It's hard to believe that it was almost a year ago that Guild Wars came out as the first off the shelf MMORPG that required no subscription fees, shattering much of what people believed MMO's had to be. Soon, Factions will be released, which acts as either a stand alone game or as an expansion, making the world of Guild Wars bigger than ever!

Even though Factions adds to the overall content of Guild Wars, this is far more than anyone can expect from an expansion. Cantha is a region that just about matches the original Ascelon in scope and size. While players of the core game see a lot of scorched desert post-sear environments, the eastern inspired look of Factions provides a huge contrast. There are rolling hills, tall grass, gigantic flowers and even bigger foes to confront. There are cities and areas that are completely made of jade, and look as though they have been hand carved from a solid block. The eastern-themed architecture is also a refreshing change from medieval stone buildings players might be accustomed to seeing in the core game.

Additionally, there is far broader range of henchmen to hire, including animal types who will fight by your side. In addition to fighter classes, there are also henchmen who are more specialized toward defense. What all this amounts to is a team that can be easily customized to take on specific missions. The familiar classes make a return and are fully playable in this new land, and they can be combined with the new assassin and ritualist professions.

The assassin cannot survive any prolonged combat, but is designed to chain a number of different moves together into devastating combinations using dagger mastery. Through the use of shadow skills, the assassin can speed up his pace, teleport directly to foe for fast strikes, then retreat. The animations for all the different moves are fantastic, although prolonged confrontations take an extreme toll on endurance levels.

On the other side of things is the rutualist, whose powers rely solely on summoning different spirits to hex, heal, take damage, or fight. This is a profession that makes a point of staying out of direct combat as much as possible. Using this character takes a fair amount of forethought and planning so that all the spirits are planted in the right places for maximum effectiveness. For the most part, the spirits act as either traps or stationary shields in the shape of chained up spirits. The ritualist appears to be a combination of many existing classes, including the necromancer, since some of the ritualist's spells require a sacrifice in health.

True to its promise, Factions is packed with a ton of single player content. As the title implies, players will receive points for completing missions that benefit either the Luxons or the Kurzicks. Helping one may reduce your status with the other, and eventually you'll have to choose your favorite. The two opposing factions are different in both look and ideology, as the Luxons believe very heavily in using force. The Kurzicks, on the hand, don't seem to be as aggressive in their philosophy, but are no less dangerous. What this ultimately comes out of this is some massive PvP action!

Guild Wars by itself was praised for its fast-paced, frenetic PvP action. This trend continues in Factions which allows for 12 on 12 alliance battles. So, whether you're decide to be a Luxon or a Kurzick, prepare yourself for some incredible fights.

It won't be long before Factions is released onto store shelves, making this year two of the Guild Wars franchise and continuing its fantastic gameplay.