Genre: MMORPG
Developer: ArenaNet
Publisher: NCsoft
Disks quantity in original version: 2 CD
Similar games: Guild Wars
Minimal requirements: Pentium 3 800 MHz; 256 RAM; ATi Radeon 8500 or GeForce 4 MX, Internet connection speed 56 Kbs
Optional requirements: Pentium 3 1000GHz; 512 RAM; ATi Radeon 9000, èëè GeForce 4 Ti, broad-banded Internet connection.
Enough! They survived in that battle like in thousand others. This is the main thing. It’s not a good idea to recall each fight.
A veteran twitched like he felt a wind of Drocknagar and asked the man who was standing behind his back for a long time:
- Something happened again?
Answer was anxious:
- Kanta seems to be in trouble. Murderer of Emperor is rumored to wake up.
Remember: no quietness, no idyll, no utopia can be – and it never will be! – eternal. That’s impossible. The end of even the most kind tale is quite joyless “and they died the same day”. Let it be the same day, let it was long and happy (though what could tale narrator know about the happiness of their life?) but they died! Someone noticed about it “If you follow book (movie, game) characters’ life after “happy end” you see their the most awful tragedy”.
Guild Wars world is unquiet as well.
The blood strife about Orr sceptre seemed to be just over. The people began to rebuild their burnt houses and settlements, heroes of battles washed blood off their blades and charrs and other beasts hating mankind hid in their burrows when… addon appears! But this time not Tiria but the south mainland of Kanta will be arena of game.
Turn your glance at south! You’ll see Celestial, Dragon Empire there!
Mannered multi-store palaces in china pagoda style neighbour on putrescible huts. People in expensive oriental armor steadily push aside peasants in their self-made chlamyses and taper straw hats. Inhabitants of this country give alms to beggar and kill their enemies with the same sweet smile.
This is Kanta – place where oppositions meet. Place that is usual and paradoxical at the same time. Delicate smell of exquisite and a little bit rotten spice – a dish for real gourmet.
This land is rich with stories and legends…
I’m going to tell you one of them.
In 1832 by the Kanta calendar something impossible happened – personal Emperor’s bodyguard Shiro Tagachi murdered his monarch during the Harvest Ceremony in the temple and was immediately killed after that. While dying Tagachi erupted so much dark energy that trees and animals turn into stone in hundreds of miles around.
What have made this warrior seemed to be loyal to commit this crime? Nobody knows. But cursed Shiro accepted neither by paradise nor by hell slithered between the live world and world of the deads for 200 years. Then he found the way to return. And now he craves for revenge. Everywhere the ghost of the Emperor’s Murderer appears, his dark force poisons people and animals. They are called Afflicted. Everybody thinks it’s an epidemy. But nobody guesses that’s something much worse.
But not this is still the main trouble of Kanta.
The main trouble now is The Crimson Scull – order of highwaymen honoring death terrorizes the whole mainland more than 100 years. They hold up coffles, capture small towns, murder and trade slaves.
Keepers, Nagues and Dragues are three species of creatures who suffered from premortal Shiro’s scream more than people and now they accused humanity in their troubles. Ceaseless mess against those beasts lasts everywhere and its result isn’t clear.
But people are making not only war for survival but civil war as well. The Kurzuks living in the primeval forests and the Lucsons – inhabitants of islands - send their troops to capture and win back useless fortresses and outposts.
Let’s interrupt our short lecture about troubles of Celestial. The rest will come to your knowledge if you want. By the way it’s not easy to reach Kanta. Unlike Rome you have only two roads to get there.
If you are happy owner of original Guild Wars and have just bought Factions you can easily sail from Lion’s Arch in Tiria to new continent just having installed addon. Adventures go on!
Beginners will have to take a few lessons in nubland first. And only after that they will be allowed to action in real game world. And you don’t need to buy original: «Factions» is completely self-contained.
But both veteran and beginners will be impressed. The reasons are the same.
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