Guild Wars Previews

ArenaNet's Guild Wars is the subject of two new previews on the web - one at RPG Vault and another at GameZone. A snip from RPG Vault's article:
With respect to the nature of the gameplay, Guild Wars is fairly fast-paced, quick enough that there are no qualms here calling it an action RPG. However, it's also not a clickfest automatically dominated by those with superior reflexes. To be sure, there are lots of situations where your group can simply wade in swinging swords, firing arrows and casting spells at whatever enemy you like. However, that won't succeed all the time. You'll encounter just enough instances where you have to use at least a little strategy and team thinking to keep you on your toes. While, much of this is pretty straightforward, like concentrating on one enemy at a time, aiming to take out the opposing healers first, and trying to keep your own alive, it's clear that working together is better than not.

And a snip from GameZone's article:
It has been a while since checking in with this game, but with the release on the horizon, it is terrific to see how well this game is shaping up. The world is wonderful to look at, and the combat elements have been moderately revamped so that players can either jump in for quick PvP action or custom-build an avatar for the battles. It will be interesting to see if stats are kept on how many pre-built avatars are involved in the combat compared to custom-built characters. It may be a safe bet to say that initially there will be a lot of pre-fab characters in the arenas, but as time weaves along the fabric of post-release, and players have the chance to explore the world, and glean unique items, customize and upgrade them, that the customized avatar will make a bigger impact on the PvP arenas.