Editor’s note: This review was written by Tami Olsen, an author/CAD drafter from South Dakota who is working on earning a bachelor’s degree in game design from Full Sail University. Her favorite games are role-playing games, with Guild Wars being at the top of the list. In what spare time she has, Tami enjoys gaming and writing and also dabbles in Web coding and drawing. Tami still plays pen-and-paper RPGs, although now it's usually online through Teamspeak. Tami is married with two kids (both are well on the way to being geeks), and the family of four often fights over the computers/consoles in the house.

Expanding the world from the first Guild Wars game, Guild Wars: Factions adds new classes, new skills and new ways to play the game, as well as beginning an entirely new storyline. Following the example of the original, once the game is purchased, there are no additional fees to play online, and although there are always “cool” things to purchase in the NCSoft store, they don’t affect gameplay. Also, there is a connection between Factions and the other Guild Wars campaigns, so cross-campaign play is possible if you own other campaigns.

There are eight classes in Factions, rather than the original game’s six. You still have the Warrior for melee, the Ranger for bow attacks and pets, the Monk for healing/smiting, the Elementalist for physical spells, the Necromancer for blood and death magic, and the Mesmer for mental spells. Now, you also can be an Assassin, with skills to strike more quickly and disappear, or a Ritualist, who can use summoned spirits. Hundreds of new skills were added to those already created for the original campaign, as well as a variety of new “loot” items. You also have the ability to try a few different characters, as the game gives you four character slots if you play it on its own or adds two slots to what you already have if you own another Guild Wars campaign.

Factions starts in the typical beginner area, where monsters are little, nonplayable characters are helpful (oftentimes overly grateful), and you’re given lots of quests to level up your character. There’s barely a hint of danger on the horizon, and you go about your blissful way trying to please the esteemed Master Togo, (affectionately known among players as “Baldy”). When you are finally ready, Master Togo offers to introduce you to an old friend of his. That’s when you realize something is wrong in the world. A mysterious plague has spread throughout the island, which eventually leads you off the beginner area and into the wider world of Cantha.

Your first introduction to the mainland is a massive city. This part of Factions has a very medieval, Asian-megalopolis feel to it, like a fantasy shanty town across a quarter of the continent. It’s quite easy to get lost in the alleys and sewers and rooftops, but you explore the city with Master Togo and his dear friend Brother Mhenlo, trying to warn the emperor and find a way to stop the plague. Eventually you discover the source of this plague is a long-dead villain who has magically brought himself new mortality and taken over where he left off when he was killed. Then, you unfortunately die.

So here’s the Big Bad Guy, Shiro Tagachi. About 200 years ago, Shiro was the emperor’s personal bodyguard, but he believed the emperor conspired against him — mostly because of the ranting of an old fortune teller — and rather than be executed, he made the first move and killed the emperor and his attendants. Only moments later was Shiro killed for his crimes. But he cursed the land, turning the forests to stone and the huge inland sea into solid jade. Now he seeks to return, and the spirit bigwigs that want him stopped agree to return you to life if you stop Shiro from coming back to life. You graciously agree, of course.

At this point, you’re sent outside the city into the stone forests and the Jade Sea to find help to fight Shiro. This is where Factions gets its name. The southern area of the continent of Cantha is controlled by two warring factions called the Kurzick and the Luxon. You are sent on all manners of quests to gain faction points to impress one side or the other — enough so that you can convince them to join in the fight. You can also play “alliance battles” in which you fight in groups against other players. These battles have a continuing effect on the game, because the more one side or the other wins, the more the continent is “controlled” by that faction. When you have more Kurzick points, for example, and you’re in a Luxon-controlled area, the merchants won’t talk to you and you’ll get attacked by Luxon soldiers in explorable areas. There’s a lovely blue and red line that cuts through the map to show you how much each faction controls.

Once you gain the aid of both factions, convincing them to work together to defeat the Big Bad Guy, you’re sent off to the finale. You defeat Shiro’s minions, (one of which even offers to help you in return for freeing him from Shiro’s enslavement) and rush to the palace for the final confrontation ... which I won’t reveal here.

In all, the game starts pretty fast, allowing for easy leveling up if you complete all the quests you’re given so that you can concentrate on getting faction points. The graphics are breathtaking, playing out with a story that embroils you in the game’s past and future. NPC dialogue could have been written a little better, but the story can stand on its own. It’s very easy to replay Factions even after you’ve beaten it, as there are titles to be gained, festival events to take part in, elite skills, and armor and weapons to be found, and there’s always the fun of bringing along friends to help them through the game.

Guild Wars: Factions, along with the other campaigns, allows for solo play as well as team play. You command a variety of henchmen, or you can group with other players. There is the ability to form a guild with other players, and you have a shared bank space between your characters. There is also an extensive player-created wiki, which is of invaluable help for novice players as well as veterans. I recommend Factions both as a standalone game and as part of the complete set of Guild Wars campaigns.