Guild Wars 2 Trailer, Media Flood Unleashed

Publisher NCSoft has released the first trailer for ArenaNet's subscription-free PC MMORPG Guild Wars 2, first showing animated backstory then lavish in-game footage.

A whole shedload of screenshots and gorgeous concept art also arrived, along with further details on the sequel set 250 years after the original Guild Wars games.

Chief among Guild Wars 2's changes are the shift to a persistent world, though instances will still remain for certain story elements. The long-awaited ability to jump also arrives, and players will even brave water for the first time in new subaquatic areas.

The sequel will see five playable races--plain old humans, shape-shifting Norn, high-tech Asura, Guild Wars villains-turned-industrial society the Charr, and sentient plants the Sylvari--uniting to trounce mighty dragons and their undead hordes.

Human fantasy citadels, and the industrial Charr landscape.

An interview with Eurogamer reveals that the persistent world will feature events independent of player interaction. Lead designer Eric Flannum gives the example of an attack on a castle by centaurs, where players could help defend if they happened to chance past at the right time, or would later find the castle held by the horsey fiends.

AI henchmen will return, letting players play entirely solo should they so desire. A City of Heroes-style sidekick system will let low-level players play along with high-level chums.

Concept art so delicious you could lick it.

Players will once again be able to instantly participate in PvP, levelled up to the maximum and granted appropriate equipment. A new 'World PvP' system will allow large-scale combat with any number of players, according to the Eurogamer interview.

The interview also reveals non-combat activities will be expanded with a crafting system "As well as a few other things that are going to provide players with other things to do."

Guild Wars 2 is currently scheduled for release in 2010 or 2011. Lore details are promised to follow later this year, with new gameplay information arriving next year.