My assessment after the first two sessions beta is more than positive. The universe is respected, loyal breeds characteristics and this game is a pure killing. Zones are user friendly and full of challenge; cities, huge! Guild Wars 2 promises to be THE reference.
My only negative is that PvP is now little leads (highly fighting guilds 'GvG' and other tournaments).
For beginners: buying publishing pre-purchase gives you access to a code that will allow you to download online game (it's between 15 and 20 gigas). You will be entitled to betas sessions when they place (the next is on Saturday June 8 to Monday, June 11). You will also have access to the servers final three days before the official release in stores, when you will receive the box (without cd, since the game is downloaded online).
Hoping to have some help and converts more!