Alright, I'm pretty sure I'm ready to dive right in to a new MMO taste sensation, but with no reviews quite yet I want to know what exactly I'm getting into before I throw money down.

So to those of you who already have, I ask ye' - How's it going over there? And how you doin'?

It's dope.

Been playing since the servers went live and it is living up to the hype is all I will say

Beginning was a bit annoying but it's gotten better.

I'm playing from China and latency isn't too bad. The disconnects are still annoying, though.

Login screen is real pretty.

I was able to play for a good 7 hours, and it has been amazing...

I'm not gonna comment on the gameplay or content yet (as it's way too early), but there is one thing that really stood out to me. There is a TON of info thrown at you constantly. It seems to be a new trend with MMOs as they're trying to shrink the time investment barrier, so instead of learning things slowly as you go you just get a new concept thrown at you every 5 minutes. While you can ignore most of it if you've played MMOs before, it's easy to miss out or not fully understand some important stuff (especially when it's trying to do some stuff very differently).

Got up at 6:40, logged in at 7:05, got disconnected because of server problems 20mins ago. Now I'm drinking coffee, watching Nigella Lawson and listening to my friends play LoL to pass the time. Beyond the server crapping up its as amazing as I hoped it would be.

Time to hit the Login button again.

@Ares42 said:

I'm not gonna comment on the gameplay or content yet (as it's way too early), but there is one thing that really stood out to me. There is a TON of info thrown at you constantly. It seems to be a new trend with MMOs as they're trying to shrink the time investment barrier, so instead of learning things slowly as you go you just get a new concept thrown at you every 5 minutes. While you can ignore most of it if you've played MMOs before, it's easy to miss out or not fully understand some important stuff (especially when it's trying to do some stuff very differently).

Aye, the worst part of the game is the lack of proper tutorials. I don't see how people new to MMOs would find half the stuff hidden in menus. Then again if you have a good server community you can just ask. So far there has been no assholes in server chats. Just a 2hour long conversation about bacon in the sylvari starting zone.

I'm one of the handful of folks who never had a chance to beta test this game. I got my first hands-on at 21:00 PST and I have to say I am very impressed with Guild Wars 2. I did not like Guild Wars at all when it came out. I wanted to like it so much but I just didn't enjoy playing it. GW2 has taken elements from successful games that followed GW and really made a game that is pure fun to play. There is always something to do and the experience is so incredibly streamlined. It's going to have a few elements that are divisive for certain types of MMO players, for sure, but this is a game that really does things right if only just for my tastes. Combat is action-packed and responsive, sessions do not require a massive time-commitment (although they certainly can if my initial 8 hour sitting is to be believed), and quests just happen organically as you wander around. It's also rather pretty looking and just doesn't feel janky, even with the massive load on the servers day one.

This really feels like something special to me. I commented in a blog that the feeling I have playing Guild Wars 2 is quite similar to when I first played World of Warcraft in 2005. It was something familiar but in a whole new, exciting, polished way. WoW was the new EverQuest then, GW2 is the new WoW to me now.

Been playing for 4 hours straight, only came out here cause I got disconnected (first time it happened to me, but some dudes have been having more issues with this). The game is very cool so far, I hope it stays that way.

Kinda lost, the combat and movement seems real iffy. It's been getting better but honestly I'm not as floored as I expected to be.

I played it for 2 hours, and then got a few hours sleep, only to wake up to a dead login service. I really liked the game, but these login issues are pissing me off >:(

It's better than expected and I had very high expectations. The combat is solid, the events are incredibly fun, epic set pieces and fun all around. It's great! It's an MMO that isn't a hassle to play.

This is one of the freshest RPGs I've played in a long time. No running to NPCs for quests! None! I can't wait to see what other MMOs and open-world RPGs in general take away from it.

It's super pretty, the combat is very satisfying, the way they approach quests by just having you "stumble upon" events is refreshing, and the immersion is something that I've been searching for for a long time. This game gives me that feeling that I got when I first started playing WoW, that feeling of awe and wonderment and just being completely absorbed in the world. I was afraid that I wasn't ever going to recapture that feeling again.

Blah...you guys are making me want to plop 60 dollars down on a game I had no desire to play until I started reading about it 30 minutes ago.

friggin awesome and looks and feels so dam good.. cant wait to explore this world

No tutorials, typical mmo gameplay... Eh. jumping puzzles aren't good, events are boring. It's really not as unique as some people seem to think it is.

Really fun. Dancing on shit is still really fun in a group!

No tutorials, typical mmo gameplay... Eh. jumping puzzles aren't good, events are boring. It's really not as unique as some people seem to think it is.

Well uh, i'm going to try on tuesday. I've got enough games to play with anyways. Dark Souls PC, Transformers, Darksiders, Sleeping Dogs, CS GO...

Got to level 5 and wasn't really digging any part of it. I took a break and will come back eventually. I didn't really like WoW at the beginning, either...

Didn't feel this good about a MMO since WoW in 2004, and even then it took me months to fall in love with it. GW2 is very easy to love, and in a couple of discplinces best-in-class - when it comes to exploration and worldbuilding, I have no doubt, no MMO did ever do a better job in creating such a fun and rewarding and believable world full of discovery, and still keep it focused and filled to the brim with worthwhile content. A testament to their core design, which is nigh flawless in that department. The perfect foundation to build upon.

Enthused and encouraged. And tired. Time to take a good night's sleep. Been playing since early morning, with nothing but a workout and food break inbetween. Lvl 14,5 thus far, just got my first couple of Mastercraft items. Neado! Looking forward to tomorrow's session.

@Dark_Lord_Spam: And?

Alot of people really loved star wars when it came out.

So for a more elaborate first impression. Just hit 20 and I'm finding myself a bit lost. My over-all feeling is that I have no idea why I'm playing the game. The combat is fine and all, but I've already pretty much unlocked everything I want and been doing the same thing for a few hours. It's not very complex, but deep enough to be a good enough vessel for interesting content. Which harkens back to my main issue. I'm level 20, I've yet to get involved into any content that makes me want to play this game. I tried looking into PvP, but that's just a clusterfuck of info (like I was talking about in my earlier post) and the PvE so far is just a massive collect-athon of generic RPG quests and some jumping. Most of the group content I've stumbled into was just a zerg-fest, but I've also found myself just kiting stuff I probably shouldn't be able to solo to death.

I see a lot of people praising the game for all the surrounding construct of the game, which admittedly is great. I find myself using the warping a ton and I've yet to actually "lfg" for anything. So it's very easy to just log in, do some stuff and move on without any planning or waiting around or anything like that, but so far I'm just not really seeing any interesting core gameplay content. I'm sure there will be something eventually, and I'm gonna stick it out for now, but I have a sneaking feeling this game was made for a different kind of MMO player than I am.

@Maginnovision: And nothing! I'm simply utilizing your down-and-outtitude to express my own impressions.

@Ares42 said:

So for a more elaborate first impression. Just hit 20 and I'm finding myself a bit lost. My over-all feeling is that I have no idea why I'm playing the game. The combat is fine and all, but I've already pretty much unlocked everything I want and been doing the same thing for a few hours. It's not overly complex, but deep enough to be a good enough vessel for interesting content. Which harkens back to my main issue. I'm level 20, I've yet to get involved into any content that make me want to play this game. I tried looking into PvP, but that's just a clusterfuck of info (like I was talking about in my earlier post) and the PvE so far is just a massive collect-athon of generic RPG quests and some jumping. Most of the group content I've stumbled into was just a zerg-fest, but I've also found myself just kiting stuff I probably shouldn't be able to solo to death.

I see a lot of people praising the game for all the surrounding construct of the game, which admittedly is great. I find myself using the warping a ton and I've yet to actually "lfg" for anything. So it's very easy to just log in, do some stuff and move on without any planning or waiting around or anything like that, but so far I'm just not really seeing any interesting core gameplay content. I'm sure there will be something eventually, and I'm gonna stick it out for now, but I have a sneaking feeling this game was made for a different kind of MMO player than I am.

I have no idea of how you are playing the game from your description.

I mean, I haven't been in a group yet, but I haven't soloed any missions either. People are... just there. That's where most of the fun of the game is for me. You walk in on a quest, it's probably in progress and people are already doing it, you join and help without any menus getting in the way. You get bored with it, you walk away, the progress isn't lost and once the rest complete the thing you get your part of the reward.

I agree that they haven't taken that concept perhaps as far as it can go. Most quests are about defending a spot or killing things/clicking on things. Then again, in the last two hours I've been turned into a wolf and a giant tree person for specific missions. My answer to why I'm playing it so far, by the way, has to be the writing. It's pretty snappy, I like the characters and it feels like the buildup is going somewhere.

I'm also a bit baffled by people power-playing through this. Granted, you level up pretty fast in this, but there's no subscription. I've been messing around a bunch. There's actually a lot of incidental details and side stuff you can see (which has no bearing on plot or character development), and I've made three different characters right away just to see the different starting areas.

So yeah, enjoyable so far for me. I just suggest keeping an open mind. I can see people playing it like WoW and not getting the most out of it quite easily. Also, nearing level 10 I do admit I'm disappointed that I haven't seen another huge boss since the intro.

@NoelVeiga: Well, it's probably a combination of being "high" level and playing during off-hours (EU). Some places can be flooded, while others are quite deserted (especially when I go off the beaten path and explore). As for power-levelling I'm actually approaching it from the completely opposite direction, as a completionist. Not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. But ye, to put it sorta bluntly, what I'm missing is Hogger and Dead Mines, or a more recent example Esseles/Black Talon. Ofc not literally, but content where you actually have to coordinate with others and actually cooperate in an organized manner. I know there will be dungeons coming up, but for a game that's very eager at putting people right into the action it's taking an abnormally long time before introducing organized PvE (which is why I'm thinking this game isn't made for the MMO players that are into that).

@gaggle64: Most of us have put 80+ hours into the betas already. Could have asked us months ago how great the game is. :P

That said, this game is something special. You should jump into it.

@Maginnovision said:

@Dark_Lord_Spam: And?

Alot of people really loved star wars when it came out.

And? This comparison is fucking nonsensical and farfetched. They're wholly different in philosophy, business model and setting.

Even then, Old Republic was met with some harsh-ass beta criticism that Bioware failed to address in any reasonable time (Illum, broken end-game, lack of customizable UI, optimization issues, etc.). Don't act like that game was sunshine and posies from beta through it's first month.

@Ares42 said:

@NoelVeiga: Well, it's probably a combination of being "high" level and playing during off-hours (EU). Some places can be flooded, while others are quite deserted (especially when I go off the beaten path and explore). As for power-levelling I'm actually approaching it from the completely opposite direction, as a completionist. Not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. But ye, to put it sorta bluntly, what I'm missing is Hogger and Dead Mines, or a more recent example Esseles/Black Talon. Ofc not literally, but content where you actually have to coordinate with others and actually cooperate in an organized manner. I know there will be dungeons coming up, but for a game that's very eager at putting people right into the action it's taking an abnormally long time before introducing organized PvE (which is why I'm thinking this game isn't made for the MMO players that are into that).

The majority of the complaints from people in this very thread point to a lack of tutorials being a problem. I think because the game abandons a lot of tradition, ArenaNet felt like coordinated group play with a wholly new design philosophy may be unwelcoming at early levels.

Also, Hogger required no coordinated play; at least, no more than the group events you find as early as level 6-8 in Guild Wars 2.

would you guys recommend this game to a guy who had a fantastic extended stint in WoW (played up until sunwell) and a ho-hum experience in swtor? i enjoy the exploration and group dynamics of mmos, but tire quickly at hotbar spamming. in other words- does this feel fresh and have hooks? or is it more your typical post-WoW mmo?

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

@Maginnovision: And nothing! I'm simply utilizing your down-and-outtitude to express my own impressions.

It's called realism. I don't buy into the hype. Everytime a new MMO comes out people flock to it and says it's so much better than WoW and blah blah blah. This is just another one of those. After playing it, I'm definitely not amazed.

I've been told I'm being negative too, but I'm not saying it's bad. There are parts of it that are good and just as many that are bad. It doesn't make me feel like it's what I've been waiting for.

@Maginnovision said:

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

@Maginnovision: And nothing! I'm simply utilizing your down-and-outtitude to express my own impressions.

It's called realism.

Correction, it's called your opinion and not everybody will swear by or agree with it.

The bad:

PvE is feeling a little grindy. The quests take way too long to complete.

Hearts require you to do a task like 20 times before you complete it.

The options are always the same.

1. Kill things

2. Collect things

3. Tidy or destroy things

You have to do a combined 20 or so (or it feels like I'm doing them 20 times because it takes so long) to complete the event. Definitely not having fun with those.

Dynamic events are a little better, but some of them drag on too long as well.

The good:

The graphics are gorgeous.

PvP is still amazing.

Exploration is lots of fun, and it also gives you EXP, so it kind of counterbalances the grindy quests.

The personal story stuff is also pretty fun (aside from the grind in between quests so that you aren't underleveled). Although I did find one event extremely frustrating. You had to sit through an entire circus performance doing nothing but watching.

Overall I'm liking the game, but I can't say I'm really having fun in PvE. I can't wait to get to the dungeons as those look awesome.

I agree with those saying the tutorials are bad. Having played the original GW, the beta and been following the pre-release info, I'm pretty confident with what I've been doing, but without that, I can see why some people are a bit lost. They could do a lot more to explain combat and crafting, etc.

But I've been having a lot of fun, it's one of the few MMO's that put you in a very immersive world, I really love the scale of the city and just how much fun it is to explore every nook and cranny. Plus if you actually take the time to talk to the NPC's, there's a lot of interesting lore. I spent the first day just exploring a few of the cities and playing through some of the low leveled events, which is a lot of fun to do with a friend. I crafted the first set of armour and I may hop onto WvW today to try and complete some of the monthly objectives and help out the guild a bit.

Leveling does feel a little slow, unless you're like me and really take your time just doing nothing a lot and the events don't begin to feel epic until later in the game, when you get away from the menial "help me clean up the farm!" type stuff.

@Ares42 said:

@NoelVeiga: Well, it's probably a combination of being "high" level and playing during off-hours (EU). Some places can be flooded, while others are quite deserted (especially when I go off the beaten path and explore). As for power-levelling I'm actually approaching it from the completely opposite direction, as a completionist. Not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. But ye, to put it sorta bluntly, what I'm missing is Hogger and Dead Mines, or a more recent example Esseles/Black Talon. Ofc not literally, but content where you actually have to coordinate with others and actually cooperate in an organized manner. I know there will be dungeons coming up, but for a game that's very eager at putting people right into the action it's taking an abnormally long time before introducing organized PvE (which is why I'm thinking this game isn't made for the MMO players that are into that).

Ah, that's very interesting. I like it BECAUSE I don't have to coordinate. Don't get me wrong, I do like that aspect of MMOs, but at the same time it's also what introduces a lot of the downtime in them, you know, LFG, wait for people to show, decide on what to do, go do it.

I don't have a problem with that, but I also have enough of it elsewhere. Given that GW2 has no subscription I really enjoy not having to guild up and just being able to jump into multiplayer content without having to talk to anybody about it. You just show up and do your part. You can never not help the team, because every little bit helps, but there is still a failure state to every quest, so you want to do your best, and the game is pretty good at scaling up and down to match the number of players in a given zone.

But hey, thanks for explaining that, it really clarifies where you're coming from. And you're right, that isn't in the game, at least so far, and that is a conscious design choice. GW2 is really, really focused in not forcing you to coordinate your efforts during PvE. Agreed. People should be aware of that up front and decide if that's a good thing for them or not.

I really like the PvE, to contrast what some people have been saying.

Just feels nice to walk around and do whatever. There are vistas and POI everywhere to sidetrack you from your heart quests, which is a perfectly legit way to spend your time. 100%ing a zone can be frustrating when you only have one or two things left, so that could have been implemented better I think, but let me tell you: The loot that you get when you do so is really worth it.

@Ares42: I'm definitely getting a similar feel as you. I'm about level 12 and my pull to keep playing is starting to waver. I've unlocked almost all my weapon abilities apart from the underwater combat, and I've skimmed my later skills which are all some forms of passive buffs. Thats on me I suppose for choosing Guardian which despite the Guild Wars creed of everyone is an active player - kinda plays like a support class in terms of their unique skills. The lack of tutorials definitely is an issue but it's just a hurdle to get through in the beginning. The problem is that I'm not seeing that carrot on a stick incentive to keep going. I'd liken this game more to Diablo 3 than WoW, and we all know loot lust is the main driving factor in the Diablo franchise. You want new abilities and cool new gear. At level 12 I've barely changed gear and monsters don't necessarily drop anything too interesting. My skills also aren't anything that special where I can't wait until I finally unlock XYZ so I can really rip through these events. I constantly hear "well go off the beaten path and explore! Take part in all the cool dynamic events!" This is a cool concept but it wasn't especially fleshed out, not in my area at least. I go around, mainly to find new teleport points, and run into events all the time which amount to killing a set number of creatures until a bar fills up or the time runs out. As Ares mentioned it seems to be a zerg-rush affair and with so many people running around it's sometimes hard to tell if I'm even attacking or not.

Perhaps the main driving factor is the PVP for which I queued yesterday and after more than 1 hour and 30 minutes of waiting in line just quit for the day. When I get to try it perhaps it will become a game changer. As for PVE well I see myself going around and doing the same things over and over. I think the armor looks really cool in the GW universe but I've yet to find any and the ones I have found were the same model with better stats. Perhaps too many "fans" beta tested the game or Arenanet didn't really listen to a lot of criticisms because things like the incredibly slow run speed of all characters or the lack of proper tutorials and game mechanic introductions seem like obvious offenses that could have been worked on. I know you can warp around but I'd like to actually run around and see the world, but you just run so goddamn slow. Also the whole overflow server thing and finding your friends in the game world even when in a party is also a mess.

It's the best MMO I've played in 10 years.

The zerg aspect of some of the events is definitely a problem right now, but thats something I expect to take care of itself in the next few weeks. Right now everyone is just stuck in a few zones.

The few times I've been basically alone with one or two other people, trying to defend and area or whatever, is where the game really shines.

Pretty great. The story is not as engaging as it was in SWTOR and I am not as addicted to playing it as I was with SWTOR, but I think that gameplay wise it might be the best MMO yet. It feels so much more fluid and dynamic than the old school questing system and the combat is fast paced rather than standing still.

But it's hard to judge an MMO so early, I mean i frickin LOVED SWTOR the first few weeks. So just because it seems great so far doesn't mean I'm not going to get tired of it.

Here's what I like;

I like the world, I like exploring it and I have fun finding all the things on the map. It feels like an open world game. SWTOR is pretty corridor driven, and WoW is so based on quest chains that there's no reason to explore ahead since there's nothing to do there. I want to see what Maguuma Jungle looks like, I want to dig through Orr and Ascalon, I want to explore.

It's pretty. Like really pretty.

Here's what I don't like;

These quests, I appreciate how they don't require me to start or hand them in... But when I wander into a hunting camp and it just says "help Hunter Block by doing X, Y and Z" I get bothered. Who is Hunter Block? Why do I care? What will actually change if I fill that heart up? He'll wave at me when I pass by. But I have no reason to be here, and I don't even know where he is in the first place. I'm just mechanically grinding out hearts.

Add to that, I would like to feel like I'm doing something important. When there's 40 other people there wailing on centaurs, I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything. I look at a mob and it's already dead. What am I actually doing? I actually like group content but I feel completely disconnected from the events going on around me. Completing a basic quest with 40 other people doesn't have the same rush as completing a 4 man quest or an instance in other MMOs, and it doesn't have the sense of personal agency as a single player quest.

Maybe it's just me, but I like chopping up mobs alone in a forest and then I see someone else run by doing their own thing and then I'm alone for another 3 minutes. I like group content but I like choosing whether or not I'm going to do the content in a group. It'll fix itself to an extent as the low level rush dissipates, but I constantly feel like I'm just a worker bee in a hive that resets and demands more work.

Trying to learn how the crafting system works. Or how the collectible bank works. Or the bank. Or salvaging. I had to look up YouTube guides just to find out where to go to even start crafting.

It's like all the MMOs I've played have one thing that I want. Secret World has a great setting, Guild Wars 2 has great exploration and sense of an open world, SWTOR has the narrative and character attachment, and WoW has phasing that gives a sense of agency in the world. What I really want is a persistent open world RPG with co-op.

edit: I just want to add, that the guild stuff is completely broken, and that's really bumming me out. Without any kind of social element, this is just a singleplayer game of dull sidequests and really uninspiring combat. :(

So, I have never played MMORPG before. Will I be completely fucked if I buy this game? Some of you guys are saying that tutorials in this game are bad, but are there really so complex mechanics that I will have trouble playing? Closest game that barely resembles mmorpg's (I think?) that I have played is diablo 3. This game just looks so pretty that I'm tempted to buy it.

would you guys recommend this game to a guy who had a fantastic extended stint in WoW (played up until sunwell) and a ho-hum experience in swtor? i enjoy the exploration and group dynamics of mmos, but tire quickly at hotbar spamming. in other words- does this feel fresh and have hooks? or is it more your typical post-WoW mmo?

I've been going in blind, not trying to min max, just picking up the weapons and stuff I want, focusing on power, exploring, and I'm having a great time. The combat feels great. After I remapped the movement keys, to strafe being "a" and "d" and the turn keys to "q" and "e", and using my mouse 2 camera for turning, dodging and what not became a lot easier.

@Icemo said:

So, I have never played MMORPG before. Will I be completely fucked if I buy this game? Some of you guys are saying that tutorials in this game are bad, but are there really so complex mechanics that I will have trouble playing? Closest game that barely resembles mmorpg's (I think?) that I have played is diablo 3. This game just looks so pretty that I'm tempted to buy it.

You won't be completely screwed if you've never played an MMO, but the game does have a learning curve and it does just drop you in the thick of things. Mechanically, it doesn't really play like other hot bar MMOs. Mobility is really important; it'll save your ass pretty often.

Mechanics wise, its not too complicated. You will die, and you'll die often, but the penalty for death is very forgiving. Exploring is lots of fun, not just because you get rewarded for it with loot, money, and XP, but you find a lot of neat set pieces as well.

@Brodehouse said:

Here's what I like; I like the world, I like exploring it and I have fun finding all the things on the map. It feels like an open world game. SWTOR is pretty corridor driven, and WoW is so based on quest chains that there's no reason to explore ahead since there's nothing to do there. I want to see what Maguuma Jungle looks like, I want to dig through Orr and Ascalon, I want to explore. It's pretty. Like really pretty. Here's what I don't like; These quests, I appreciate how they don't require me to start or hand them in... But when I wander into a hunting camp and it just says "help Hunter Block by doing X, Y and Z" I get bothered. Who is Hunter Block? Why do I care? What will actually change if I fill that heart up? He'll wave at me when I pass by. But I have no reason to be here, and I don't even know where he is in the first place. I'm just mechanically grinding out hearts. Add to that, I would like to feel like I'm doing something important. When there's 40 other people there wailing on centaurs, I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything. I look at a mob and it's already dead. What am I actually doing? I actually like group content but I feel completely disconnected from the events going on around me. Completing a basic quest with 40 other people doesn't have the same rush as completing a 4 man quest or an instance in other MMOs, and it doesn't have the sense of personal agency as a single player quest. Maybe it's just me, but I like chopping up mobs alone in a forest and then I see someone else run by doing their own thing and then I'm alone for another 3 minutes. I like group content but I like choosing whether or not I'm going to do the content in a group. It'll fix itself to an extent as the low level rush dissipates, but I constantly feel like I'm just a worker bee in a hive that resets and demands more work. Trying to learn how the crafting system works. Or how the collectible bank works. Or the bank. Or salvaging. I had to look up YouTube guides just to find out where to go to even start crafting. It's like all the MMOs I've played have one thing that I want. Secret World has a great setting, Guild Wars 2 has great exploration and sense of an open world, SWTOR has the narrative and character attachment, and WoW has phasing that gives a sense of agency in the world. What I really want is a persistent open world RPG with co-op.

I think dungeons and higher level stuff are going to fill that small group effort feeling and having quest chains seem like something important is happening. But we'll see how it holds up.@Icemo said:

So, I have never played MMORPG before. Will I be completely fucked if I buy this game? Some of you guys are saying that tutorials in this game are bad, but are there really so complex mechanics that I will have trouble playing? Closest game that barely resembles mmorpg's (I think?) that I have played is diablo 3. This game just looks so pretty that I'm tempted to buy it.

The mechanics are simple with the ability to have depth. As in its pretty straightforward concepts, but there's a lot more you can do with the combat, crafting, etc. if you want to really excel at it.

@Zelyre: @withateethuh: Thanks for the tips. I think I will pick this game, no monthly fee sounds like a good deal.