The New York Times: Best Games of the Year
…With an engaging battle system, gorgeous graphics and far more effective storytelling than is found in any other persistent-world game, [Guild] Wars has been become my all-time favorite in its class.
Mmorpg.com: 8.1 Overall
…the storyline is the most in-depth and immersive I've encountered in an MMO.
Even the manual is highly detailed and well written. Entitled The Manuscripts, the Guild Wars manual brings more story to an MMO than any contenders to date.
Games Extreme.com: 9.7 out of 10
So, is there a story about Guild Wars or is it just another run-of-the-mill orcs, elves, goblins and wizards epic? Well, there is a story and it's been written by a professional, you can tell when you look at the Lore Book that comes with the game, packed with background and history which is enough to keep any RPG fanatic locked to the pages for days on end.
I am not going to tell you anything about the story, except that it's good and well worth delving into.
IGN: Best RPG 2005
…Guild Wars also manages to carve out an interesting and fairly involved story drawn from an original world.
GameSpy: Top 10 PC games of 2005
…The core of the cooperative experience is a series of exciting, challenging missions that more often than not require the help of other players to complete. Think of them as Diablo but with some more, err, narrative substance.
Pro-G Prodigious Gaming
Guild Wars casts off many of the traditional frustrations and faults of the traditional monotonous multiplayer monster-basher and presents us with an elegant, story-driven, very individual experience…
This quest will take you all over the continent as the story develops and your priorities change according to the beautifully developed, elegant, and occasionally affecting plotline…
…one of the more accomplished videogame stories out there.
Hertz24.com: Enjoyment factor: 5 out of 5
Unlike some titles of this style there is a plot—and furthermore it's a good one.
Xequted.com: 49 out of 50
This marks the first major difference between Guild Wars and every other MMORPG out there: it has a seriously impressive storyline that can be experienced in a single-player campaign. The story itself is beautiful, telling the tale of a kingdom destroyed by a monstrous enemy and how it struggles to rebuild itself through the efforts of its heroes as time goes on.
Tiscali.co.uk: 9 out of 10
…and the story has been written by a proper author rather than some coder who finished his work early. Guild Wars is a delight, not some cheap alternative.