World of Warcraft (PC) review "These are quotes from people close to World of Warcraft users: "

These are quotes from people close to World of Warcraft users:

“What happened to my kid? He’d always do his homework and get good grades, but I can’t get him off that computer. Damn you World of Warcraft ”

“Thank you World of Warcraft. No more need for babysitters. My wife and I are going out all the time now leaving our son alone by himself. We always know World of Warcraft is keeping an eye on him.”

“Yeah, I used to have a husband, but then he got World of Warcraft one day. I don’t know what happened to him, he just wouldn’t stop playing. I’ve been trying to get him help, but he refuses. What’s going on?”

As you can see, World of Warcraft is the craze taking over the world. Okay, maybe that was a bit exaggerated, but try it for yourself and you’ll be hooked. Blizzard has been one of the more famous video game companies for a while now, most notably for their work with the Warcraft strategy games. Then one day, they came up with the idea of an MMORPG set in the World of Warcraft, hence the title of the game. While Blizzard has had some excellent titles in the past such as Diablo and Warcraft, World of Warcraft surpasses all of their previous work. If you’ve ever wanted a game to keep yourself occupied for a long time while still having fun, this is it.

To start off the game, you’re going to need to create a character. There’s a nice variety of races and classes to pick from. Some races are restricted to certain classes, but there are still various combinations for you to make up. This ranges anywhere from an undead mage to a night elf who’s a hunter. You can then choose your gender and appearance, which includes facial features. The customization of appearance is fairly broad, so you might find yourself looking like other people online, but slap on some new armor and that won’t be a real problem, so it’s easily ignored.

For the bulk of the game you’ll probably be fighting, which is fun with all of the different options. You’ve got your weapon, or you can use any of the spells or abilities you learn from class trainers. There’s a huge array of them, and some can be leveled up to increase their effect. At other times, you may find fun just doing some jobs and hanging out at the auction house. Jobs are side activities that can help you gather or make things. Examples would be mining, which produces ore. With the ore, you can make weapons from them if you are a blacksmith. You can have two jobs at the most, and some usually compliment each other, just like mining and blacksmithing. With the things that you collect and make from your job, or just things received along the way, you can head over to the auction house and gain some extra silver or gold. Here you will be able to set up an auction with a time period and buying price if wanted, or you can purchase things. These auction houses are located only in a few of the major cities, and are a really great idea. It offers something not seen in other games. All of this offers satisfying gameplay that will keep you hooked on the game for a long time.

Simplicity and accessibility are key when it comes to MMORPGs. Whether you’re a newcomer or veteran to the genre, you will find that World of Warcraft is easy to get into. Playing is simple, especially when in combat. All of your abilities and spells are assigned to certain numbers and symbols on the keyboard, so one tap of a button and you’re done. The combat may be a bit too simple in that with the click of a mouse you’re engaged, and press a few keys and you’re performing your best attacks. While simplicity is always nice, it would be a bit more fun if you felt more involved when fighting the enemies. Forming groups isn’t a hassle. You can just click on them, go to their little icon on the top and click, invite to group. And if you ever have any problems, you are online at all times, so you could feel free to ask around for help. There are always people out there willing to lend a hand. The interface looks great and is intuitive, and although there’s not a tutorial, some pop-up hints will help you along the way, which works just fine.

World of Warcraft is solid when it comes to technical graphics. There are the occasional hiccups such as body parts going through walls and slowdowns, but that all comes along with the type of game it is. There are all kinds of players online constantly, so some of these minor problems are to be expected. From an artistic standpoint, the game is very impressive. The massive world of Azeroth is beautifully vivid in color and detail. Although the character models are similar to each other sometimes, each of them still manage to have their own unique look with the different race and apparel combinations.

The music is great; it’s simple orchestral score helps embody that feeling of being in a beautiful fantasy world, and it stays fairly low, letting the sound effects show their excellence. The best part is that they fit in with every situation, whether it be venturing through a city or dark cavern. There are also special sounds indicating things like when you level up. There isn’t much dialogue, but the small outburst from characters is still great. Overall, the way people may feel about the sound is it’s great, but not a very important aspect to the game. It’s very easy to ignore the sound when you’re so focused on playing the game rather than listening to it.

When a game earns the nickname “World of Warcrack” you know there has to be some lasting appeal to the game. Completing quests is what moves you along throughout the game, and you’ll be doing a lot of them. Some are very time consuming, but the hours pass by so fast you won’t even notice. You may be going from one place to the next, not even realizing how far away your destination was until the hours pass by. Or there will be so much combat occupying you along the way, you won’t even have bothered looking at the time. Of course, it is an online RPG, so there are always groups to be formed. You can meet up and play with friends, or face off against others in the player vs. player combat. These two things have to be the most redeeming qualities of the game, as they’re what will keep you playing day after day with no sleep. I once knew someone from school who loved to play the game. He had all the symptoms: dilated pupils, shakiness, always drinking coffee. He was a World of Warcraftoholic.

If you have the money to pay monthly fees, and you’re ready to kiss goodbye to your social life, then World of Warcraft is the game for you. It’ll keep you occupied for a very long time, and it never gets old. You’ll have fun traveling the colorful world that is Azeroth, completing quests, going on raids with friends, and so on. All of this makes up for one heck of a game, one of the best you’ll find on the PC, and possibly the best MMORPG on the market. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to head on down to my World of Warcraftoholics class.

Community review by amlabella (July 13, 2006) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.