Why Guild Wars 2 is better than World of Warcraft…Bears?!

This was originally published on fragsandbeer.com in 2012 and remained one of my most popular articles.

I have made no secret of the fact that I am unimpressed with World of Warcraft, and I really could do without Activision. I always did like Blizzard, but then they went the way of money over quality and I just can’t drag myself back to any of their products again. Anyway, with the release of Guild Wars 2, and hours of playing it, I am decidedly smitten. So take that into account when you read this. It is not meant to be a fair or unbiased review of two games.

When I first heard about Mists of Pandaria I couldn’t help but giggle…did Disney get in bed with Activision? Is Jack Black on board to voice the main character? Will it be in theaters anytime soon, or is it just for the game? When I told my wife she literally said, “Panda bears? Really? And people pay for that every month?” Yah…people pay for that every month. Now, don’t get me wrong, anthropomorphic animals have been a staple of RPGs and fantasy for a long time, but panda bears? Could they have picked a more cuddly creature of the ‘bear’ family? Maybe a Koala? (I know, not really a bear) Come on Activision!

Then Guild Wars 2 comes along and does it right! Meet the Kodan.

Seriously, if you are going to do a race of bear people, ferocious and feared, you go with something like this. At least Activision could have gone with the grizzly…anyway, the Kodan are a race of anthropomorphic polar bears. Fierce warriors of the north who dominate the lands of eternal ice and snow. They have huge cities, ships made out of ice bergs, and are pretty damn awesome just to look at. The massive sailing ice bergs, known as sanctuaries, are actually their cities that were scattered when the Ice Dragon Jormag woke up and decided to cause some hell.

The only bad thing about these guys is they aren’t a playable race, but their story, art, and presence in game is so cool that’s only a minor thing. Maybe in a future expansion we’ll be able to run one of these guys. For now you can visit their cities, talk to them, and see them in a few of the southern cities in the game.

On the flip side you have pandas…

The panda shaolin-monk thing from World of Warcraft. They come to us from the Asian themed Mists of Thunder…Pandaria. I’m not really sure I need to say much more…except Pandas? Really? You guys pay for that every month?