GW1 VS GW2

I greatly enjoy both GW1 and GW2. There are a few things I like better about GW1 but overall I like GW2 more. Yes it has some more overt balance issues that need to be handled but GW1 while more balanced isn’t straight out balanced either.

What I like better about GW2:

• Backyard Battleground! I can’t say enough good things about this feature. I love it! The ability to just jump in and play, explore the place, decorate it, etc. all add to my desire to play.
• New characters and variants, balance issues and all. Still need a bowling star though!
• Single player options and the ability to make private matches.
• Improved graphics. The original was attractive and fit the theme but the new ones are even better.
• More maps. Again some may have issues with balance at this time but overall they are quite good despite some complaints.
• Both sides filling both attack and defense roles. Again this added some balance problems that need to be made but the new bots, weeds, and maps added variety and fun for me.
• The new leveling system. The old one wasn’t actually bad per se but I’m maxxed in GW1 so when I buy sticker packs and get challenge stars they do nothing for me. In GW2 a max character gets no XP but you still get coins from playing the various maps as normal even if you don’t in the backyard.
• The maps load much faster in GW2. The game itself takes longer to boot up but I’d rather have one slow load time and several fast ones than the other way around. A downside to that is the splash screen goes by so fast you often can’t finish reading the map text and the tip of the day before it goes to black.
• Quests. Coming from a mixed background that includes shooters, MMOs, strategy games, etc. I’ve been doing the quests a lot since launch. I’m doing quite well on the quest board to boot.

What I like better about GW1:

• Taco bandits. Not the best mode; like most I prefer turf takeover but it was funny and I enjoyed it. I lament it’s omission in GW2.
• The balance was better than GW2 is now. Still not perfect but a bit better. There a few reasons for this (defined sides, less classes are easier to balance, map terrain). GW2 can remedy this with time and some patching though.
• When you spawned as a zombie after taking a point in G&G it played the zombie marching music of that point instead of returning to the general music you get in the G&G maps in GW2. PvZ has some great music and you can hear it best in suburbination in GW2 when taking the points. I love the:”rar, rar, rar” more than I should perhaps, but it’s there.
• The Gardens in ops and G&G were more elaborate than in GW2.
• The spikeweed animation was more interesting in GW1.
• Boss mode. This was not my favorite thing in GW1 but it had its place.
• The engineer drones. The sound of the base drone was highly amusing. The big bolt blaster isn’t bad but I like the drones more. I know the pirate parrot fills that role but we need more alternative abilities anyway.
• Consumables. We had more options in GW1 even if they were added over time so logically we’ll see that in future updates for GW2 which would negate this point
• Gestures. Really want the old gestures back. We have so few in GW2 as it is, more would be most welcome and I want my sunflowers to strum that air guitar again!

I love both games and have a lot of time in them both but at the end of day I like GW2 more.