Parents' Guide to

Guild Wars: Factions

By Jeremy Gieske, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Fun, fee-free role-playing game for teens and up.

Game Windows 2006
Guild Wars: Factions Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

usaf1a8xx
usaf1a8xx Parent of 1-year-old
January 27, 2009
age 13+

Great game for people 13-99!!!!!

I own all 4 Guild Wars installments and they are fun, imaginitive, have great graphics, and are very immersive! A must own in my opinion. The game does allow you to remove your armor and walk around in underwear. The chat channel allows people to talk freely, but you can set your chat filter to maximum and block any curse words or questionable words. You can also change "districts" in a city to avoid people cursing, or block their individual communications entirely. There is a report feature for obscene language built into the game too. Basically it is very easy to keep the game clean for yourself by easily avoiding vile people. Great teambuilding and friendmaking venue too. I definitely recommend!
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

As in the original, GUILD WARS: FACTIONS offers a huge online world to explore, filled with mythical beasts, massive mountains, and cities teeming with other players. In this fictitious world, players constantly battle enemy creatures and other online players. In this installment, play takes place in a new land and there are two additional classes. The main difference here is that guilds can form alliances, taking sides in a war that's splitting the continent.

In role-playing mode, players develop a character through quests and battles. Player vs. player mode starts players off at the highest level with decent weapons and skills. Players battle it out in games such as capture the flag. To defeat a rival guild or an opposing team, players must use strategy and teamwork rather than depending on superior weapons and armor.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

This game is more family friendly than other massively multiplayer online role-playing games. For one thing, there's no monthly fee, and you don't need to buy the original game to play this installment. The game also alerts players when they've been playing for an hour, two hours, and so on.

The downside? When navigating to a city, players often lose the other folks they were playing with, and it can be difficult to get back in the same group. Also, some places in the game force players to play with random teams, instead of with known friends. In the end, though, Guild Wars: Factions is a fun, cheap alternative to other games in this genre.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the future of online-only games. Do you feel that online games are going to become the main way games are played? If so, how do you feel about it? What advantages and disadvantages are there to online-only games? Are there any dangers?

Game Details

  • Platform: Windows
  • Available online?: Available online
  • Publisher: Arenanet
  • Release date: June 23, 2006
  • Genre: Role-Playing
  • ESRB rating: T for Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Violence
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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