Customer Reviews

World of Warcraft

5 star:		(626)
4 star:		(155)
3 star:		(79)
2 star:		(65)
1 star:		(119)

 

 

This is a very long post, but well worth it if you're seriously considering this game.

Pros:

First and foremost this game is a milestone in the both the MMORPG and online gaming industry. With over 11 million subscribers, it's the largest online game to date, and for good reason.

The graphics, while cartoonish, indulge you in a moving work of art with flowing waterfalls, freezing tundras, and shadow-ridden caves. The world itself is simply huge (though surprisingly easy to navigate), spanning across four continents (one in outer space), and leaves the gamer with an unparalleled sense of citizenship. Once you log into World of Warcraft, you truly plug into a hidden universe.

The music is truly worthy of mention. When you first launch the game, you are met with a symphony of heart-pounding drums, violins, bassoons, or what-have-you. The music/ambience then changes frequently throughout the game depending upon your current location and really adds an element of class to the experiences of stepping into a haunted mine, or riding up to the gates of a citadel.

The gameplay ranges from simple to slightly complicated depending upon your class selection, but always maintains the smooth controls that are oh-so-user-friendly. You can select from 9 different classes at the start (another is available further on in the game), each of which have their own roles to fulfill by either Healing, Tanking (taking the hits for other less-hardy classes), or DPSing (DPS: Damage per second, a term used to explain classes adept at dealing damage). Also with the introduction of "dual-spec," a character is able to switch between two customizable talent builds (determines your main role: healing/tanking/dps, through the selection certain talents) at the drop of a hat.

The most basic gameplay consists of leveling your character from 1 to 80 via the completion of quests, invading of dungeons, and slaying of monsters, all of which grant "experience," and move you closer to the next level. If you grow wary leveling, it is possible to "que" into a battleground from anywhere in the world. There are four different types of battle: capture the flag, protect the resources, defend/attack the keep, and control the territory. You compete against real players controlling real characters on different computers, which is typically referred to as "PVP," or player versus player.

Once you have reached the maximum level, the fun has just begun. You will continue advancing your character by upgrading his or her equipment (or "gear"). Raids, dungeons and "heroics" offer thousands of powerful monsters that, when killed, give weapons and armor that strengthen your character. Dungeons and heroics are typically conquered by five players effectively working together to defeat the obstacles and creatures within. Raids follow a different suit, requiring 10 to 25 skilled players able to communicate and coordinate themselves in order to (hopefully) kill the most difficult monsters in the game.

Another option to the post-leveling stage (or "end game content") is coordinated PVP. Beside the four available battlegrounds, the game contains four "arena" maps offering extremely competitive play in the form of 2v2, 3v3, or 5v5. If you are successful, the rewards are some of the most powerful upgrades in the game.

Guilds, world events, seasonal events, mounts, professions, mini-games, parties, transportation and real-time economies are just a few more of the many other unnamed aspects to this game. Some things are simply best if discovered.

Cons:

In recent times, the game has found difficulties in PVP in terms of equality. Some classes seem to always be more powerful than others, however, the developers of the game promise that they're addressing this situation.

It is fairly expensive if thought of as simply a video game. The game runs at (I believe) $15 a month, or $12.99 if you pay for 6 months at once. By the time you've purchased the original game and the two expansion packs, you're out $100+, which doesn't include subscription fees. The cheapest route to take is to purchase the Battle-chest (the first two games), the second expansion pack (soon to be added to the Battle-chest) and a large chunk of game time.

A key thing to consider in terms of price is that you're buying much more than a game. You're paying for the new content which is released almost every two months, the server maintenance, and in-game customer support. Also, keep in mind, that this game will (probably) entertain you for much longer than a TV or DVD or Console game. Sure, an XBox game is only $59.99, very cheap compared to World of Warcraft, but within a few weeks/months the XBox game will become dull, whereas this game will have already released new content to be conquered.

*This is why I only gave it 4 stars*
The game is addicting. Extremely. Dangerously. No, seriously, if you have any history of alcohol/drug/gambling abuse, you should reconsider, or at least be informed prior to purchasing.

I offer to you this solution: first, download the 10 day free trial. Next, keep a log of the amount of time you spend on the game during these 10 days. It's expected that you will 1-3 hours a day initially, but will quickly fall into the 4+ hours as your trial nears its end. After the 10 day trial, take a look at how much time you've spent on this game. Some might find themselves in "good shape," with only a couple hours of play time. Most will find that they've spent an upwards of 30 hours (or much more) on the game in only 10 days.

Determine for yourself if you truly have that much free time to spend on a video game. If you do, wonderful, then this is the game for you, and I hope you enjoy your experience. If you believe this is too much time to spend on a game, don't fret! Within the account creation process, you will be able to set up "parental controls" for the availability of play. It is in this device that you can limit your playtime to a healthy and sustainable amount.

I hope this was helpful.

I bought this for my son, since I had only bought him WoW without the expansion.
With the assumption that you've decided you want to play WoW, all the way through to lvl 70, this is the pack for you. You get WoW and expansion, which would cost 50 bucks if bought separately. You also get two strategy guides, but the strategy guide for the expansion (see my review for it here World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Official Strategy Guide (World of Warcraft)) is terribly lacking, so we're really looking at one valuable guide, one crappy guide. What you also get, and not even the box mentions this, is the game on DVD! Oh, how many times I've installed and reinstalled the original WoW on multiple computers at home and at my friends place, swapping disks. Well, no more! Unless you were lucky and bought the original Collector's edition World of Warcraft Collector's Edition and World Of Warcraft Burning Crusade Collector's Edition, you're stuck with 4 CDs each instead of 1 DVD.
Overall, I would buy (in fact, I did).

Update December 2009:
I've bought my 4th copy of this battlechest (yeah, I try to enlist friends and families to play WoW, so call me the Wow drug dealer....), which arrived the week before Thanksgiving 2009. Instead of 2 DVDs (one for WoW and one for The Burning Crusade), you now get everything in one DVD, with the two activation codes both printed on separate labels on the DVD cardboard sleeve. Not very different, but it's nice that they at least save a bit of plastic by packing it all in one disc. Still comes with one month of play included, contrary to what the one comment on my review claimed.

And until they release a new battlechest that will include Wrath of the Lich King (which I doubt Blizzard will do until right after they release their next expansion [to be titled Cataclysm {which I preordered my max of 3 from Amazon already!}]) this battle chest is still the deal to buy. Also, in my opinion, including the Burning crusade makes sense, since it does include 2 new player races as well as their corresponding zones in Azeroth, which can be played from the beginning, whereas pretty much all of Wrath of the Lich King isn't available until you're at least lvl 55, and then Blizzard sinks in the extra hook. Would have been nice if there was a battlechst that included all 3, since that would have potentially saved me money, but oh, well....

Still greatly recommended for the person wanting to start playing WoW.

I got this after doing a free 10 day trial from Blizzard. After about 3-4 days of the trial I was pretty hooked and decided it was worth the money to get the full version of the game. (Very limited differences in the trial version so it's definitely worth testing out before you buy the full version.)

I'm not usually into long play games like this, but after seeing a bunch of different things about the game (including a very funny South Park episode) I decided to check into it a bit further.

I will say the game is much more fun if you can play with people you know, but you don't have to. I've found almost every person I've met in the game to be very helpful and understanding to new players so it makes it easy to get into the game and get what you want out of it.

I'd encourage people to definitely do the trial software and see how you like it, but I'm confident most people that play video games will find some portion of this entertaining.

This game is, quite simply, the best Fantasy MMORPG I have ever encountered. Having played during the entire 11 day Stress Test, I can honestly say it will probably be around even longer than EverQuest. This work of art has all the magic of EQ, without the many frustrations that finally caused me to give up on EQ (such as extreme grind, a very punitive death penalty, and being forced to group at high levels).

The graphics in WoW are awesome. Some people complain about the "cartoonish" colors, etc. I find these graphics to be very pleasing to the eye, and extremely well detailed and arranged. Guess this just shows that it isn't possible to please everyone, particularly those who go out of their way to find a flaw in other people's creations. To me, it is just right.

I won't elaborate on the basics of the game, such as the 8 races and 9 classes. Others have already covered them. Rather, I will focus on some other areas that are important to older players (I will soon be 60 years old, and no longer have the lightning-fast hand to eye coordination and sharp vision I once enjoyed).

There appeared to be no need for extremely quick reflexes in this game, but instead a player needs to use strategy and planning to avoid getting in over one's head. The wonderful hotkey bar across the entire bottom of the screen was very helpful and well thought out. Kudos to Blizzard for making such a great interface. The screen is not all cluttered up like it is in most games.

The game runs on a 24-hour clock, so it is dark nearly half the time. Blizzard wisely chose to not make the game black as night in most locations. It is possible to play effectively in caves and other usually extremely dark areas, without benefit of an external light. I thought this was a very wise decision and really enjoyed playing in those locations for the first time ever in an MMORPG. Some players complain that it is too bright. I would say to them: Turn down your Gamma control in the game if you like. Many of us do not have your young night-vision, and we are paying customers too. I think that Blizzard got this part just right.

The quest system in this game is better than I have ever seen. I actually liked doing quests, something I haven't previously enjoyed. Also, quests give lots of experience, and since they can usually be done on a casual basis, they don't require the same level of one-track focus that they do in other games I have played.

During this "way too short" Stress Test, I decided to try a variety of different characters and locations, so played the following characters: Night Elf Druid, lvl 12; Tauren Hunter, lvl 13; Human Mage, lvl 8; Human Warlock, lvl 6; Gnome Warlock, lvl 6; Troll Shaman, lvl 6. Unfortunately, I have a full-time job and could only devote about 40 hours a week to the game. The initial leveling rate is quite quick, with it slowing down a lot at about level 12. Just about right, IMO.

The game is bug-free, for the most part. It is way more bug-free than SWG is even today. I would be willing to pay a subscription now, if it would "get me my game back!". There are only two problems I see with this game:

1. Even though the Stress Test ended at 6pm Sunday evening, three days later I am still going through withdrawal and still have no desire to play on my two City of Heroes and three SWG accounts.

2. World of Warcraft is still not out, so my pre-ordered copy hasn't arrived, nor do I know when that will happen. The sooner, the better, IMO. There is no doubt in my mind that this game will be way more popular that EQ2, which I also plan to try. Hopefully WoW will arrive first.

I for one really appreciate these Reviews that Amazon has. I find them very helpful. The only problem I see with them is that there are only FIVE stars in the rating system. This is a shame, for World of Warcraft certainly deserves a TEN.

I just spent the last week playing the World of Warcraft Stress Test Beta, and I can tell you that it was better than I expected. Even though the game wasn't finished, it still has many features that make it head and shoulders above every other MMORPG I've played.
Now, I, like many others, have been waiting in ancicipation for this game to come out, and when I had the chance to play the stress test, I was elated. Considering the majority of my MMOG experience is in EverQuest, I will list a few of the improvements (at least what I see as improvements) over the MMORPG "norm."

1) Experience from completing quests is noticable, and the rewards from completing them are worthwhile. I was always frustrated with EverQuest's quest structure, and the only reason to do a quest was for the item quested for, not for the experience gain. In WoW, it is possible to gain more experience from completing a quest than from killing a monster.

2) Experience progress is anything but vague. Every time a character kills a monster or completes a quest, the experience points are clearly given, and a meter with the character's progress within a level is clearly marked with numbers. So it's impossible not to tell how much experience killing a monster was worth. No more questionable meters with random values.

3) The world is easy to get around in. And it doesn't take an hour to get where you need to be, if you know where you're going. This was one of my biggest problems with EverQuest, because, as a semi-casual player, sometimes I don't have the time to run for an hour to complete a quest, or, in some cases, die, then have to make a corpse run and take twice as long as it originally was supposed to take. Which leads me to my next point.

4) Death is reasonable. If your character dies, its ghost spawns at the NEAREST graveyard, so there is no need to manually bind your character somewhere. Also, there is no XP loss if you choose to run your character over to its corpse. In my opinion, the death system is one of the best, as you can choose to lose XP by ressurecting right at the graveyard, or just run to your character's corpse and revive there with no experience loss. And before you can ressurect your character in a graveyard, it will let you know exactly how much XP will be lost. This replaces the 3 hours of grinding time needed to replace the lost XP.

5) An XP grind is perfectly possible, but not necessary. It is very possible to level up consistently without having to play for 5-7 hours a day. Between XP from killing monsters and the great quest completion XP, I was able to level a character to 17 in 3 days of semi-casual play. Now granted, those were the first 17 and the easiest, but it's also possible to gain a level a day, almost unheard of in EverQuest.

To make a long story short, this will be a great game, but there is still a lot of work needed to make it release-ready. Since there is no official word yet on its release, I wouldn't hold my breath, but it's certainly something to keep an eye on.

-Bullroar

World of Warcraft is simply put, the best MMORPG ever created. Blizzard spent a good amount of time creating and testing this masterpiece, and it shows off. No matter what type of games you like to play, you'll like playing WoW. Even if your PC isn't blazing fast, you'll get perfect quality out of WoW. Everything in the game just feels right.

Let me split my review into sections;


GRAPHICS
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The graphics in WoW are a splendor to behold. The textures and geometry are excellent and really show how much detail Blizzard put into this game. The visuals aren't DOOM 3 or Half-Life 2 in extreme quality, but this is a MMO with quite a bit of people and low system requirements. The shadows, weather and particle effects, and 'bonus' graphical work (such as footprints in the snow, etc) are above average. With all the visual settings maxed out, along with my graphic card's hardware AA/AF maxed, the game does not stutter, even on my mid-range PC. I'm amazed I can have everything maxed, having my screen look gorgeous, and have perfect v-sync frame rates constantly.


SOUND/MUSIC
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Music in WoW is, of course, spectacular. Blizzard is known for having awesome scores that are dynamic and suiting. There's a ton of different scores that dynamically change depending on where you are and what's going on, and they're all near-godly and memorable. The sound design is also great: each individual sound effect and voice sounds like what it should. No complaints in the sound department.


SERVERS
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Blizzard has a good amount of servers setup. Quite a lot of them, in fact. Not only that, but there's specific servers for PvP, so you can be on one of those if you enjoy dueling. PvE servers can have PvP game play as well, but both parties need to agree beforehand. The servers are lightning fast and I've yet to have downtime.


COMMUNITY
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So far, I've experienced a nice community in-game. I've played three different races and the communities in each of them (almost each race has its own starting location in the world of the game) have been very nice, considerate, and helpful. Granted, not everyone acts as they should, but I've had an enjoyable time with the community so far.


INTERFACE
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I really can't think up a way Blizzard could improve WoW's interface. It's mildly complex and takes a bit to get used to, but once you get over those first minutes it feels like second nature. Chatting is simple and fun, with numerous functions. Everything about the game is clearly described, explained, labeled, and shown in the manual and in-game. There are also tips that help you with just about everything as you experience it the first time.


GAMEPLAY
--------

The most important part of a game and WoW does it great. There's so much to do in the GIGANTIC world that you won't want to stop. Just a few of the 'professions' you can do: cooking, fishing, mining, blacksmithing, first aid, and alchemy. Besides all those you can just do the 2000+ quests, level up your character, join groups, create or join a guild, and more. It really is like an online world, and it's addicting. The quests range from extremely simple to very advanced, with plenty to choose from. The races are distinct but balanced, and each one has its own feel and flavor. The classes are well balanced also (except for Warrior, which is pretty underpowered, but Blizzard has said they're already working on it for the next patch). There's enough classes and races to suit anyone's taste, and there's definitely enough so that you can have multiple, different characters without feeling bored. The pace of the game feels just right; not too fast, not too slow. Death isn't a huge hassle, quest rewards are actually rewarding, the races are cool and different, the classes are exciting and aren't disappointments or unbalanced, the game is as simple or nearly-overwhelmingly complex as YOU want it to be, Blizzard's support is fantastic, and there isn't a single feature left out of the game. In a word: perfection.


All in all, WoW is definitely one of the best gaming experiences I've had, and I haven't even come close to experiencing it all. If you like Blizzard's previous games, role-playing games, and/or other MMOs, you'll love WoW for sure. Even if you don't like those, there's still a very high chance of you falling in love with it, since it's just so damn fun to play.

The monthly fee is well worth the countless hours of bliss you'll receive, and they provide discounts when you pay in bulk, like 3-months and 6-months.

I recommend buying the strategy guide (more like strategy tome, it's over 400 pages!) if you're new to MMOs, since there's a lot to learn. The game's manual is thick too, and there's plenty of in-game and online resources available.

If you can find it, purchase the Collector's Edition since for $30 more you get quite a lot (the game on 4 CDs, the game on 1 DVD, the soundtrack, a large making-of book, an exclusive in-game 'pet,' and more).

World of Warcraft is a game I very highly recommend for everyone to buy and experience, even gamers who don't like online play.

GET WORLD OF WARCRAFT NOW!

Loved this game until I hit 60, then it all fell apart.

This game requires that you make it the number one priority of your life. It's also true that you don't have to, but you won't have fun when you hit 60. As a casual gamer, I found post-60 to be depressing.

The battlegrounds suck, and on the server I played on, be prepared to wait at least an hour before you can even get in.

The rank system is a joke, and be prepared to spend at least a couple hours every night to maintain your current rank (if you don't play pvp you'll drop rank so it takes time in the bg's to even maintain the current rank you have).

Guilds are a joke. If you don't belong to a high-end raid guild then be prepared to join one, unless you want slaughtered by someone with epic gear/weapons. Be prepared for elitism, a $ $ kissing, and for your gameplay to be dictated by a guild leader with a god complex. Also be prepared to spend 3-4 hours a night at the very, very, minimum to satisfy your guild. You also have to get DKP points to even be eligable to go on a raid, so you're enslaved to your guild (otherwise there isn't any point being in it, and the point of being in a guild is to get top end items).

PvP is a joke. If you join a PvP server and go into contested territory (which is something you will find yourself in the majority of the time) be prepared to get ganked by higher levels alot. Stranglethorn Vale anyone?

The Community is a joke. This is by far the worst community I've ever seen. If you're new and ask any question, or if you're a vet and ask any question, be prepared to suffer the consequences. The elites of WoW were born with knowledge of how to play this game encrypted into their DNA, and anyone who dares ask a question is a "noob". Oh and learn your acronyms!!!!

You also have thousands who stand around and don't want to group, and those that do usually bail after THEY complete what THEY have to do. This game is full of self-absorbed, greedy, little babies.

Grinding sums this game up perfectly. All you do is grind, grind xp, grind honor, grind faction, grind for gear, grind your life away. With all the time this game requires to learn a virtual skill, you could pick up a real life skill and be somewhat proficient at it, or at least to a good start. Whatever you practice at 3 hours a day, most every day, you'll become good at, and it's a real-life, tangible skill.

But the bottom line is that this game REQUIRES you to spend hours a week, to the detriment of your love life (unless you can't get one), your job, and your social life. Don't get hooked, pass on this one.

I've played by subscription or beta tested ten MMO's now, and I was very shocked to find that World of Warcraft blew them all out of the water. I seriously only checked the game out at first because a friend of mine was going to play, but the more I read into it, I was hooked (so much so, that I now work of the Stratics staff for this game!). I was lucky enough to get into the stress test, and I do not believe I am exagerating when I say that every other MMO out there is going to have a serious run for its money.

Even in Beta, this is the single most stable, lag-free game I have ever played, and I am on a three-year old gaming system. I did find the learning curve a little steep for first timers, but I think that will be rectified with a manual. The questing system is so far beyond any other game, it is truely in a class by itself. Grouping is optional, and does need some work (its actually harder to get XP in a group than soloing) but the implementation of all group members receiving quest items practically eliminates the need to camp an area to get your quest drop, if everyone in the area is smart enough to group up, that is! And as items only drop if you have the quest, there's no people hanging around just to make money.

The PvP system is INCREDIBLE, and this is coming from someone who completely avoids PvP unless there is a true point to it. WoW has implemented a full ranking system with real rewards, such as special mounts, titles, weapons, even elite barracks for high-ranking PvPers. There's even a useful honor system, where you are punished in rank for killing people below your level, or non-violent NPC's. You're a jerk? No goodies for you!

This one will be very worth checking out. A word of warning, the newbie zones get very crowded when a new phase starts and its easy to give up at first based on that. If you are planning on checking this game out in open Beta, wait two days, THEN log in if you think this will be an issue. You will get a much truer population level to play with at that point.

In 2004, this game was advertised as 'being for the casual gamer' but also having content in which the 'hardcore gamer' could strive for. Anyone who did not have 14 hours a day to sit and play video games could have a lot of fun with this game in both PvE (player versus environment - you against the computer's monsters) or PvP (player versus player - players going head to head against one another). Originally the content was meant to be such that 'casual gamers could experience the full richness of the game and hardcore gamers would get a little bit extra out of the game, but the differences would be small.' On levels 1 - 59, this remains the case. However, upon reaching level 60 (which doesn't take anywhere near as long as other games, but is still a lengthy journey), the story completely changes. Hardcore gamers are rewarded with items which allow them to kill another player with just 1 swing / magic spell / shot, and armor that makes them so powerful that fighting them becomes like 'fighting a tank with a toothpick.' The developers of this game have effectively stopped releasing content for the "casual gamers" one year ago - and now spend the majority of their time catering to the "hardcore" players - which by the way, accounts for approximately 8% of their player base.

Levels 1 - 59 can go solo or fight in 5 man groups fighting quests or doing instances (dungeons in which only members of their party can enter) to get items or to level up. At level 60, to get the "hardcore" items which allow superior status, one must join 40 person "raids" (a raid is a combined coordinated collection of 2 or more groups, in this case, 8 groups) to fight the "hardcore" instances - which can take 6 - 14 hours ... or more.

World of Warcraft is a game that brought the masses in by its appeal from casual gamers and the differences that set it apart from EverQuest, whose end-game content also required very long "raids".

A recent New York Times article author recently described "casual" (generally non-raiding) gamers as being 'lazy, having no skill and not having partying (grouping) skill', to which the lead designer of the content of World of Warcraft effectively agreed.

Be warned about this "raid or die" mentality before you make the purchase of World of Warcraft.

Next - don't think that if you purchase the game that you will be able to play with your friends or family members. Blizzard's success with World of Warcraft has brought them far more subscribers than they bargained for, leaving them with game servers that have filled up to the max, leaving players with large amounts of lag and *long* waits to even log into the game. Blizzard's "queue" system sets a maximum number of players on each server, so if you try to log on at peak times when the server has reached its maximum number of players, you may have to wait - up to 2 hours - to play. To attempt to solve this problem, they have instituted a ban on all new character creations on certain servers for people who do not already have a character on that certain server (so if you don't already have a character on say, server "Dalaran", then you can't make a new character, you have to pick another server). If all of your friends or family are already playing on one of those servers, then you are out of luck. You will be playing all alone on a server in which you know nobody while the people you wanted to group with are on another server. Blizzard has been tightlipped about as to whether or not this new 'character creation ban' will be temporary or permanent. Thousands of people have bought this game since mid-December of 2005 and have been extremely irate by this issue. If someone bought this game under the assumption that he or she would be able to play online with friends and that person can't - that person ned not expect a refund from Blizzard. Their reply to this - "Working as intended. Cancel your account if you don't like it."

Combine this horrible customer service with the fact that almost all the servers have queue lines, many of them even during non-peak hours. Servers with huge loads of players experience unreasonable amounts of lag which hinders even basic movement throughout the game, much less talking to quest givers, getting loot from dead monsters and any other trivial task attempted to be undertaken. One thing that will really make any gamer mad is to be running through the forest, be lagged so badly as that it appears nothing around you is moving, then for the game to catch up 3 minutes later and you find yourself dead from monsters you couldn't see. This customer service has left many fans and players of World of Warcraft with their heads spinning, wondering where their $15 monthly subsciption fee goes.

This game was absolutely wonderful a year ago, and the content from levels 1 - 59, and the first few hours of level 60 is marvelous. The casual gamer can have lots of fun getting up to level 60, but once level 60 is attained, very little content exists for the "casual" gamer. This game is beautiful, has wonderful sounds / music, fun action and even requires thinking on the most basic "hack and slash" warrior by using abilities which must be planned and strategized versus just using one or two buttons for every fight. However, word has it that all the initial designers have long since left, leaving new designers which have changed the direction of the game.

My rating for World of Warcraft would be 5 for fun and 5 overall were it not for the terrible customer service, horrible server structure, new character creation ban and complete lack of end game 'non-raiding' content (it feels really bad to put many many hours of online play into a character only to have to abandon it simply because there is nothing else to do if you aren't a hardcore raider gamer). However, there is no fun at all when you have to wait 1 to 2 hours looking at a computer screen that says "Position in queue: 952. Estimated wait time: 1 hour 43 minutes" only to come back 10 minutes later to see the "Estimated wait time" at "1 hour 44 minutes." Some queues have even gotten up into the 1500s.

Please consider this before buying this product or referring this to a friend. Please go to the World of Warcraft website and look at their "general" forums. Then make a decision.

I casually stumbled upon the open beta while surfing the web at work one day. I signed up for an account and waited for the 2.7 gigabyte download to complete (yikes!). I had an expectation about MMORPGs that they were addictive (and thus "wrong"), but I wanted to try one anyway.

I customized the look of my character and decided to be a Tauren Hunter (as far as I could tell later on, all the races/classes are meticulously balanced, and ALL can solo!). I then entered the world. The first thing I noticed were little "!" icons on the bottom of my screen giving me help and telling me what to do. Later on they appear less and less and you can turn them off if you want. They (in conjunction with looking at the manual occasionally) were extremely helpful in getting me started. The user interface was very intuitive considering how much it was capable of.

My first few quests were easy, fun, and short. As I quested I noticed the game was absolutely beautiful. It had such atmosphere and detail. Blizzard has raised the bar for "big" games. I am used to "big" games meaning "vast tracts of empty land".

I leveled up very quickly. I was at level 10 in just a few hours! I noticed this game rewards beginners very well. You start to level slower as you get higher up, but this game continually rewards you. You can be a casual, 2 hours at a time gamer who likes to play by yourself and you will do *just fine* in this game. I never played for an hour stretch during which I did not gain or experience something cool. I introduced my wife to it (she being a very casual gamer) and she likes it so much we're getting a new computer just so we can duo together.

The world is very big but travel is rarely a problem. There are dragons and zepellins that are willing to fly you to major locations, as well as a "hearthstone" that transports you to the innkeeper you spoke with last. Later on in the game I hear you can get mounts of your own to ride.

The gameplay is very diverse. I never felt bored because there was always an opportunity to go do something I hadn't done before. There are many tradeskills and these tradeskills are also easy to level up. For instance, to max out the fishing tradeskill, it requires about 275 skill points. After 30 minutes of fishing, I had about 30-40 skill points, had caught a bunch of nice fish to eat, and a few nice items too! Perfect for the casual gamer who does not want to spend their whole life playing a single game to master it!

Death in this game is handled superbly. You are transported as a ghost to the *nearest* graveyard. In ghost form, everything has a white glow to it (check out the sky!), you can run very fast, and to resurrect all you have to do is find your corpse (helpfully marked on your map). If you died in an extremely bad area that you don't want to revive in, there is a "spirit healer" at the graveyard who can revive you for a slight experience penalty (you will not lose any levels) and 25% item durability penalty (a mere token of money to repair). Your corpse cannot be looted or exploited in any way. The game makes sure you don't actually want to die, because it can take 2-3 minutes to get to your corpse, but otherwise prevents you from being frustrated.

All enemies are helpfully marked with a name and the level they are next to them, so you don't accidently try and take on a level 21 Kodo Barrens Beast when you're only level 11. Also, if an enemy is enormously strong for its level, it will be marked as "elite", as in a "Level 21 Elite" Kodo Barrens Beast. Watch out for elites! :-)

The game is in "real-time" depending on your time zone so if you only play the game at night, it will always be night in the game. This can be good or bad. I personally loved it. I would get up early in the morning to play the game so I could watch the sunrise. And then in the evenings I might play to watch the sunset.

My system is an Athlon XP 2200+, 768 megs of ram, and an ATi Radeon 9200 videocard. The game ran very smooth at medium detail and only slightly stuttery on the highest detail settings. If you have an ATI 9000+ videocard (or 5200+, for those with nVidia Geforce cards), your main bottleneck will be your RAM. The official requirement is 256 megs. I played with this much before I bought a 512 stick. If you have 256 megs you have to turn down all your detail settings and avoid crowds of people because otherwise your computer will constantly be loading textures from the hard drive. With 768 megs of ram the game runs seamlessly and there is no great noticeable loading of anything anywhere! It's all one big world (except for major dungeons, which load separately).

The game mentioned it had "dynamic weather" but I did not notice any in the areas I played. I did not notice the absence until someone else mentioned it. Perhaps it was turned off for beta purposes. The game was sunny everywhere I went, although sometimes with fog or partial clouds.

Overall, one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. It looks like Blizzard has another game of the year on their hands. See you there!