As promised in the previous article, today we’ll be looking at the screenshots from the ‘Combat’ section of the new releases. Despite the label, these images appear to be PvE-focused – PvP screenshots appear in a different section.

The first few shots are concentrated in the ruins of Ascalon. To begin with, we have an image of Barradin’s spirit in his new body – a giant statue in the ruins of his state at the end of the charr starter area. Necromantic energy is rife on this screenshot – green-black spread across the screen as well as forming a dark halo around the blood fiend, while a pair of red-tinged bubbles indicate the possible use of blood magic such as Life Siphon. A spectral object across the charr’s back gives the illusion of the charr being ripped apart by blending with the background of the catacomb wall.

The second screenshot brings us to a later section of the game, as evidenced by the presence of a noncharr guardian brandishing a sceptre to encase her spectral opponent in Chains of Light. Eerie columns of blue flame erupt from the ground around her, possibly part of some trap or attack, or perhaps just adding to the ambience.

A third image returns us to the showdown with Barradin and the charr. The feminine charr near the centre of the shot appears to be wearing the same armour as that in the first, but lacks the pale pink accoutrement – suggesting that that might have been an attack or other effect rather than a natural part of her armour. A glimpse of a fiery blade at the far left indicates Tribune Brimstone’s personal interest in this battle.

Still fighting the ghosts of Ascalon, but this time it appears to be outside… with a hint that the gods of humanity are no longer supporters of Adelbern’s cause. While we’ve known they’ll exist and seen concept art of the Hounds of Balthazar for quite some time, Gamescom has given us what appears to be our first glimpses of them, in this case apparently savaging and igniting one of the ghosts of Ascalon.

The final three in this category appear to be telling a brief story:

First, a female adventurer stands off against two undead monstrosities – a krait and a larger, more brutish kind of zombie. She wields a scimitar-like sword in her right and a kris dagger in the left.

Next time we see her, the krait is recoiling as if from a blow, possibly from the woman’s sword positioned as if recovering from a left-to-right slice with the blade. Her kris is held in front of her body, in a stance ready to intercept a strike from her foes.

Finally, we see the krait lying vanquished upon the earth as our heroine lunges with her off hand. The green glow at the zombie’s abdomen is lacking from the previous shots, indicating that it might be the result of a skill from the adventurer or the zombie – possibly Venom’s Sting, although no ranger companion is evident – or maybe it’s just that Orrian zombies bleed green. Or ooze green, as the case may be.

So, what are your thoughts? Anyone lucky enough to play the demo – or particularly sharp-eyed in watching the videos of people playing the demo – feel they can shed some light on what we’ve seen above? Comment below!

Next up we’ll be looking at the environment screenshots, starting with the imposing gates of the Black Citadel, both eldritch and mundane.

Many more interviews from Saturday, so let’s jump on in:

GuildMag @ GamesCom

GuildMag | PvP Interview with Jon Peters
GuildMag | Gamescom Screenshots: Characters
The first post in Draxynnic’s commentary and discussion on a new batch of lovely Guild Wars 2 screenshots. Be sure to head over and share your reactions!

Interviews

TubeElephant | Q&A about PvP at GamesCom

NCSoft West | Bringing the World of Tyria to Life – GW2 Q&A with Ree Soesbee

Wartower.de | Sims 3 und John Rayn von ArenaNet
First third is on Sims in German, then you get Guild Wars in English with John Ryan.

CyberLudus | Interview with Eric Flannum

GWCOM | Art interview with Kekai Kotaki and Daniel Dociu

Yogscast | Interview with Eric Flannum

NVIDIA | Interview with Colin Johanson

GoingPostalGW | GamesCom 2011 Gameplay & Q&A (Colin & Eric)

Any particularly fascinating bits? Share them in the comments!

Gamescom 2009: First Trailer of ArenaNet was showcased for the first time
Gamescom 2010: First demo gameplay of Gamescom showcased for the first time
Gamescom 2011: First PvP gameplay, customization, Charr starter areas, seven professions, and LOTS LOTS MORE! Welcome all to the Roundup for Gamescom 2011. Let’s see what we have for the roundup… Read the rest of this entry »

Before we went to GamesCom last week, we promised you to keep you up to date with our findings throughout GamesCom, sadly we ran into some internet problems and were not able to bring you any stuff while we were there. However, since we were not able to upload any stuff before, this means that we still got tons of content to share with you!

Starting is our PvP interview with Jon Peters, Game Designer on the PvP part of Guild Wars 2. He agreed to answer our questions about PvP and even suggested that we’d also interview Tirzah Bauer, whose interview we will be publishing later on as well. Check it out below!

What did you think of the answers? What other secondary objective would you love to see in a Conquest map? What amount of info would you like to be tracked in PvP? What’s your stance on truely balanced PvP? Let us know your opinions and perhaps Jon reads it as well!

As part of the Gamescom press package, ArenaNet released a set of new screenshots for our enjoyment. Due to some technical issues, we’ve been a little slow getting them up ourselves, so if you’ve been looking at our Roundups you’ll probably have already seen them. But you’ll probably have seen them in the form of dozens of images competing with each other for attention in a gallery.

Rather than doing that, I figured I’d try releasing a few at a time from the categories ArenaNet has provided, with some short discussion of each and opening up discussion to the floor regarding each set of images.

First up: Characters!

Our opening shot is of an Asura guardian, wearing the winged helm associated with the Seraph. Ironic as it is, the combination of a spear-like staff and the visual effect of the Aegis boon means this is probably the closest we’ll see to the classical image of the ceremonial guard with a polearm in one hand and a shield in the other.

Our next shot shows two humans (or norn – they can be hard to tell apart without a reference) in a dismal environment. Their drab attire matches the environment, with each possibly being representatives of adventuring professions – although the woman might be a scholar and the charr a soldier with brown-dyed armour.

For our third, we have a closer look at the hooded and masked woman from the previous shot. Her brief overskirt suggests that, if seperately dyeable, it might be possible to cut a significantly more flamboyant figure with this armour set. The table behind her is festooned with candles and books, suggesting that this is a place of scholarship or ritual.

Next, we have a female human (or norn?) engineer with pistol, shield, and what appears to be a long leather coat. The background appears to be the edge of Ascalonian ruins at night… likely a dangerous place to be. This is reinforced by the angle of her pistol, likely recovering from teh recoil of an earlier shot, with the wisp in the upper right corner being the smoke left over from the firing… or some free-floating three-dimensional magical sigil.

Finally, we have a male engineer, rifle held point downwards in a pose that avoids suggesting immediate threat, but the ability to quickly bring his weapon to bear if need be. The standing stones around him raise interesting questions… Are they natural, or is this a site of some past significance? Behind the stone on the right is what appears to be a carved obelisk, suggesting the latter – but that may not be related to the stones except by proximity.

So, what are your thoughts on these images? Do you see any other details that should be commented on? And if you’ve been lucky enough to get some demo time, have you come across any of the environments depicted here – and if so, can you comment on their significance?

Next up, we’ll be looking at the images in the ‘Combat’ section.

Friday! More videos and interviews! Want play game!

Major Sites

GameTrailers | Character customization and PvP gameplay videos

MMOZine | INTERVIEW: Guild Wars 2 – Part One
Preview and interview with Eric Flannum. See their issue 32 for more.

Fansites

Q&A with Colin and Eric | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHKrzOFv7sw

TalkTyria | GamesCom 2011 – Day 2
Includes an interview with Izzy.

GuildWars2PvP.com | Interview with Izzy Cartwright
GuildWars2PvP.com | GamesCom PvP Impressions

CynicalBrit | WTF is Guild Wars 2? Part 1 (PvE)
CynicalBrit | WTF is Guild Wars 2? Part 2 (PvE)
These videos are a perfect introduction for anyone less familiar with GW2 gameplay.

GWCom | Interview with Mike and Ree

Secret Agent Cat | Not The Face!
Secret Agent Cat | Mow Me Down

Mondes Persistants | The interview of Guild Wars 2

And finally, vote for Guild Wars 2 in Destructoid’s GamesCom Game of Show.