids ‘roleplay’ their way through the group’s acrimonious split. It was funny, it had great flow, and it was oddly touching. Nevertheless, all the way through it, I had one thought:

“This is so much better than the crappy cut-scenes”.

As if to underpin that point, the meeting of Eir and the rest was a perfect example of why the current two-people-to-a-screen method is not fit for purpose. Put more than three characters into the setting and the whole thing falls apart, as they’re swapped in and out at a rapid pace. It’s honestly like a segment of a Scooby-Doo cartoon, as the villain chases Scooby and Shaggy down a corridor of doors. You know the sort. In, out, in, out, in, out.

This system just doesn’t work. Even two-person exchanges are compromised, as characters stand on either side of the screen to stand and talk to each other. They can’t sit, they can’t stroll, they can’t even touch. Consider that: in the entire personal story – the story of Tyria under threat – no one hugs anyone else. There are no hugs, no slaps on the shoulder, no nothing.

This totally handicaps the game’s ability to provide emotional scenes. When my human warrior was reunited with a long lost relative, there was no outburst of love – just a quick “Ah, isn’t this great?!” and then that was that. To me, the story just goes through the motions like a chore. A dead friend here, a traitorous soldier there, but none of it actually feels like it matters.

What galls me about this is that, out in the world, the writing is of a really high standard. Event-related dialogue is top-notch, and feels like it’s saying new things. There’s wit, there’s charm, there’s charisma. But inside personal stories, the game rushes along, terrified of overstaying its welcome, creating meaningless scenarios which could never exist, even in a fantasy setting. It disappoints me terribly, and my guess is that things could substantially improve if the cut-scenes are dropped in favour of keeping just about everything in-game. It works.

By the way, none of this applies to the dungeon intros, which are excellent.