Guild Wars 1

The original Guild Wars game, and its expansions, were a great set of games for anyone interested in MMO's or even those who didn't particularly care for the MMO setting (thanks to the instance dungeon-like way of accessing the map). I'd greatly encourage anyone who hasn't played the old games to give them a try, either before the release of guild wars 2, I know it's almost here, or after some time on the new game. Though you'll most likely still get the same level of enjoyment out of GW2, regardless of whether or not you've played its predecessors there will doubtless be a great deal of inside jokes/stories/lore/etc. that you may miss out on if you don't at least read up on the older games. The guild wars wiki site is a great place to get keyed into the game prior to its release for those who don't want to buy GW1. Aside from all this however, thanks to the Hall of Monuments, essentially a rewards program for people who played GW1, the first set of games can get you cool swag for the GW2. Armor, Minipets, Pets, Weapons, and titles are all available by doing stuff in the old games (some things as simple as collecting pets or beating the games, though it's not all a piece of cake). Check out the Hall of Monuments online to see some of the things that are available, and once again I'd encourage any and all members to look at the first Guild Wars games.
Rae