RPGs can be a real hard slog. You start out as a level one character, resigned to killing vermin because everything else will kick your ass, toiling for valuable experience points so you can level up, advance your skills, learn how to not get screwed at the bazaar and stay alive under attack from multiple enemies. I'm not saying this all isn't fun but it can often just take so damn long to get anywhere. Even though I'm a massive vocal promoter of World Of Warcraft - having already managed to convince no less than eight of my mates to sign up - it was with a little glee and a smile of consummate pleasure that I greeted the quite phenomenal Guild Wars. You see, it's the very first massively online multiplayer game that ditches the lengthy, drawn-out gameplay, replacing it with an octane-paced and thoroughly addictive player vs player experience, more akin to a Far Cry than World Of Warcraft. This really is an insight into the future of MMORPGs.

One of the huge positives about Guild Wars is that unlike MMORPGs like World Of Warcraft and City Of Heroes, this game is entirely free. Instead of having to continually pay monthly fees, the Guild Wards development team plans to support the game's ample servers by releasing regular expansion packs every now and again. However, although buying these will increase the game content, their purchase is entirely optional. So if you're totally happy with the content that comes with the game, you can go on playing with that for as long as you like.

When you initially start the game, you'll notice that the different character types are also different from most MMORPGs. Even though they initially appear to fall into standard archetypes, very early on in the game you'll find yourself with the unique choice to choose a second profession to compliment your first. So instead of being continually tied as being a warrior throughout the whole game, you can actually mix and match skills and abilities from two different classes, adapting your character to fit your needs. I found a particularly good mix was to choose Warrior as your first profession and Monk as your second. This enables you to fight your ass off, hacking and slashing with your warrior ability, whilst continually tending your wounds throughout with your monk healing skills. It's basically entirely up to player choice so you can be a Warrior/Necromancer or a Mage/Monk amongst many others. Every single profession has around about 150 skills, but you are only permitted to have eight of them available at any one time. The only place where you can change the eight skills you've selected is in a town, so it's paramount that you choose the best ones to suit the mission you plan to embark upon.

What really struck me about Guild Wars is that it really solves two of the biggest problems I've encountered with MMORPG titles. Most of us are undoubtedly tired of running around and around for years on end trying to get to mission locations in MMORPGs. I know I'm sick to the point of suicide of running to and from graveyards with my dishevelled corpse in World Of Warcraft. Guild Wars does away with all that hassle by allowing you to travel between all of the game's cities instantaneously. All you need to do is click on where you want to go on your map and hey presto! Future MMORPGs take note please. Another huge benefit in this title is that you don't always have to rely on other players to help you out on your quests. If a quest seems a little too much for your character, you can nip into town and hire some NPC mercenaries to help you out. Again, future MMORPGs take note.

When you're out gallivanting in the Guild Wars world, you'll instantly find it to be a pretty darned hostile place. There are shed loads of enemies and plenty of quality fights and scraps to be had. There are a seemingly endless number of quests and the learning curve is well set for beginners and rises at a steady and manageable rate. At first you might find yourself dead pretty soon but it's easy enough as you just re-spawn in the nearest town so there's never too far a distance to traverse to give that pesky quest another shot. You'll probably find yourself dying more and more in the player-versus-player areas. In Guild Wars, PVP only takes place at certain set locations and it's all very organised instead of being an almighty, messy scrap. The game has lots of tournaments and guild challenges and there's even option to play King Of The Hill and Capture The Flag, reminiscent more of a Quake or a Halo. PVP matches are limited to eight players per team, which is the only real downside, as World Of Warcraft offers pretty much unlimited numbers of team members and, as a result, huger and bloodier battles.

What blew me away most about Guild Wars is the graphics. They are so damn good I'd use expletives to emphasise this, if it wasn't for that pesky editor! The visuals really are absolutely phenomenal, whether it's fish swimming in incandescent rivers at your feet or rock shelves stretching into the distance in gloomy catacombs. Guild Wars really does set a precedent in MMORPG graphics and having extensively played World Of Warcraft, it doesn't even come close to Guild Wars in this respect. Whilst World Of Warcraft has a certain cartoony hand-drawn look about it, Guild Wars looks like pretty much what you'd see every day out your bedroom window, if only you stopped playing MMORPGs. The musical score is also extremely accomplished, more akin to a screening of Braveheart or Gladiator, than to an online multiplayer computer game. Scored by Jeremy Soule, who I'm told is a rising star in the computer game music world, it really does lend the game a very substantial sense of atmosphere and fantasy. If you buy the Collector's Edition of the game, you'll even get a CD of The Soule's Greatest Hits, which is definitely worth a play on the iPod.

I could go on forever banging on about how good Guild Wars is but it still wouldn't do it any justice. Only by buying it, booting up and immersing yourself in the Guild Wars world will you be able to see where I'm coming from. I suppose the only downside is that traditional MMORPG players who are more used to trudging along at their own pace might find Guild Wars to be a little too fast paced. Everything about this game is slick and snappy, so there's never a dull moment. If the quest you're on gets a little boring, sign up for some PVP action and kick some human ass. Guild Wars genuinely does have it all. If Guild Wars is what NCSoft are willing to give us online for free, I sure as hell want to see their first subscription title. You can guarantee it'll have to be something truly special to top this one.