Guild Wars 2: Eager Anticipation

So last night my wife and I went on an adventure in our area trying to find the retail copy of Guild Wars 2.  And I was rather surprised that it was pretty difficult to find.  Since the games launch I have found the retail box version of the game at both of our local Walmarts, our local Best Buy, and both of our local Gamestop stores.  However, last night I looked up our local Gamestop stores online (which showed neither had in store stock available - which I know is sometimes not accurate) so I avoided wasting time stopping by those stores.

Hit up my local Best Buy (so I could the last couple points on my rewards card) and there were no copies of the game to be had there.  So as a last resort we dropped by both Walmart stores only to find two copies of the game on the shelf at the last Walmart we stopped at.  Feeling almost as good as if I won a lottery, we ate dinner and went home where I would start the installation process.

Upon cracking open the case, I found little in way of documentation (the original Guild Wars included pretty details booklets on the lore of the game) and there were two game installation DVD's.  Installing from the DVD's took a little bit, but nothing major.  Then the patch process started.  And continued to run... For several hours.  As of this writing, the patches are almost complete so hopefully I'll be in the game soon.

The patching process wasn't unexpected, I just hate that part of the installation of any MMO.  Because it takes so freakin' long.  Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the game is being improved and updated.  Because in the end, the players benefit from this.  But it has been a while since I had sat through the MMO installation for any game.  And the original Guild Wars seemed to be a fairly quick installation, but the game was setup a little differently from my understanding.

In either way, I have no qualms with how the installation has moved along, and have yet to encounter any errors or issues.  After I get a little time in-game, I'll post some of my initial thoughts.

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Guild Wars 2 up for PreOrder Now!

This week was a big week especially for gamers!  Not quite sure what I am hinting at?  Let me expound, this week pre-sales started for the much anticipated Guild Wars 2!  This game has been a long time in the making and ArenaNet has been teasing those of us who cut our teeth on the first Guild Wars with screens and videos and even beta testing for some (but unfortunately no beta testing for me).  So how much is it? What do you get for preordering? Is there a Collector's Edition?  And when does it hit the street?

Let's break it down.  For $59.99 you can preorder the standard game.  All preorder customers get the following perks:
-Beta Access to ALL GW2 beta events.
-A Three Day Headstart Access when the game releases.
-The Hero's Band ingame item.

For $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition you get the above three perks and:
-The game.
-Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill (ingame).
-Miniature Rytlock pet (ingame).
-Golem Bank (lasts for 5 days - ingame).
-Chalice of Glory (earns extra Glory and it a one time use item - ingame).
-Tome of Influence (guild stuff - ingame).

And the ubersweet Collector's Edition ($149.99) will include all of the above goodies, perks, and ingame items, as well as:
-10 inch Rytlock figurine.
-Book: "Making of Guild Wars 2"
-Custom Art Frame
-Art Portfolio and 5 Art Prints
-Best of Guild Wars 2 Sountrack CD

Sounds pretty freaking sweet!  As an avid fan of the original Guild Wars, I can honestly say I have been awaiting the arrival of it's sequel for some time now.  And I have a renewed desire to jump back in the original and try to finally fill up my Hall of Monuments (which is a little on the bare side).

Here's the kicker, there still isn't an official release date other than they are aiming for a 2012 release.  I have been burned in the past on game preorders.  So it is unlikely that I will partake of the preorder process.  However, seeing the preorders being opened up is huge news for a game that we have waited on for so long now.

So if preordering is up your alley be sure to swing by their website: https://buy.guildwars2.com/

Checkout the trailer as well:

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Google+ Games: Do You Play?

Honestly, I've been a little behind in my exploration of Google+ the last few weeks.  This afternoon I had some time to kill and noticed a button on Google+ I hadn't previously noticed.  And when clicking it, I found it threw me right into their 'Games' section.

Looks like they have definitely gotten the clue from Facebook that people want to play games.  I have played around with some of the games on Facebook and I haven't found anything there that warrants special attention from me.  If I have a little downtime I may play a round or two of Tetris on Facebook.  But that's about it.  And I have yet to start getting any of the spammy game requests from people in my Circles on Google+.  Which tells me that the people I'm following aren't playing that many games either.

Did Google jump into the social game sector a little late?  Maybe, after all I have noticed a huge drop in Farmville Requests from my Facebook Friends.  And I know many people who no longer play Farmville because they felt burned out.  Doing something in your free time should never give you that 'burned out' feeling.  After all, that's why it's called free time.  So do you think games will help populate Google+?

Their offerings are somewhat slim right now.  With the following games being offered up:

Personally, Google will need to bring in more games/talent to catch anyone's eye for this to become a reason for people to spend more time on Google+.  However, this is just the starter games being offered there are more games on the horizon.

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