Just a thought, but perhaps this wonderfully addictive game should be renamed Guild Friends. Why? Read on to find out.

Up until last week, my gaming sessions in Guild Wars were comprised of solo adventuring with the occasional henchman (I had great fun with the warrior Stefan and the healer Alesia, among others) and I had no intentions whatsoever to invite other players to form a group for a particular mission or quest. But then, I got stuck somewhere. I kept on dying, overwhelmed by my enemies. So I did it! I went back to town and posted an invite on the chat channel. To my surprise, several players accepted the invitation, and within minutes, I had a well rounded party of real people, ready and willing to help me in a quest whose completion would concern myself alone. I felt blessed, not by the game, but by people who wanted to devote their time for me.

While we were adventuring, I realized how this game is so perfectly balanced to accommodate conversation with party members. There are plenty of opportunities to do so, and to me, that's definitely the main difference between henchmen and real people. That single hour I spent with this group turned out to be one of my greatest gaming moments ever! Guild Wars has been around since April 2005. But where was I all this time?

Stay tuned!