I’ve known about Guild Wars 2 and it’s predecessor for a while now, but I never really tried either out until about a month ago when I had the chance to try their latest stress test. Wow I had a tone-o-fun. I have been eagerly awaiting the next (and last) BETA Weekend Event, which starts tomorrow afternoon for me, and eventually the official release on August 28th (August 25th to me and all the other pre-purchasers!).

My wife, brother and I have all been playing Final Fantasy XI since December 2003, and it will always hold a special place in our hearts. Lately a lot of our friends have been leaving and the new ones we do make have all been “Abyssea-burned” to level 99. In my opinion it makes all low to mid level content very unrewarding and after little (very little) discussion we all decided to deactivate our accounts after 8 and a half years.

Usually a console gamer, my wife has never shown interest in owning a PC for any game. Then I tried the June 27th Stress Test and she’s been thinking about it. It probably wont happen if there is even a slight chance Guild Wars 2 would be on a console. As long as we could play together that is.

My brother and I have been playing MMO’s since Ultima Online, and almost moved to World of Warcraft when that came out but I’m glad we didn’t. We’ve tried everything from Ragnarok Online to Maplestory and dabbled in Rapplez, Dungeon Fighters, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, TERA, Guild Wars 1. Just to name a few off the top of my head.

So when I say, a Massively Multiplayer Online game grabs my attention, I mean it will probably consume my online gaming life for the foreseeable future. I have augmented my morning routine of waking up and getting a bowl of cereal to searching for any new GW2 news and videos while eating said cereal. All the while making sure my One and a half year old son is getting his breakfast as well.

The way Guild Wars 2 pulled me in, even before I played it, was the Dynamic Events. I love the thought of playing a few quests here and there and probably never playing them the same twice! While every quest has an end, these have mutliple ways to get to that end.

Then there’s the ability to choose whatever race you want, and stats aren’t affected for your profession, oh and you aren’t restricted to certain professions with certain races. Making no difference between an Asura or Charr, say as a warrior. This effectively lets you choose the character you want and play them the way you want.

I was also drawn in by the active battle system. Instead of sitting still hitting a few skills once in a while, you’re actually trying to dodge, and you have to employ strategy to each encounter.

All-in-all I can’t wait for this game to come out, and if you’re worried about it failing but are still interested, don’t forget it’s just $60 with no recurring fees.

One more sleep until this…