World of Warcraft Reviews

• WoW is more than it's cracked up to be

  
  By AJHOI70MMOX9X on 2004-09-15
  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
  
  

• Awesome Game, Even For Older Players

  
  By A1WSXYWDBGGKP6 on 2004-09-15
  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.
  
  
  

• Collectors Edition rules.

  
  By A2GKT73P8C9XMG on 2004-10-13
  Until somebody writes the official specs for the Amazon ad, here's what they have on the WoW website that comes with the collectors edition.
  
  # The full game on both CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
  # 1-month subscription to World of Warcraft
  # The Art of World of Warcraft, 200+ page hardcover art book
  # World of Warcraft Behind-the-Scenes DVD
  # Exclusive in-game pet
  # Official soundtrack
  # Cloth map charting the continents of Kalimdor, Azeroth, Khaz Modan, and Lordaeron
  # Signed Collector's Edition game manual
  # 10-Day Free Guest Pass - invite one of your friends to join the epic quest
  
  The list is amazing all the extra stuff you get. A 200 page hard cover book, and the sound track easily are worth the extra $30. But they go on with 2 versions of the game in both CD's and DVDs. Plus, the ability to give a friend a trial version and the DVD of behind the scenes. If they are still available, I recommend buying this version over the regular if you really love the Warcraft series. It may be a risk to wait and see when the actual release date is, but they are nearing Open Beta, and my only guess is before Christmas.
  
  

• Surprisingly good game!

  
  By A2AQF58ESTZU16 on 2004-09-19
  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.
  
  

• not for the casual gamer anymore

  
  By A1C2U8LM1ZXYQL on 2006-01-31
  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.
  
  
• World of Warcraft Is Spyware!
  By A108TSS06UWF1 on 2005-10-12
  I recently performed a rather long reversing session on a piece of software written by Blizzard Entertainment, yes - the ones who made Warcraft, and World of Warcraft (which has 4.5 million+ players now, apparently). This software is known as the 'warden client' - its written like shellcode in that it's position independant. It is downloaded on the fly from Blizzard's servers, and it runs about every 15 seconds. It is one of the most interesting pieces of spyware to date, because it is designed only to verify compliance with a EULA/TOS. Here is what it does, about every 15 seconds, to about 4.5 million people (500,000 of which are logged on at any given time):
  
  The warden dumps all the DLL's using a ToolHelp API call. It reads information from every DLL loaded in the 'world of warcraft' executable process space. No big deal.
  
  The warden then uses the GetWindowTextA function to read the window text in the titlebar of every window. These are windows that are not in the WoW process, but any program running on your computer. Now a Big Deal.
  
  I watched the warden sniff down the email addresses of people I was communicating with on MSN, the URL of several websites that I had open at the time, and the names of all my running programs, including those that were minimized or in the toolbar. These strings can easily contain social security numbers or credit card numbers, for example, if I have Microsoft Excel or Quickbooks open w/ my personal finances at the time.
  
  Once these strings are obtained, they are passed through a hashing function and compared against a list of 'banning hashes' - if you match something in their list, I suspect you will get banned. For example, if you have a window titled 'WoW!Inmate' - regardless of what that window really does, it could result in a ban. If you can't believe it, make a dummy window that does nothing at all and name it this, then start WoW. It certainly will result in warden reporting you as a cheater. I really believe that reading these window titles violates privacy, considering window titles contain alot of personal data. But, we already know Blizzard Entertainment is fierce from a legal perspective. Look at what they have done to people who tried to make BNetD, freecraft, or third party WoW servers.
  
  Next, warden opens every process running on your computer. When each program is opened, warden then calls ReadProcessMemory and reads a series of addresses - usually in the 0x0040xxxx or 0x0041xxxx range - this is the range that most executable programs on windows will place their code. Warden reads about 10-20 bytes for each test, and again hashes this and compares against a list of banning hashes. These tests are clearly designed to detect known 3rd party programs, such as wowglider and friends. Every process is read from in this way. I watched warden open my email program, and even my PGP key manager. Again, I feel this is a fairly severe violation of privacy, but what can you do? It would be very easy to devise a test where the warden clearly reads confidential or personal information without regard.
  
  This behavior places the warden client squarely in the category of spyware. What is interesting about this is that it might be the first use of spyware to verify compliance with a EULA. I cannot imagine that such practices will be legal in the future, but right now in terms of law, this is the wild wild west. You can't blame Blizz for trying, as well as any other company, but this practice will have to stop if we have any hope of privacy. Agree w/ botting or game cheaters or not, this is a much larger issue called 'privacy' and Blizz has no right to be opening my excel or PGP programs, for whatever reason.
  
  
• Fun, easy to level. At level 60 you better have 40 hrs/week.
  By AFQ58MHD5KANP on 2006-05-17
  This game starts with the premise that the casual gamer can advance relatively easily and in a fun, meaningful way. You can, even as a casual gamer, reach the current level cap of 60 (Will be 70 when the expansion comes out later this year). The quests are fun and grouping is fun. The scenery is wonderful and the animations are quite good as well.
  
  All of that changes at level 60.
  
  Thanks to the game designers Jeff Kaplan and Alex Asfrasiabi, 2 ex-EQ1 hardcore guild raiders, this game shifts into overdrive at level 60. These two 16hr/day EQ1 idiots have managed to turn this game into a HUGE timesink raidfest at level 60. To put it mildly: If you don't have a hardcore raiding guild and aren't willing to put in anywhere from 4-6 hours nightly EVERY night, you'll be sitting around the capitol cities with your fingers up your rear doing absolutely NOTHING. Let me state that again: If you don't have 30-60 hours per week at level 60 to put into this game, you will be running the same low level instanced dungeons over and over...and over..and over..and over..and over..and over..and over again.
  
  They keep adding content but for whom? You guessed it: The hardcore elite. There is a ton of content that you, if you are a casual gamer, will never see. Nice of them to introduce new dungeons, bosses, loot etc that 80%+ of the playerbase won't see, eh?
  
  Thanks Jeff! Thanks Alex ASSfrasiabi!
  
  
• The Holy Grail? maybe...
  By AKR0NZW3FCXYS on 2004-10-28
  This game is probably the closest thing you are going to find to the holy grail of mmogs. It is the Half Life 2 of MMORPGS (I repeat OF mmorpgs, nothing comes close to Half Life 2 in its own arena). If WoW has one fault it may be its player vs player and player vs enviorment balancing issues, but no mmorpg is going to come close to what this game already has in those terms.
  
  So what does WoW offer you? Lets see...
  
  Exp is maily quest based and if you can't spend as much time in game as your friends, resting in an inn gives you an exp bonus when you log back in so that you can keep up. (translation: you dont have to be hard core to have a nice high lvl character, but the system doesnt hold back hard core players from reaching their highest potential).
  Items degrade/repair like diablo 2, anoying but you dont have to replace them and it keeps the economy from inflating.
  You can warp to your bind point once an hour with an item, useful if you get lost, need to log out, inventory is full, etc.
  Ingame maps.
  Auction houses.
  Warlocks can summon you to them selfs (with two helping players, great if you are in a rush)
  Boats, trains, blimps, gryphons, etc rides to get you around the world.
  Death system is not harsh most of the time (three choices: player rez, npc rez at graveyard at a cost of exp, or you can run back to corps in spirit form and self rez)
  You have your own mount ( be it horse, gnome machine, wolf, cat, etc).
  Food and drink (health/mana regen items)to bring down time to a minimal.
  A USEFUL crafting system. (no making lots of junk you cant sell or use for crafting points)
  Ritual spells involving lots of players.
  PvP and PvE servers.
  PvP honer system (gives you penalties for ganking low lvl players).
  A PvP reward system.
  One of the very few MMORPGs that has blood effects and alcohol (taverns) in it (finaly something that doesnt completely look like its scared senceless to get something higher then a E (everyone) rating).
  Content that can only be compaired to the likes of games like Never Winter Nights and Elderscrolls story wise. (even though that hardly does it justice) Not to mention Warcraft's famous comedy.
  A completely hand generated world (all the models fit together, everything blends into one complete world, that looks realistic in a Warcraft way)
  
  And one last thing BUFF BOTS DONT WORK IN THIS GAME!!!! Most characters can only put one type buff on the entire group at one time, one group buff and one single buff (on another person, not inclueding self buffs) at most, so to get a complete set of buffs you need a compete group. Also most buffs last any where from half an hour to an hour, so no rebuffing every 10 minutes, this inclueds buffs you get from potions.
  
  Other things to compair it to? Uh, got me, I honestly dont think there is anything that compairs, if you dont like the art style of WoW you are just going to have to sit it out, Zelda Windwalker is a great game, but lots of people (not including me, but this has no baring on why I like WoW) hated its cell shading.
  
  DAOC? Very good game, but no personal character stablity (they change the rules 'nerf' to often and to hard)
  EQ2? has EQ1s extreamly crummy track record, thats it (good graphics! not realy, faster exp then EQ1!and that means what exatly? nothing, it still takes your whole personal life to lvl up at a slow rate, we got rid of the user interface! um ok you got rid of an eye sore, but you didnt replace it with anything -.-; )
  SWG? Too much space, no content, to many jedi wannabes
  AC2? Pretty, but not much else (you didnt play this game, you exploited it)
  SB? PvP and no other content just didnt hack it
  FFXI? Sorry, but it felt like a little kids game (when compaired to other mmorpgs)
  and the list could go on....
  
  GuildWars? Like a complicated version of Dungen Siege played online, it was actualy alot of fun for the small amount of time I played it, wether it holds attention for the long haul is yet to be seen.
  
  On a last note, I have played a lot of MMORPGS, I still play DAOC (I consider it the lesser of all evils). I liked WC3 because of its story line. I am NOT a big fan of stratagy games, so if that is keeping you from buying this title stop hesitating and go for it. And do remember, take everything any one says with a grain of salt.
  
  
• If they follow their form...
  By on 2004-03-20
  What I've noticed about Blizzard is that they don't do anything revolutionary, but they do the same old thing EXTREMELY well. Take StarCraft: Not the first real-time strategy game, but it was the best ever made at the time of its release. If Blizzard is wise enough to follow this method -- analyze, sculpt their own perfect version, release, rake in the money -- in the MMORPG field, we should have a killer game on our hands.

  As I see it, Blizzard has three advantages over other companies who have made MMORPGs. First, the WarCraft universe has already been established through prior games, so bringing it into full multiplayer shouldn't be as difficult as creating a game out of whole cloth. Second, Blizzard has Battlenet, which has to be worth something in the way of gaining experience with large networks like the kind they'll need for WoW. Third, there are now several existing MMORPGs to look at and learn from before they try to make their own.

  Now that there are a dozen or so MMORPGs available, it should be easy to spot the pros and cons of each. For example, EverQuest offers a very large world brimming over with content, but half the classes are broken, and there is no convenient way to get around. Each game has both good and bad points, and hopefully, Blizzard will pay enough attention to see what makes the games good or bad. If they do, they should achieve the same level of blissful entertainment their past offerings have yielded. I'm betting they will pull it off....but I'm also betting they'll push back the release a few more times.
  
  

• Ex-Hardcore wants time wasted back
  By A2XZJV41ZSBJMH on 2006-04-26
  So I played this game religiously when it came out, and over time even leveled 3 level 60 characters, and as sad as that is, it gets worse. When you do reach the highest level in the game, yif you dont want to fight other players with ridiculous gear that can kill you in one or two hits you have to join a guild of 40+ players who can get together sometime during the week (yes all 40+) and go to a dungeon for 5-12 hours. I did this forever, I played a priest and after raiding a place called Molten Core about 15 times and getting two items that were just 'ok' I had to call it quits, anyone with a life can see that virtual items are NOT worth the 90+ hours spent to get them, do yourself a favor and go read a BOOK!
  
  It isnt as easy to get into a guild as you think either, if you don't personally know people in game and are 'cool' with them then you basically have to kiss their rear to join, and most guild's entry requirements remind me of a job application, here's a sample:
  
  How many hours do you play a week? Are you available Mon-Fri and Sat if needed between 5pm-3am PST? Are you willing to change your character to fit the guild's needs? So on and so forth.
  
  Basically, you have to be an elitist jerk to enjoy this game at the top end, otherwise your left in the dust.
  
  
• Virtual Drudgery
  By A3QS4Q21QPOVJX on 2006-06-11
  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.
  
  
• Comment on just the additions of the Collector's Edition (CE)
  By A2O8RIDCJ0H83V on 2005-07-19
  Having already penned my thoughts on WoW itself this is exclusively on the CE additions since I own it. Rated how fun the game is as 5 stars but the CE additions warrant 3 stars. The CE contains (as listed above):
  
  The full game on both CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
  
  -- Somewhat useful. If one breaks you have a back-up.
  
  One-month subscription to World of Warcraft
  
  -- Nice addition to have. I would have put a 3 month subscription in it soley based upon the initial price. Mainly considering anyone purchasing the CE is going to be a long-term player so give them more perks.
  
  
  The Art of World of Warcraft, 200+ page hardcover art book
  
  -- This was a really nice little book. If you are interested in the Warcraft Universe or just have a passing interest in artwork (As i do) then it's neat to look through.
  
  World of Warcraft behind-the-scenes DVD
  
  -- This has a lot of content and has so much material it's almost as full and rich as the behind-the-scenes DVD that comes with a Lord of the Rings Special Edition DVD.
  
  Exclusive in-game pet
  
  -- Meh. Mixed thoughts. There are much cooler pets you can get ingame. The pet you get gives you only three choices. Either a Panda Cub (has a severe case of narcolepsy and falls asleep everywhere), a Mini-Diablo (A mini-me Diablo that occasionally breathes fire), and a Zergling (from the Starcraft games..occasionally it clicks its claws). I would have rather had more pets to choose from.
  
  Official soundtrack
  
  -- Soundtrack is well done and decent atmosphere music.
  
  Cloth map charting the continents of Kalimdor, Azeroth, Khaz Modan, and Lor daeron
  
  -- Whoopie doo. It's very very very small. I have washcloths bigger than this thing. It also smells like the inside of a Burlap sack after two rats just got done having relations in it.
  
  Signed collector's-edition game manual
  
  -- Who cares.
  
  10-day free guest pass invite for one of your friends to join.
  
  -- This was a good little addition. I gave this to a friend so they could check it out without having to spend any money by lending him the CD-ROM copy to check out.
  
  Overall a 3 stars. There is a lot of good content, but based on the price there should have been a little more.
  
  
• Beta Tester (Phase 2)
  By A1T5NF2GTWZJAK on 2004-06-23
  Okay, just a quick breakdown here. I have been playing WoW Beta since Blizzard released Phase 2 and I must say that I am incredibly impressed. This is my first MMORPG and it took no time to figure things out and get going in game. So far the updates have been slow but steadily making the game a lot better each phase. I really enjoy doing the quests that are in game, they give fat chunks of exp and usually, great items. The graphics are sharp and nice to look at, while presenting an overall dream-like fantasy world feel that works perfectly. None of us in game know much about special "world events" because i think that Blizzard is saving these for final development and release, but needless to say we are excited to experience them.

  All in all, if you like to play games that are challenging yet open ended, this is for you! You can make your own way through the game and still have tons of fun in the process because it's really not about killing mass monsters, the quests do it better. I am definitely buying World of Warcraft upon it's release because Blizzard is doing an awesome job in all aspects.
  
  

• As Frustrating and Addictive as Online Gambling
  By AXCHRDQBSVGZF on 2005-11-24
  I've been playing WoW for some time now, and just today realised how I've wasted valuable time from my life. WoW seemed awesome at first, but after a while, the effect wears off & you realise that the quests are incredibly repetative, spending most of the time travelling from town to town, accomplishing absolutely nothing.
  
  To quote someone on the Gamespot Forum, there are three types of quests in this game:
  
  1) Go kill stuff
  2) Go kill stuff and bring stuff back
  3) Go see someone and bring stuff back
  
  The community is the main reason why I stopped playing, who are really an arrogant and stuck-up lot. Sadly, it probably was not this way at the game's launch, but as certain players spent 20+ hours a day playing, neglecting their jobs, spouses (if they ever had one in the first place), many put themselves on a pedestal and refused to help or even acknowledge new players (branding them as "noobs," a strange and deragatory insult.) For players just starting out, the chat is filled with WoW language, which is incredibly overwhelming and difficult to decipher for the newcomer. What I find personally entertaining is the Role-Playing server, in which characters must speak only in the role of their character, e.g. orcs say things like "Me want to smash you!" and elves, "I shall smite thee!" The most ridiculous aspect of this whole scenario is that if one speaks out of character, or speaks of any non-game related subject, he is approached by the game police, or GM for short, promptly warned and then banned from WoW if the infractions continue. So, while the game is somewhat entertaining at first, it's the community that ultimately take the fun out of the game. In all seriousness folks, games life Half-Life 2, Quake 4, and even Age of Empires III offer a fun diversion, not an addictive and ultimately frustrating experience.
  
  
• WoW - Simply the best!
  By AST8AFPZ4FGWM on 2004-05-05
  World of warcraft is Blizzards first MMORPG, this may make some people concerned. What do they know? Will it be any good? But the awnser has already ben found in the Betas! Beta testers say that WoW is better that any finished MMORPG game.

  A little info:
  You can play to either the Alliance wich includes the Humans, Gnomes, Dwarves and Night Elves or you can play to the Horde wich includes the Orcs, Trolls, Taurens and the Undead.

  There are many different classes to pick from: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin(Alliance only), Priest, Rogue, Shaman(Horde only), Warlock and Warrior.

  And when you get to level 40 you will become an Hero.

  There are also "Trade skills" wich are Herbalism, Mining, Smelting, Lumberjack, Fishing, Herb Gathering, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, cooking, Alchemy, Fletching/Bowmaking, Scribing, Gem cutting, Jewel crafting, Engineering, Tailoring,
  And "other skills".
  Linguistics (you will somewhat understand languages that you do not know exe. a human doesnt understand an orc), Mount riding (you can ride horses and such), First Aid, Lockpicking and Pickpocketing.

  The game takes 5 out of 5 possible stars with no problems!
  _____________________________________________

  I like WoW because of the beutifull grapics, endeless fun with new races and classes and the exploring.
  There is always a quest out there waiting for you.

  A MUST BUY! =D
  
  

• Best MMORPG Ever -- Buy NOW!
  By A18I7Q4Z35YBTF on 2004-12-04
  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
  --------
  
  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
  --------
  
  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
  --------
  
  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
  --------
  
  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
  --------
  
  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!
  
  
• Glory days are over.
  By A3T9QS6VWLIBVR on 2006-06-28
  This game had tons of hype, and for its' first year or so of existance was tremendously fun to play. There were genuinely great ideas that also happened to have been actualized in a fashion that set it apart from the rest of the entire video game industry. But the company became awash in funds, and devoted less and less time to fixing known issues and the class and race and faction balances, to the point were no known issues were at all being worked on; all available resources were being used to create the content that only 1-3% of WoW players will ever see, much less conquer in the anteceding 12 months.
  
  Now that the last major add-on has gone live, the company is not responding to any complaints or issues at all but instead is concerned only with the next item for sale, called Burning Crusade, which again will have content only 10-15% of players will care about or get involved with.
  
  The game had so much promise, but it squandered it when most of the core design and development team left to pursue artistic endeavors during the final stages of this game, and the only persons available to help complete the tone and tenor of the game, especially at the end-game level, were gamers themselves, who were not beholden to anything but thier own egos and whims. They made the game a huge raid-fest, which 95% of the games subscribers don't care about/ are oblivious to/can'or won't devote the time to/ see as impossible to embrace as fun.
  
  Yet even tho we now have a solid 17 months of nothing but non-stop 40 man-it-or-you-must-be-some-sort-of-loser mentality oozing from the developers, there has been no, I repeat no, none, nothing at all even resembling a non-40 man raid that provides items comparable to 40-man items, that 95% maybe even 100% of the community has been asking for.
  
  So, in laymans' terms, unless you can devote 8 hours 4-7 nights a week, and also unless you are really good at distinguishing yourself at this late stage in the game, you cannot and will not get a chance to experience 99% of the content relesed into the game in the last 12 or so months. So, by the time you have grasped enough of WoW playing ONLY 20 hrs a week, (gasp) what you should potentially have had fun encountering will be passe, and um, that's what a game is supposed to do for you. Sigh.
  
  This games' price has come down low enough that even with the exorbitant monthly fee (er well 26 day fee, for a months price, as you aren't allowed to play the game on Tuesdays til about 3-5 in the afternoon) it should still be fun enough to play and see what the game was like during it's first 5 months of existance. Once, however, you reach 60, be prepared for a lot of envy and indignation directed towards the game for it's inability to parse out rewards based on skill, but rather only as honorarium for having been part of a raid.
  
  Oh, btw, PvP, the part of the game where you battle other real-life humans for prizes, is completely borked, i.e., is useless. The rewards garnered from incessantly playing 16 hour-a-day sessions, 6-7 days-a-week, for 6-8 months are SIGNIFICANTLY worse than rewards you can achieve in one 3 hour session of Molten Core, or from either wing of AQ, which is harder, but if you get into an AQ guild, you'll get those weapons straight away, no delay! Why PvP for thousands of hours when your AQ weapons far out-class Faction Honor (that means PvP) weapons? You wouldn't.
  
  This game has tremendous issues, however if you are new to these types of games, you won't notice. At least not til it matters, and by that time you can move on, or go back to Halo3 or Call of Juarez. This game is losing American-based subscribers to the free-to-play Guild Wars, and it's losing them fast.
  --
  Let me summarize. This game is fun until your character has progressed to level 60. Then, I'm not sure how much fun a casual player will be having. The only things to do at level 60 that are fun and provide enjoyment require you to be a part of a 40-man team. And those only occur if you belong to a guild, which will require you to spend hours and hours each week getting ready and gearing up to go out ALL friday and saturday night.
  
  Also, 16$ a month is a lot of money to spend.
  
  Finally, the game is completely biased in favor of the Alliance. If yo have friends who are Horde, and you wish to play with them, be prepared for a much longer and more grueling time than if you went Alliance. This game has a lot of problems, such as Warlocks never getting any of their 100+ known Beta issues dealt with. I don't see this game retaining much of its population base, especially with EVE online, City of Heroes, and Guild Wars much more player-friendly and cheaper to play.
  
  Beware of this game.
  
  
• WoW: Wow!
  By A24Y4YFVFKYEJG on 2004-08-23
  For those not educated in the way of Blizzard Games, World of Warcraft is their first MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). Based on the world emulated in Blizzard's popular best-selling game, Warcraft, this game is gigantic. In previous games by Blizzard, there have been about four to five servers, or realms, with hundreds of games made by players, each holding anywhere from two to eight players. However, World of Warcraft turns the tide and allows a few servers, each estimated to hold anywhere from 2000-2500 players at any given time. With this many players in a server, there has to be a lot of space to hold them. The world comprises of two huge continents, which are made up of the lands of Kalimdor, Lordaeron, Azeroth, and Khaz Modan. Each region also holds major and minor cities. For example, the human city, Stormwind, is huge. However, as Blizzard recently added the auction function to Stormwind, it has been getting a lot more traffic and has been known to be laggy when entering the city. There are also now eight playable races. You may start out as the Humans, Orcs, Undead, Night elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Trolls and Tauren. Each character you make is very customizable. You, of course, choose your name, and are then able to choose your gender, hair style, hair color, skin color, facial characteristics, and facial hair. On top of the amount of races, there are nine playable classes, each with unique skills and spells. However, some races will not be able to play certain classes. The nine classes are the holy and noble Paladin, the stealthy Rogue, the healing Priest, the taming Hunter, the dark magi Warlocks, the naturalist Druids, the Warrior, Mage, and Shaman (like the Paladin, but for the Horde.) Each race is either on the side of the Alliance, or the Horde. Humans, Gnomes, Dwarves, and Night Elves comprise of the Alliance, while the Orcs, Tauren, Trolls, and Undead make up the Horde. In the PvP (Player versus Player) server, these two teams can clash in skirmishes in different areas to sieze control over the area. However, where there are enemies, there are allies, and World of Warcraft is all about allying. Players can band together to defeat enemies, complete quests, gain experience, or just spend some quality time together.
  
  Depending on what race you choose to be, you will start out in different areas. For example, Humans start out in Azeroth, Night Elves start out in a small island north of Kalimdor, and Tauren start out in central Kalimdor. Certain races will also be able to buy mounts at a higher level, further customized by what class they are. For example, Paladins get an armored stallion, and Orcs get a dire wolf.
  
  This game also brings trade skills into play. Players can mine for minerals, skin animals for skins, etc., and use these skills to create equipment, making anybody who uses these skills a valued team member.
  
  What makes this game fun for me is the amount of quests and the fact that new ones are being added with each patch. There are literally thousands. This is why the game can be fun even after you reach the maximum level. There are quests ranging from the easiest of tasks, such as locating the inn, to defeating enemies that take a group to beat and can take hours to complete. There are also many equipment items you can wear, much more than in previous games such as Diablo 2. There are also more slots to choose from. For example, you can wear a robe, cloak, shirt, boots, belt, gloves, bracers, head gear, and much more.
  
  The game also features a familiar way of chatting. Hitting the enter button will bring up the box where you type in messages, which after entered will appear in the above chat log. By typing prefixes in your messages such as "/1" (eg: /1 hi) will send your message into a public channel. Channel 1 is usually the general chat for your region, 2 is the trade channel when you are in a major city, 3 and 4 are defense channels, and 5 is the raid channel to discuss attacks on the opposite faction. You can also /yell messages so that everybody in your region can hear them (/say will send a message to people within a small radius of you) or /whisper (/w for short) somebody for a private message. Channel messages come up in tan, says come up in white, yells are red, and whispers are purple. You can also use the /ignore feature to squelch certain players so that you do not have to hear their messages. Blizzard will also include their friends list so that you may keep track of your friends in the game. They show character names, their levels, location, and class.
  
  World of Warcraft now also makes clans official (first seen in Warcraft 3). You are allowed to join a guild with hundreds of other players. You also can customize your guild's sigil by visiting an NPC labeled as the Clan Tabard (guild leaders only).
  
  Also, what people must know is that there ARE bugs in the game. However, the game IS only in the beta phase. The bugs, of course, will be fixed by the final retail version. Blizzard will also patch over any new bugs frequently so that our gaming experience can be all the better.
  
  In all honesty, I can only think of one bad thing to say about the game, which is hearing something about not adding mounted combat, which seems silly, as units in previous games that were mounted on horses could attack from them. Even the music is pretty good. Many people argue that they will not get the game because of the monthly fee. I also thought this way until I played the beta, and then I realized that twelve or thirteen dollars for this amount of fun per month is, in my opinion, a pretty good deal.
  
  However, don't just take my word for it. Blizzard announced that they will soon be releasing an open beta to the public, allowing everybody who wishes to download it the opportunity to join the vast World of Warcraft.
  
  
• Hidden Costs
  By A2UT7GSYZHSOBN on 2005-02-08
  PARENTS BEWARE-when you buy this game you are unaware that in order to play it the way it was intended, (according to all the kids that have it) you need to subscribe to a service for $15.00 @ month to play with others. Nowhere in the descriptive elements of the game was this stated; if it had been, the game would not have been purchased as a Christmas present. I feel cheated and duped. Your kid may want it, but do you want to pay a monthly fee for him to play it-CAVEAT EMPTOR! Buyer beware.
  
  
• World of warcraft, truly a fantastic game
  By A3Q72Y3AJ6BOB6 on 2004-08-05
  Im not playing the beta version unfortunetly :(... but i will help you make your decision in buying this with the information i have gathered... Basically you can be one of 8 unique races: Humans, Night Elves, Gnomes, and Dwarves are of the alliance, and Undead, Tauren, Orcs, and Trolls, are of the horde. There are many unique classes also such as mage, shaman, paladin, preist, hunter, warlock, and many more... But one of the most unique things about this game is the skill set... You can learn herblore, which is gathering of herbs, alchemy, using herbs to make potions, mining, mining ores and grinding stones, blacksmithing, using ores and stones and whatever other ingreedients you need to make weapons, armor, sheilds, etc... This game has also a huge world, with home cities and everything. For instance, the Undeads home city is called "The Undercity" and is located in central lorderon. One things for sure, this game is on top of my list, and there is so much more to learn that cannot be typed in this review. For more information go to WorldofWarcraft.com
  
  
• Another High-Quality Blizzard Game
  By A1QJP00AMCB2Y7 on 2004-09-10
  Recently I was fortunate enough to get in on Blizzard's Stress Test for World of Warcraft. First off, even under deliberately extreme conditions, World of Warcraft performs very well. The servers were initionally overloaded with players, but lag and game crashes were still kept to a minimum. Second, the game itself is very fun.
  
  Basically, you have the option of either killing monsters to gain experience the traditional way or you can engage in any number of the countless quests Blizzard has put in the game. You don't have to continually kill/rest/repeat to level your character like in other games. The quests make World of Warcraft much more fun and interesting.
  
  Another advantage to the game is the classes available. I've played them all and they're all fun and unique. Clerics do more than heal, fighters have more combat abilities to envolve players in fights, and warlocks... well, warlocks are just awesome.
  
  My final point would be that the game's world well worth the monthy subscription. The two contients and multitude of islands available give you plenty to explore and do. Blizzard has also promised that one of the first world events will be players (intentionally or accidentally) re-opening the Dark Portal... So there is a lot more to come!
  
  Anywho, World of Warcraft really doesn't contain anything monumentally revolutionary, but the game has many subtle innovations and improvements on old ideas that put it above the competition.
  
  
• Insanely fun and addictive
  By A35Z9189H0F87K on 2004-09-19
  I've been playing this for almost a year now (in the closed alpha and beta testing), and I can't stop!
  
  Now, I do NOT LIKE EverQuest (the most famous game in this MMORPG genre) because: it takes way to much time to play, if people are jerks in the game it ruins it for everyone around them, the graphics are bad, the interface is clunky, when you die in EQ it's incredibly annoying to get started again, etc. This is why EQ is played mostly by people with no jobs who live in their parents' basement. (I'm teasing, of course, but seriously - EQ is a lifestyle commitment to a mountain of annoyances.)
  
  But I LOVE World of Warcraft. It overcomes all the bad things about EQ. The interface is great, you can solo the entire game or group up with other players (and either way, it's fun). But you don't have to join a massive guild or make an appointment with a whole group just to get anything done. You certainly CAN do that in WoW if you want - I have plenty of times - but it's not mandatory.
  
  The infamous Blizzard sense of humor and whimsy permeates the game side by side with spooky, macabre, and even dramatic touches.
  
  It truly is an entire world.
  
  You can read all the details at worldofwarcraft.com, but my feeling about this game after playing it for months in various stages of development is that I would pay for it even in its current unfinished state. I'm always running into WoW players who've played EQ for years and they rave about how much better WoW is. (I only played EQ briefly, so I'm no expert on that game - I just played it enough to hate it.)
  
  People who have always like the concept of MMORPGs but never found one that was good or elegant enough to play will enjoy this game immensely. And people who already play EQ or other MMORPGs will think they've died and gone to heaven when they get online with WoW.
  
  The website will give you a lot of info about the game, but until you experience the solid gameplay and incredible richness of details - well, you'll just have to see for yourself.
  
  Blizzard has done it again.
  
  
• Dont listen to EQII fan boys....
  By on 2004-10-27
  It bothers be that people are claiming this game to be"single player" and "too easy". Most likely people who say this havent even played the game!I have beta tested EQII and stress tested WoW,and let me tell you...WoW was so much better;they cannot be compared!They are on two completely different levels of gameing.
  Do not listen to people who say that the leveling is too fast.It is just fine.Casual and obsessive players can both play the game and be happy,becasue of the excellent end-game content that is already in-game,and that of which will soon be in game.
  Strangely enough,there are not too many "Bnet kiddies" playing,and those that do can easily be avoided.It is very easy to make friends with the characteristics you desire. I admitt I was never a true fan of SOE or eq,but I tell you this for your own sake:If you chose EQII over WoW your on something ;)
  
  
• Limitless fun, even for the beginner!
  By A2CWHGUMHKU7QI on 2004-12-06
  I admit that I was skeptical about jumping into this game. For years now I have watched other people play titles such as EverQuest and Star Wars: Galaxies; spending endless hours engaged in what I perceived to be esoteric and disconnected storylines offset by redundant battle.
  
  However, I'm not one to criticize, especially vicariously. For those reading the review keep one thing in mind: I've never played these other titles. The simple fact that the above mentioned games have such a following seems to contradict my perception that they really aren't that fun. But I always seek to challenge the mob mentality.
  
  World of Warcraft has defied my expectations. My fear of a steep learning curve had for years prohibited me from enjoying games like Diablo, Diablo II and the associated expansion titles. For me, anything with a sense of "level" was out of my field of vision. For a long while it was either the FPS (first person shooter) or RTS (real-time strategy) genre that could hold my attention. Something as epic as leveling a solitary character for months on end was horribly intimidating.
  
  When I first entered into the World of Warcraft I slipped into the familiar settings from the namesake RTS series. Blizzard's excellent interface design coupled with the environmental ambience helped comfort my baby steps into this epic world. What the graphics of WoW lack in polygon detail they make up for in a cohesive art presentation that really brings the whole game together.
  
  The tool tip system made getting started a cinch. No tutorial or drawn out cinematic, just a few helpful hints to get you on your way. The initial quests were simple enough and geared towards helping you understand the protocol of being assigned a mission, executing it, and returning it for character experience. Skip ahead to professions and talent trees and that same, painless process describes what it was like for me to determine what I was supposed to do and how to do it.
  
  What Blizzard has accomplished here should never be understated. They have managed to bring together the finer points of almost every genre and morph it into the perfectly seasoned MMORPG. Though no one review can explain all of the finer details of this game, rest assured that should you purchase it you will come to appreciate things like rested experience (for those of us who don't stay logged in 24/7), relatively painless deaths (all you really lose is item durability), and a new standard in in-game help systems.
  
  In closing, I'd like to point out the part where Blizzard really shines. Other game developers often like to neglect the minority; "let's first ship the game for Win32, then we'll perhaps consider porting this to the Mac...but it probably won't work so well and they won't be able to play with their friends on PCs." This has stopped me from ever considering a game like Neverwinter Nights or Everquest. What, truly, is the point of joining an MMORPG if the world is a) not so massive, and b) you're months behind?
  
  This game, as with most of the rest of Blizzard's games, has shipped as a hybrid disc for both platforms since Day 1. I've looked at the Mac version and the PC version side by side and as one has come to expect from Blizzard the performance and presentation on both platforms is superb. While it is true that on many occasions the Mac may under perform graphically, it doesn't make the game any less exciting.
  
  Congratulations, Blizzard. You've got one customer who is 100% happy, and 100% pleased to shell out a subscription month after month for limitless fun!
  
  
• WoW isn't an Orwellian utopia, but neither is America.
  By A2A2SYDJMLTX96 on 2005-01-23
  The first day I stepped into the world of Azeroth, I was quite pumped to play WoW. A few weeks prior to its release, an old friend mentioned this "World of Warcraft" game coming out. I looked at a few websites, and was actually interested. Many other MMO's simply fell short of entertainment, in my opinion. It felt like paying money to a comapany to literally "work". The terms "Treadmilling" and "Grinding" make me want to shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails. At least that is less painful, and hell, it costs a whole lot less.
  
  So I install, and patch my game. All the normal expectations. It took quite sometime to install, given the game occupies four CD's worth of data. There is also a DVD version to purchase, but I'm unsure wether that would have installed any faster or not. I don't have a DVD-Rom :/ The patching system was a nightmare. Blizzard employs a Peer to Peer file sharing system. On my cable modem, the patch downloaded at about the same speed at 56K modem would on a direct FTP connection. Thank God patches are not an everyday occurance.
  
  The game loads up, and I'm sucked right into it's introduction movie. These movies always make every game seem like they are the best thing since sliced bread, don't they? I log into my newly formed account, and begin playing WoW. Luckily I'm more or less experienced in MMO's. The learning curve was not very steep for me.
  
  I created a Tauren Shaman (There are 8 races and 9 classes to choose from). In the beginning, the User Interface (UI) was a very pleasant thing to manipulate. It was not bulky, and did not feel like it dominated my playing space. There was a bar of Hot-Keys I could place my spells and simple actions into. I could also create macros and assign them to my hotbar as well. Experience gain was clearly shown as a bar along the bottom of my screen, and target information was compact and unintrusive. The fact that windows I opened were locked down are, and continue to be, and irritation. As I progressed, I realized that the UI, athough functional at first, becomes severely limiting in later levels. Blizzard wisely allowed for ambitious home-brew programmers out there to create custom UI's. There are many to choose from, and there is a UI out there for everyone. Smart move letting me customize my game!
  
  I talk to the nearest NPC who gives me a quest to go kill a certain creature, and loot a certain amount of items off of it. Good enough, I was going to go kill those creatures for experience anyway. I begin to notice the sounds and music, and I'm pleasently pleased. The music is unintrusive, yet adds perfectly to the atsmosphere of the game. It fits into the theme of each area I go to, and smoothly transfers from one song to the next. The game sounds are not spectacular, but they aren't horrible either. At times, it is repetetive, such as combat. It doesn't bother me much, because just how many sounds can a mace make bashing into MoB skull anyway?
  
  I get a good look at the general area, and the graphics are quite pleasing to the eye. There is neither too little, nor too much to look at. The lighting is well done, as it's bright enough to see without thinking the Rays of God were penetrating your skull. Likewise, even in the murkiest swamps, at night, the light is still bright enough to see functionally. I want to feel like there is a day and night (Which runs on an accurate, real time 24 hour cycle), but night time need not replicate the darkest corners of hell. I also remark at how well Blizzard has replicated the look of Warcraft. Warcraft never went for realism as did Command and Conquer. There was always a fantasy, cartoonish look to it. WoW Certainly has a fantasy look to it as well. While it does not look like a "Looney Toons" cartoon, it also doesn't look like the "Final Fantasy" movie. Good balance all around.
  
  With my somewhat old system (1.3ghz/512DDR 2700/GeForce FX5200 128DDR), I also notice the game runs well. I check the video settings, and it seems the game had chosen the optimum settings for my computer. I'm not sure if that is what it truly did, but it's nice that I never had to fiddle with the settings. It seems that I'm at about 1/3 of the engine's capability, and I think the world looks quite good. I set it to its highest just to see how smooth it was, and I was very pleased, visually. Crisp graphics. The 2D textures on 3D skins was a bit off, but only if you pay attention. At full capability it was too choppy, so I went back to default. I have never felt like I was "missing out" on anything.
  
  I continue on, and keep doing quests. Some quests have me talk to certain people, others to kill certain things, and lastly, some to merely collect things. During my questing, I don't see any real point to them. Then it dawns on me. Besides the fact that most quest have me killing things I was going to kill anway, the quests also ensure I kill some of every creature. Not only do I experience all the MoBs there are to kill, I'm also exploring every part of the map. By the time I leave the level 1 to 10 newbie zone, my map has every portion of that area explored. I suppose I could have just killed the same creatures in one spot over and over, but the experience would have been dull. Besides, the rewards for the quests were very appropriate. All give extra experience. Some give some cash. Others give armor, weapons, or some other wrothwhile item. By the time I leave the newbie area, the armor and weapon I had were all from quests, and all were very appropriate, if not pretty nice for my level. Further on in the game, some randomly dropped items were better, but quests have never ceased to usually have something I can use if its reward is a tangible item.
  
  As I continue to experience the game over time, I eventually meet some interesting people. Many people in the general chat channels are ingnorant people, but not any more so than other MMO's in my experience. I have a few RL friends who are playing, my wife is playing, and some good people online that I like to adventure with. I joined a large guild, which has provided more support grouping wise. I love to solo in games, but sometimes I need a little extra support. Guild members are a great way to meet up with the same people regularly. This helps greatly, becuase you learn how they play, and can adjust accordingly. Some pick-up groups with strangers can be rewarding. Its those times when some group members are reckless, greedy, or otherwise irritating that make you appreciate making some reliable friends.
  
  I also have chosed to play on a PvP server, as this is the ultimate MoB for me. Always has, always will. Blizzard has created three types of servers. First is the PvP Server. The races are diveded into two factions. Alliance or Horde. In PvP servers, Horde and Alliance are enemies. Thusly, the opposing faction are the one to kill (If you choose or dare to!). Members of the same faction cannot attack each other without consent, by dueling. If you don't like having players be able to randomly attack you, Blizzard has created two other types. The Normal server, and the Roleplaying server. Both these server types require consent to PvP before a fight can be initiated. Normal server are for your average non-PvP player to play in. RP servers are for those who take roleplaying very seriously, and wish not to be bothered by talk about the last football game, or wether the Wopper is better than the Big Mac.
  
  I find leveling to be challenging enough to keep me interested, but not so fast that I have nothing to look forward to. Now this statement has to be put into perpective. I play three chracters, so that I never feel like I'm getting "too much" of one character. This is a personal thing, I just feel that I can only play a character so long before I need a break. I'm more of the hard-core casual. I go days without playing much, or none at all, then I get a few 12 hour days in. Some people play 12 hours a day, every day. They are all at the max of level 60. Its actually humurous to hear that they are bored. If you play the game simply to level, and level alone, expect to be bored. The game wasn't intended to be a race to the finish. If I chose to, I could level once per 12 hours of hard playing. I just don't.
  
  The game does have some up and coming things that I am very much looking forward to. At the time of this writing, there is no reward/penalty system for PvP. Blizzard has plans to make items for high ranked PvP'ers, ranks, and other bennies for those who like to bash each other's skulls in. They also are developing battlegrounds. These grounds are reported to have territory that can be gained, or lost. This also will help those who do enjoy alot of PvP, as the PvP will be consolidated into one easy to find area.
  
  I also want to talk about the issue of the monthly fee. Would I prefer to pay $50 once, and let it be free from then on? Yes and no. Yes, if I like the status quo. I don't. Many complain about paying $15 a month for a game they paid $50 for. This is simple economics. You are paying $50 for the effort in creating the product. This game was years in the making. Did Blizzard NOT pay its employees to make this game? Does Blizzard have servers and bandwidth for free to beta test this game? Is Blizzard's electricity, rent, payroll, travel expenses, etc free? You get my point. As for the ongoing costs, it again is simple. Servers cost money. Maintaining them cost money. Pipes to the internet cost money. Developement, and employees cost money. I'd bet that for every 15 dollars Blizzard gets, 14 of it goes to costs, not profit.
  
  Lastly, is server performance. Luckily I play on a low population server. Such is the nature of most PvP servers. This is one reason why so many people are finding that the game is sold out. Blizzard has sold hundreds of thousands of copies of this game. Even with close to 50 servers, the demand is too great. Here's where all the $50, and $15 are going. There will be more powerful servers. The bandwidth will be better. There will be more servers to choose from. Even with days of spotty server performance, queue's to login, and extended downtimes, those that complain still can't get enough of this game. That in itself speak volumes. Buy the game and stick to a low population server, and you'll be asking yourself "What problems". Losing connection is not as common as many would lead you to believe.
  
  I can go on and on about other virtues of this game, but I don't want people to scream "How long winded is this guy??". If you have some time and little extra cash, give this game a try. Heck, if after the first 30 days, you don't like it, sell it. There is a HUGE line of people waiting to get thier hands on this game, so finding a buyer will not be hard.
  
  -Gameplay: ****/***** Somedays there might not be anything to do, but that's not a common occurance
  -Sound: ****/***** Beautifully done score, some repetitive sounds. Not distracting at all.
  -Graphics ****1/2/***** Not a new engine, but not one with tons of problems either. Can run on a Porsche or a Yugo. Visually pleasing, and not straining to the eye. Creative and appropriate artwork.
  -Cost ***/***** More expensive than some of it's predecessors, but not breaking the bank, either.
  -Engineering ****/***** Not alot of "new" ideas, but smart enough to take the best of its competition, and do it well. Although safely played, it's paid off in that it hasn't taken a patch a week to fix all the "new" stuff.
  -Support ***/***** Some complaints regarding lack of communication. GM calls not always swiftly handled. Some "fixes" snuck in during patches that nerfs certain players.
  
  Overall: ****/*****
  
  
• Beta tester's first impression...more to come
  By AFPQVUEI3D46K on 2004-11-04
  I've played EQ...it was nice. I've played Dark Age of Camelot...it was better. Now comes World of Warcraft...it is the best (of the 3, anyway).
  
  What a graphically COOL game. Groovy spell animations, fairly easy leveling, meaningful quests to get you accaimated to the game, etc. But, the biggest benefit that I saw was EASE OF USER INTERFACE! I'm in my mid 30s now and I've been intimated by other game interfaces, but this one trumps them. There is a "?" that pops up whenever you do a new action and gives you an explanation of what you can do and how to do it - very cool. The map is also very easy to use. You get experience for discovering new territories and the fighting interface is excellent.
  
  So far, the only drawback that I see is many people are soloing...and soloing without any trouble. I know everyone wants to have the BEST GEAR and be the highest level the quickest, but this is a MMORPG, not a SPORPG (single-player online role playing game). Maybe it's just a phase, which I hope it is.
  
  Otherwise, this game has the potential to blow the socks of the MMORPG gaming world. In reading the historicals, I see that this game has been pushed back almost a year. I think that was wise because this game is the most complete and bug-free I've ever played...and it's in Beta yet.
  
  Bravo Blizzard. I think you've got a winner here!
  
  
• Good Game, but somewhat pricey for a million lines of code.
  By A1PCQHQ6NPGL9F on 2005-07-03
  I have been playing this game for half a year now, and even though I have had fun, I am beggining to question the point of 15 dollars a month.
  
  There are tons of problems with the game that haven't been fixed or are being created. For one, Ironforge is basically unraidable, because the lag is unbearable. Noone wants to raid Ironforge because you can't even move without waiting. Another thing, killing lowbies doesn't give dishonorable kill points. Quite a few times I have seen level 60 alliance players kill a bunch of level 20's at the Morshan Rampart(a place where people can PvP in a specific zone, but as soon as you leave that zone there might be some level 60's waiting to murder you). Blizzard still hasn't fixed the guards yet, so many players stand the chance of being murdered upon exiting the Warsong Gulch.
  
  Even worse, there aren't that many items. After playing so long, you soon start to see the same models in the same armor every day. Everyone looks the same practically, and most higher level players have practically the same armor sets now. I have seen so many people with the Dreadmist Rainment that it is laughable. If you use two-handed swords, I bet you probably have a Destiny.
  
  Worse yet, the community is filled with younger kids who still don't know how to play at level 60. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a level 60 warrior pull 50 monsters and yell at the group when he dies. There are so many little kids. The new thing seems to be farming kills in the Warsong Gulch. What many of these kids don't realize is the fact that after you kill someone a few times in one day, you don't get any more honor from them. So in essence, they are wasting their own time trying to farm kills.
  
  This game is not worth 15 dollars a month. People bash Everquest, but if you pay 10 dollars a month you get EQ and any other SOE game that is online for that same 10 dollars. This game's flaws could be overlooked, but the pricing is just too steep.
  
  
• Hey I actually liked this one :)
  By A3EBMFU1ZDAYAG on 2005-05-06
  WOW is definitely one of the better MMORPGs out there, and I've played quite a few...
  
  What I liked:
  1. Lots of quests that give valuable experience and items.
  2. My characte was NOT nerfed.
  3. You get a rest "bonus" for time spent OFFLINE. Which means if you don't play a character, once you do log back on, you will experience a significant bonus to the experience you gain for a significant block of time. This benefits the casual player who thus has less difficulty staying level with his friends. It also benefits the hard core gamer whose alt characters get the bonus while he's on his main and vice versa--I wish ALL MMORPGs had this.
  4. Blizzard did a good job at balancing the different classes. ALthough some classes outdid others at pvp, it seemed there were good and bad pvpers in every class. Group dynamics worked very well in general.
  5. Blizzard did a good job at getting rid of a lot of the annoyances in MMORPGs, such as cutting down travel time.
  6. If you feel like it, you can solo quite a bit in this game.
  
  What I didn't like:
  1. LAG, LAG, LAG---because just one town featured an Auction House, it got so laggy that I couldn't move and routinely got disconnected. Alliance/horde raids were really too laggy to play well and to enjoy.
  2. The professions were very unbalanced. Ore and skins are very plentiful but herbs are so rare that potions are either non existant or prohibitively expensive. Blacksmithing will bring you a bundle of cash, whereas many leathercrafters end up abandoning the trade. This needs reworking.
  3. Not much to do after level 60. You need to raid instances to get "uber" equipment and these raids take WAY too long to organize and to run. If you're a priest or a mage you will be harrassed by raid invites, if you're a rogue or a hunter you will have to plead for an invite, gets old for both camps.
  4. Recently, the honor system was put in place. Quite simply, you get rewarded with phat loot for killing a large number of players from the opposing faction. This is great for stimulating pvp. Unfortunately the easiest way to kill someone is to jump him while he's in the midst of a battle with a mob ("ganking"). Which means that with the current system it is very difficult to solo to gain levels without getting killed over and over. This is too bad because this was a very fun game to solo and many people are leaving because of this new honor system which rewards dishonerable acts.
  
  I would still recommend this game. I had a lot of fun with it for 6 months. As a MMORPG vet I burn out faster than most and need to check out the next hot game :)
  
  
• Just another pre-release review
  By AOFK18DF61A0X on 2003-05-01
  First, I'll say that I absoultely HATE pre-release reviews. I wish there was a stronger word than that. But, I feel compelled as an avid Blizzard gamer and clan owner/leader to clear some things up.

  World of Warcraft is an M.M.O.R.P.G. It is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. It will take place in many different worlds with the same worlds replicated on brand new servers.
  There are 5, repeat 5, races to play. There are the Tauren (bull like creatures), the Orcs, the Dwarves (and yes, there will be Dwarven muskets available), the Humans, and my favorite The NIGHT ELVES! Both genders will be playable, and equally effective in all aspects of the game. Blizzard says there will be more playable races, but we'll see. All characters will be able to swim and there will be lots of water as well as underwater levels. Characters will not need to eat or drink ever. Blizzard says there will be positive benefits associated with eating and drinking though.
  You can form bands of 5 men or guilds of more. Look for my Guild on whatever the U.S. West server is.My alias will be Lord Faramir. Our colors (you get to choose a design for your guild) will be red and something else. There are 3 classes out so far. They are Mage, Shaman, and warrior. Hopefully there will be more. There will be several aspects of the game much like diablo. In WoW there will be 1st and 3rd person perspectives.
  Battles will not be a "clickfest". When you attack a creature, your character will keep attacking, but there will be certain things you can change during the battle. There will be vast new expanses of land players have seen before and haven't. Unlike diablo, your heakth will regenerate on its own, and you can't just consume potions like crazy. You get potions, but there will be a "cooldown" time after you've used a potion before you can take the next one. Of course, we all know Blizzard changes things so don't take my word as holy writ. Plus, the beta test won't be out for another year. Just look forward to this. And not to mention, Starcraft 2.
  
  

• Wow in comparison with EQ2
  By A17FJDHW7SXEDZ on 2004-10-24
  I've been in WoW beta as well as Eq2 beta. Notice they're coming out at the same time, so that means more than likely you'll want to only pick one. I'm here to persuade you to make the right decision.
  EQ2 has outstanding graphics and the NPCs actually talk to you. Plus, you can pay $90 and get an entertaining dragon in your home to animate for you. The music is okay as well. That is about it for EQ2.
  WoW has mediocre graphics, outstanding emotes, cute fuzzy pets that anyone can have, more diverse classes that EQ2, addicting quests and gameplay, a "living" world, voice emotes, and has by FAR less bugs than EQ2. I've ran this game on 3 systems: P4 2.6c with a GeForce Ti4600; P4 2.4c with a Radeon 9600; and P4 3.2c with a GeForce 6800 Ultra. All three systems worked great as a setup. Only the 6800 Ultra setup works with EQ2.
  Both of these games are due out in less than a month. There is no way EQ2 can clean all the bugs by that time... Sounds to me like SoE is going for the Coaster of the Year Award again (Star Wars Galaxies was the original winner of this award).
  
  Disclaimer: Everything stated above is my opinion, and I don't really care if you like it or not -- so don't bother me
  
  :)
  
  

• Hacking World of Warcraft (ExtremeTech)
• World of Warcraft Master Guide, Second Edition (World of Warcraft)
• *OP WoW Alliance Players Guide (World of Warcraft the Roleplaying Game)
• World of Warcraft Atlas, Second Edition (World of Warcraft)
• World of Warcraft Series 3 Draenei Mage Action Figure

• World Of Warcraft Expansion: Burning Crusade
• World of Warcraft 60 Day Pre-Paid Time Card
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
• World of Warcraft Master Guide, Second Edition (World of Warcraft)
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Official Strategy Guide (World of Warcraft) (World of Warcraft)