World Of Warcraft

If you haven’t heard of Blizzard Entertainment, then chances are you haven’t just been living under a rock, but under a mountain of rocks. One of the select few developers believed to have the Midas touch, Blizzard has released one smash hit game after the next. Being the masterminds behind the massively successful Battle.net, it was only a matter of time before they would branch out into the oh-so lucrative, but oh-so competitive MMORPG market. Their first foray into this market taps their oldest and most beloved RTS game, Warcraft. The question is: Can Blizzard deliver the same addictive gameplay that their regular titles contain? Or is World of Warcraft just a way to secure constant revenue from gullible players?

The “story” in WoW picks up about 4 years after the events detailed in the Warcraft 3 expansion set: The Frozen Throne. With the Burning Legion defeated and Prince Arthas somewhere in Northrend, the tenuous peace between the Horde and Alliance is beginning to crack. Old hatreds are manifesting themselves in border skirmishes and raids, and many suspect that these are merely the precursors to a full blown war. And this is where you come in, as a member of the Horde or the Alliance……..

Cutting edge graphics has never been one of Blizzard’s top priorities. Traditionally, they’ve relied more on sound, story and gameplay to carry their games. WoW deviates a bit from this norm in that is by far their most graphically intense game yet. But when compared to EQ2’s high poly count and realistic textures, WoW might seem childish even cartoon like in comparison. It’s important to realize that this was a stylistic choice, and not a limitation of their abilities. WoW is based on the Warcraft series, and that series has always had a cartoon like look to it. So in terms of graphical achievements WoW does not impress, but when it comes to capturing the look and feel of the Warcraft universe, it is are dead on.

This doesn’t mean that WoW isn’t a visually pleasing game, quite the opposite actually. The cartoon look is both easy on the eyes and the GPU. As a result, Blizzard was able to create areas that are brimming with detail, without the usual hit to framerates that are normally incurred in such places. Cities and towns are alive with players going about their business, while the wilderness is teeming with both monsters and more conventional critters. Other games may look better but it hardly matters if they’re reduced to a slideshow because 20+ people are fighting on screen at the same time. It kind of defeats the purpose of the “massively multiplayer” part of MMORPGs.

Music and sound have long been ignored in MMORPGs, though that appears to be changing. EQ2 boasts of having every NPC capable of spoken dialog. WoW cannot make the same claim. The NPCs in WoW are confined to the usual generic greetings that pretty much every other MMORPG out there has. The sound effects are good but nothing spectacular. Swords clash, monsters growl, and water splashes. It’s nothing less than what other games offer, but it isn’t any more either. At times you may find yourself running through a forest which is dead silent, which is a shame really, since the environments in WoW LOOK so alive but could do with a bit more ambient noise to actually make them SOUND alive.

The music on the other hand is quite good. Every area plays tunes which more often than not sets the mood. From the majestic choir like music of Stormwind to the eerie music of Duskwood, it’s clear that the music was given a lot more attention than is the norm for MMORPGs.

One of the key attractions in a MMORPG is the ability to create a unique character, and in this regard WoW is a rather mixed bag. It is a mix of simplicity and elegance, and it’s clearly aimed at casual and beginning players. Unlike most MMORPGs you do not have as much control over the development of your character in terms of attributes, but in return you are given a lot more leeway in other areas. Skills are increased as you use them, so there are no skill points to allocate when you level up. This avoids the common problem of finding an excellent item, but being forced to sell it because that’s not how you’ve allocated your skill points. For example, if a warrior has used nothing but swords, but then finds an excellent mace, all he has to do is pick it up and start using it. He will gradually increase his skill with the weapon at no penalty to his other skills.

Attributes are increased automatically according to a plan made by Blizzard for that class. This means that two level 20 human warlocks will be identical with regards to their base attributes. The various abilities/spells are divided into ranks, with each subsequent rank improving the power of the ability/spell. Access is granted according to your level, and you literally buy them. This means there is no reason not to buy every single ability/spell, since there is no penalty for doing so and you never know when you might need it.

The only thing you are given control of when you level up is how you choose to allocate your talent points. Each level beyond level 10 grants you a single talent point. This can be spent on a variety of talents which are unique to each class, and this is one of the ways in which you set yourself apart from every other character out there. The talents can affect a variety of things like the base cost for using a particular ability or even changing or adding entirely new effects to it. This means that you can focus on talents that enhance abilities which you use frequently, while ignoring talents that enhance abilities that you rarely or never use.

One of the most common problems in MMORPGs is when newbies “break” their first few characters by spending such points on skills/talents that seem like a good idea at the time, but prove to be ineffective at higher levels. WoW avoids this by allowing you to unlearn talents and free up points already spent. This means it is virtually impossible to break a character, and is bound to save players dozens if not hundreds of hours of play time.

Each player also has the ability to learn two professions. These range from herbalism, mining, skinning, blacksmithing, etc. These professions increase in the same manner as your regular skills, so the more you use them the better you become. As you increase your skill in a profession, you’ll get access to more advanced abilities, like mining mithril veins or creating more effective potions. Eventually, you’ll be able to start selling you wares/services to other players. There are no restrictions on which professions you can select, so if you want to create a miner mage or a tailor warrior you can. If you tire of your chosen professions however, you can choose to unlearn them much like the talent points. So once again, Blizzard has left the door open for players to adjust their characters rather than start from scratch due to some bad decisions.

In terms of actual gameplay, WoW presents something which is sorely lacking in other MMORPGs, something to do besides hunting monster. The quests in WoW are not merely there to give players something to do, but an integral part of the game. The quests serve the function of telling small (or large) stories within the WoW universe, and in many cases doing a quest in one part of the world will open up another one somewhere else. This serves to give the impression that your actions are noticed and that they have meaning beyond the reward part. Aside from the story aspect, there are other incentives for taking on the quests. In many cases, the material rewards from these quests are items that you cannot get anywhere else, and that are a cut above what’s available in the shops. You’ll also be told exactly what you’ll get (or what you’ll get to choose from) when you complete the quest before you accept it, so you can decide whether or not it’s worth your time. A final reason for doing them is to cut down on the amount of time spent grinding, since the experience rewards are actually noticeable.

The actual content of the quests however, can be a little monotonous. In many cases you’ll be told to go kill x amount of a particular monster and/or collect something from it, or deliver an item to an NPC. In addition, some of the quests can be nearly impossible to complete on your own, which often causes problem with regards to class specific quests, since these bring no reward beyond the loot for people who are not of that class. As a result, many of the best quests require you to be in a group, which is shame since the rest of the game is so open to solo players.

Combat in WoW is fast paced and quick, with any single fight rarely lasting beyond 40 seconds. This part of the game isn’t a click fest however, but a careful balance of planning, execution and being ready to take advantage of any opportunities. All the different classes have their own specialties and tactics for different situations, and the key to success lies in figuring out exactly which ability/spell to use and when. This becomes doubly important if you’re playing on one of the PvP servers, where you’ll frequently be facing off against other players which may or may not be an equal match for you. If you should die, you needn’t worry. Death in WoW doesn’t mean anything except what you decide it to be. When you die, you’ll reappear at the nearest graveyard in ghost form. In this form, the world has a bluish/white look to it, and your movement speed is increased. At this point you have three options. You can respawn right there with a 25% hit to the durability of all your items, wait for someone to resurrect you, or travel to your corpse and respawn there with a small hit to the durability of your equipped items. In short, while other MMORPGs will penalize you for dying by taking away an hour’s worth of grinding, WoW only damages your items, and only if you’re too lazy or pressed for time to either wait for resurrection or manually spawn.

All of these traits would make WoW a good game, but as is often the case it’s the other players that make or break a MMORPG. Some are there to roleplay, some are there to use it as an interactive chat room, and some are there to kick ass. Blizzard has avoided the conflicts that normally erupt when these three types of players blend by giving players three different server types to choose from. For the interactive chat room player, there is the normal server, for the roleplayer there is the role playing server, and for the player killer there is the PvP server. Each server has its own specific rules regarding chat and PvP. In the end, everyone wins, because everyone gets to play with likeminded players.

If the sales record of WoW is any indication, MMORPGs are no longer confined to niche status, but on equal footing with regular blockbuster titles. But with such a large range of games to choose from, choosing one that’s right for your playing style can be a difficult and time consuming affair. Blizzard has done its best to ensure that whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it in WoW. WoW does an excellent job of keeping things interesting by constantly holding “carrots” in front of you, either in the form of mounts, pets, or some special skill or item that will make all the difference. And even if the game doesn’t hold your interest, at least you won’t have to wait until level 40 in order to find out. The game doesn’t coddle new players or hamstring their efforts to rise through the ranks. Whether you want to play the priest who is always invited into groups, or the lonesome hunter who creates his own armor and only talks to his pet, WoW gives you the opportunity to play the game in whatever way you find most entertaining. And at the end of the day, that’s what will make you decide whether it’s worth the monthly fee or not.

Graphics: 7.5
Sound: 7.5
Gameplay: 8.5
Multiplayer: 8.5
Overall: 8

edit: Might be a good idea to include the score. :P

double edit: Fixed the death penalty. Thanks to Jdub22 for pointing that out. :raisehat:

Good review! :thumbup:

Can you also supply money with which I would like to purchase the game you just reviewed?? XD

stopped reading halfway down. no offense, but i hate the fact im not able to play it, because of the monthly payments. good review whatsoever.

the game is AMAZING, i love it. very nice review. you should revise the part about the death penalty because it has since changed. Now rather than your EXP taking a hit, it's 25% durability damage to all items equipped and in your inventory. so you should fix that and VERY NICE REVIEW! keep it up man. very impressive. WoW ROCKS! i'm sorry but if you can't scrounge up $14 a month to play this game, you got issues.

I think the game is well worth the monthly fee. Even if you decide not to stick around, you'll still wind up playing it more than you would have a regular title, so it's a win-win deal. I personally got it mostly because i was a little curious to see what all the fuss was a about. That was over a week ago, and i haven't played anything else since. Nothing, just WoW. And this is coming from someone who didn't buy into all the hype surrounding it, so i can heartily recommend the game to everyone, except hardcore players who demand total control over all aspects of their character.

As for the review itself, i think i could have done a better job. It reads a lot like a technical manual, informative but boring. But i had a lot of ground to cover, so i decided to focus on giving people an idea of what the game entails. The initial draft was even longer and included stuff like the fact that other players cannot loot your corpse, as well as a bit more detail regarding the various environments in the game. I think the current length of the review explains why it was cut. Anyway, i hope someone finds it helpful in making a decision whether or not to buy the game.

Originally posted by Sarafan Lord@Feb 28 2005, 06:24 AM
I think the game is well worth the monthly fee. Even if you decide not to stick around, you'll still wind up playing it more than you would have a regular title, so it's a win-win deal. I personally got it mostly because i was a little curious to see what all the fuss was a about. That was over a week ago, and i haven't played anything else since. Nothing, just WoW. And this is coming from someone who didn't buy into all the hype surrounding it, so i can heartily recommend the game to everyone, except hardcore players who demand total control over all aspects of their character.

As for the review itself, i think i could have done a better job. It reads a lot like a technical manual, informative but boring. But i had a lot of ground to cover, so i decided to focus on giving people an idea of what the game entails. The initial draft was even longer and included stuff like the fact that other players cannot loot your corpse, as well as a bit more detail regarding the various environments in the game. I think the current length of the review explains why it was cut. Anyway, i hope someone finds it helpful in making a decision whether or not to buy the game.

Well.. I wanted an unbiased viewpoint and I got it, thanks This review has gotten me looking at the game now.

i CAN scrounge up a 10€ a month, but the thing is i need (parties, going out) my social life too you know.(btw unemployed too sooo...)

if i hear there's going to be a cut in the costs, ill be the first to buy it.

thanks for giving me credit in your edit there SL. also, i'd like to add that if you think about it, maybe you're the kind of person who spends $50 every 3-4 months on a new game. Well, with WoW, you pay (if you pay for 3-months at a time like i do) about $42 or so every 3 months, you're spending $8 less and still enjoying this great game all year long. I wonder how long i'll be playing this game, i'll probably spend a few hundred bucks over the next few years. by that time i'll probably quit though. we'll have to see just how far Blizzard plans to go with WoW.

This game is amazing! I kid you not, I have been playing games full-time for 20 years (NEARLY TO THE DAY!) and nothing has grabbed my attention like this before! It is the best mix of SP RPG and MMORPG yet! At times its very similar to morrowind and then othertimes in mass-parties its is the best thing you have ever seen in your life! Some of the NPC's are designed to face 20 characters or more... and trust me 'THEY ARE F'KING MENTAL'...

Console owners eat you heart out! This may not have the best gfx, but this game is changing the industry @ it's core! Simply mind-boggingly mental! GO BUY IT NOW!

allright allright, ill see what i can do. damn, fanboy-alarm!