Publisher ArenaNet announced today the final release date for thei upcoming [i]Guild Wars[/i] title, [i]Factions[/i]. The stand-alone game will be released to retail outlets on [b]April 28, 2006[/b]. Current [i]Guild Wars[/i] players wanting a sneak-peak of the title can participate in a Factions Preview Event (FPE) on March 24, 2006. This sneak-peak will run for 24 hours and is open to all players with a current NCSoft game account enabled for [i]Guild Wars[/i] access. Additional invitations can be sent by existing subscribers- see the full text of the press release below for details.

Check back with MyGamer.com for a full review of [i]Guild Wars: Factions[/i] in early May.

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ArenaNet, developer of the
award-winning online roleplaying game [i]Guild Wars[/i], and NCsoft
Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online
computer games, announce today the release date of Guild Wars
Factions(tm), the hotly anticipated second game release from the
critically acclaimed studio. Guild Wars Factions will be available in
stores worldwide April 28, 2006.

Guild Wars Factions takes place on the Asian-inspired continent of
Cantha, where new and existing Guild Wars players join an epic quest to
defeat an ancient evil and save a war-torn empire. Roleplaying and
competitive player-versus-player gamers alike will be able to join
together in guild alliances to take control of territory and determine
the fate of Cantha. New scored challenge missions and strategic
competitive missions allow players to test their roleplaying prowess and
earn the right for their alliance to take control of cities, towns and
outposts. Large-scale alliance battles pit teams from opposing factions
against each other in a struggle to conquer new territory and redraw the
battle lines across the continent of Cantha. New elite missions allow
the most skilled players exclusive access to areas designed to be the
ultimate cooperative challenge

“Guild Wars Factions is an exceptional game that invites players to
immerse themselves in a truly epic adventure unlike any they have seen,”
says Patrick Wyatt, a co-founder of ArenaNet. “The four new mission
types create a unique experience that will engage both the roleplaying
and competitive gamer in cooperative conquest of territories and
strategic battles. Set against the landscapes of the visually stunning,
Asian-themed continent of Cantha, and with two new characters to choose
from – Assassin and Ritualist – Guild Wars Factions will redefine the
online RPG experience.

New players will join the more than one million gamers already playing
Guild Wars worldwide, and existing players will have a new continent and
storyline to explore within the universe of Guild Wars, the
ground-breaking online roleplaying game that took the gaming world by
storm in 2005 with its innovative design, depth of play and
no-subscription-fee model. While Guild Wars Factions is a standalone
product that does not require Guild Wars to play, gamers with Guild Wars
accounts who purchase Guild Wars Factions will be able to play in both
campaigns with their existing characters and even gain extra character
slots.

For gamers who can’t wait until April 28 to get their hands on a copy of
Guild Wars Factions, ArenaNet is hosting a massive beta test event in
which all existing Guild Wars players and their friends are invited to
delve into the experiences awaiting them in Cantha. For those who want
to be the first to enjoy all that Guild Wars Factions has to offer, a
limited edition pre-order package is currently available at retail
stores throughout North America. This pre-order pack includes an access
key to the Factions Preview Event (FPE) on March 24, and also provides
access to Guild Wars Factions twenty-four hours before the street date,
exclusive in-game items for each of the game’s new professions, a
“friend-key” that gives access to the FPE for friends without an
existing Guild Wars account, a limited trial of Guild Wars (original
Prophecies campaign) for a friend, a tactical guide, a quick reference
card, and a CD that includes concept art, wallpapers, and in-game
trailers.

For more information, please visit [a].guildwars.com[aa]www.guildwars.com [/a]

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