A few questions before i buy GuildWars..

Okay so before i spend my $50 on this game, i would like to know a few things.
First are there many places where i can see "massive" amounts of people? Like in an actual MMORPG? i like the fact i can have un-interuppted play, but some human contact would be nice. And i saw on gamespot it said up to 64 players online... doesnt sound very massive to me. is that true? how big is the server? And my next question: do i HAVE to go on a quest? or can i go into the forest and kill monsters just to level up?

Like any game some days have more people than others. The 64 on gamespot sounds like a mistake, I have never seen as few people as that. You can level up by running around and killing things but you will level much quicker by completing quests with a group or alone. Guild Wars is not about leveling up, you stop at level 20. You can add skills but there will not be the huge differance in your "power" against other players. Look at some of the postings on the subject from the designers to get a better idea of what the game is.

GW isn't about grinding in the forests, but you could probably get away with doing only a few quests once in a while. However keep in mind that getting to maximum level isn't the goal of the game (the game "begins" at lv20 according to the vets here).

GW can be best described as PSO meets Magic the Gathering & Counter-Strike, on steroids. Collecting skills & creating character & team builds takes up most of your time, which is very similar to a card game (collecting cards & building decks).
The skills feel like cards as well, for example instead of going through your usual 3-4 attacks every time they recharge, you have to think a few steps ahead before using skills in PvP (PvE is more forgiving, as always).

Take a look at the guides section of this website for game mechanics, you can find some very good explanations there.

The 'personal' areas take a bit of getting used to for a seasoned MMORPG player, but the towns are jumping.

I'm rather enjoying the change of pace.