Guild Wars Nightfall
Third stand-alone campaign in the Guild Wars series.
Guild Wars Nightfall is a fantasy action role-playing game and the third standalone campaign in the Guild Wars series from ArenaNet, a subsidiary of NCSOFT. Released globally on October 27, 2006, it is set in the continent of Elona. Players join the Order of the Sunspears to stop Warmarshal Varesh from bringing back a forgotten god through an event called Nightfall, aided by hero allies against civil war and demonic forces.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- ArenaNet
- Publisher
- NCSOFT
- Series
- Guild Wars
- Released
- October 26, 2006 (retail) (NA)
- October 27, 2006 (EU)
- April 22, 2009 (Steam) (NA)
- Genre
- Action role-playing game
- Modes
- Multiplayer
- Platforms
- Windows
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The player character begins as a junior officer in Elona's independent guardian force, the Order of the Sunspears, led by Spearmarshal Kormir. After earning rank by dealing with unusual occurrences on Istan, the Sunspears discover that strange deaths at an excavation site and information about an event called Nightfall are tied to the return of the forgotten fallen god Abaddon. Kormir, who had left to seek allies in Cantha and Tyria, returns and convinces the Istan council to start a civil war against Warmarshal Varesh Ossa, the Kournan leader, to prevent Nightfall. The Sunspears sail to Gandara, Varesh's fortress, but Varesh summons demons of Abaddon that rout the troops, leaving Kormir for dead. The surviving Sunspears establish a hidden base in Kourna, rescue prisoners including the now-blind Kormir, free a centaur tribe, and prevent a demon from corrupting the water supply. With help from the Order of Whispers, they travel to Vabbi to convince its three princes that Varesh threatens all of Elona, though the princes believe her forces will protect them.
Release
A pre-release Bonus Pack was available from September 15, 2006, including a game trial key, an additional character slot, weapons for the new professions, and a CD of bonus materials. The Bonus Edition, sold only online in Canada, came in a hard silver case with the game, access key, manual, and an Exclusive Behind the Scenes DVD. The standard edition, released October 27, 2006, contained three game CDs, a book of game lore, a manual, and a miniature map of Elona; new players received four character slots, while existing players adding Nightfall got two additional slots. In Europe, the standard edition was also released on a single DVD-ROM. The Collector's Edition added a behind-the-scenes DVD, unique Dervish and Paragon in-game emotes, a Varesh Ossa Minipet, an art book, skill pins, a Varesh Ossa mini-standee, a map of Elona, a code for extra in-game music, the Nightfall soundtrack CD, and a Nightfall Buddy Key for a friend to play for 14 days or 10 hours. The Edition/PvP Pack, available only online, unlocked all skills and professions for PvP but did not allow access to PvE content.
Reception
Guild Wars Nightfall was well received, though it rated less favorably than the other Guild Wars campaigns, scoring 84.20% on GameRankings and 84/100 on Metacritic. Reviewers expected more from the third game, with GameSpot noting the underlying game had not changed much and was showing signs of aging. Despite this, it was widely recommended as the best entry for new players, and some considered it the strongest offering in the series. The Hero system was seen as a significant gameplay modification, commended for offering more flexibility but also criticized for requiring micro-management and potentially replacing human players. Eurogamer suggested heroes brought Guild Wars closer to party-based RPGs of old. Specific complaints included that existing characters from previous campaigns had to grind for Sunspear points to advance the storyline, though this was later removed, and that Elona-made characters experienced a slow start. General criticisms of the Guild Wars series included rudimentary chat and player-info features and increasing complexity from skill interactions. Nightfall received several awards: 1UP.com named it Best Online/Multiplayer Game of 2006, PC Gamer US gave it Best MMO and Best Value awards for 2006, and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded it Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year at the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.
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