World of Warcraft

Subscribe to game updates via rss

Reviewed by: kreese 04:12pm 21/04/10 9 member comments Genre: Role Playing Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Publisher: Vivendi Games Classification: TBC Release Date: 24th Nov 2004 Platforms: PC	10 0 MEMBER RATING: Average of 327 Ratings Login to submit your review score
The Good bits Accessible by all kinds of gamers Massive, attractive game world rich in detail Insane longevity.	The Bad stuff You gotta pay to play. Deal.

2004 was the year of Half Life 2. It was also the year of Doom 3, Halo 2, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Along the way it was also the year that brought us the impossibly good Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War and the supreme Pro Evolution Soccer 4. But after all those initial sales have died down, the glowing reviews have faded from memory, and these games are fondly placed back in their boxes, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion it’s a different game that will have left the greatest mark of all. World of Warcraft.

The evidence is there for all to see. Blizzard are currently destroying the internet, inadvertently. If they’re not sucking in bandwidth from far and wide with masses of new players flocking to WoW servers, they’re indirectly responsible for the abundant MMOG newbies (like me) clogging up messageboards with comments and questions like “so do I really have to pay every month to play!?”.

“This kind of title simply cannot be measured by the same criteria as normal games.”

World of Warcraft truly is all that. This is the long awaited next step in Massively – or Massive, if that’s the way you swing – Multiplayer Online Gaming (henceforth referred to as MMOG). The step that demonstrates to all but the most sceptical of gamers that this is worth you regularly paying roughly $AUD20 a month to play. I counted myself amongst the most staunch of gamer tightwads. 20 clams a month is like 9 holes of golf (at a crappier course, admittedly), a decent sized bucket of fried chicken or the average wage of an NBL player. NOT to be sneezed at, I admit.

My point – and it's an obvious one – is that it’s no small undertaking for any gamer to commit themselves to parting with the retail box price upfront, then a regular monthly fee afterwards. But damn if it’s not worth it. This kind of title simply cannot be measured by the same criteria as normal games. The game world is constantly being improved and changed, and the old cliché about your fellow participants moulding the world are utterly valid.

Massive Multiplayer means lots and lots of people playing at once

You simply do not get bored with this game. There, I said it. Over the last couple of months, I guess I had more cause to get jaded with this game than most. Our preview series entailed me painstakingly levelling up each of the classes… after some initial cross-racial experimentation, I mainly stuck to humans wherever possible, which meant I grew VERY familiar with the quests and layout. But it just did not get boring. Strange but true. There’s enough going on, and enough new things to do and learn that you never get that “over it” impression. Unless you’re my flatmate, who as a non gamer has grown weary of hearing the game intone messages and that stirring soundtrack.

GameArena has a comprehensive rundown of all the class types and what it’s like to play them in our preview series. If you want to find out what it's like to hit WoW with any of them, get thee to http://www.gamearena.com.au/previews/read/2681745

Do you need to know the storyline? Think of the World of Warcraft as being split into two facing landmasses. One populated by the Horde (Orcs, Minotaur-like Taurens, Undead and Trolls), the other populated by the Alliance (Night Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and Gnomes). Now it’s not as simple as hopping into a canoe and paddling over to the other spot to raise hell. You are strongly encouraged – to the point of peril – to build up your powers before venturing into the portals or going walkabout to places that will leave you in contact with the bad guys.

In-game transport is a thing of beauty. You soon will find running around on foot is for losers. Horde and Alliance players have their own beast specific flight services, and in addition there’s a tram system and other fun “official” carriers to play with. At higher levels players also can buy or summon their own mounts, which really add a touch of class and drama – imagine the reaction of the average level 4 peon scrabbling around as a level 50 mage sweeps by atop a thundering steed. Priceless.

Page 2...

Comments

_ _

Game Comment by keviano61

bought the battle chest (burning crusade) needs to patch up to lich king (4.3GB) WHY?.unless im wrong i cant enter that world,and even if i bought lich king expansion i would still need patches,most probably not as much,but overall by the time all setup great game

Game Comment by Lethithan

World of Warcraft is Pulled off perfectly on all fronts, and following on the story line from Warcraft 3, The Frozen Throne, makes the game so much enjoyable, there is also novity themes to the game with is great if you get bored of questing/grinding.

6.0

Game Comment by Confused_Enemy

It sickens me to see critics so easily bafooned in writing a review. Sure the game is average 'wow'. Don't be silly if you think paying per month is of any use to you or I. Based on The evil world of company practices and business needs you really have something to learn about appdomains and leasing software on a contractual basis, or term.

All this without having to actually buy the full app! but you can only use a portion you pay for and even then for a limited period. Soon you wont be able to buy any game or application in its entirety, only in portions and periods. And before you flame saying the network bandwidth is what you're paying for then think again.

What is your reasoning behind a $100AU game? Management get 80% marketing gets 15% coders get 3% misc get 1.9% and the physical product totals 0.1%. Bandwidth prices pale in comparison to this and management know it. I believe it is called the 'bucket theory'. So rather than sell the product anymore, we will sell the idea that network bandwidth costs alot. But there are very nice servers out there that have phat networks and do not charge... So what game are these companies playing? Who is the bigger lolly pop. You pay You play. Long live (not for long) FREE gaming servers.

Game Comment by Austalia01

World of Warcraft is truly the epitome of Massive Online Gaming. It's hard to describe what makes it so good - it's just built so well. Although like all other MMO's you have to pay to play it, when you realise just how much you are getting, it seems more than worth it. And if you feel like you can't afford it, well you can. Its really not that much.

Game Comment by Lithium

Fantastic Game. So different in every aspect that it's hard to become bored of it. Each quest represents new challenges and 2 Hours can seem like 15 minutes!

Game Comment by Clockwork

This game rocks, fullstop..

the only thing i could honestly find that i dont like is the patching system, using bittorent for distributing patches is wacked ..

apart from that im finding it real hard to find things wrong with this game.

Game Comment by Rapax

An incredible amount of detail in every aspect of the game. Thought put into every action and it's effects on play. Exciting and busy no matter how you play.

8.0

Game Comment by TSquare

WoW is certainly polished, easily accessible, and quite pretty. And surprisingly, it seems to be reaching out to an audience who'd never considered paying more than once to play a game. The Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) is a field I've been heavily into for some years now, and there's been an influx of coworkers and acquaintances trying the genre for the first time because Blizzard has brought something both pretty and famous to the table. A brand that's safe, something they can trust. In general, it's fun, but a commitment that you won't see much reward from for some time.

Game Comment by Samuek

World of Warcraft is a unique MMORPG experience, it adds a twist to the standard D&D experience with extra added features that havn't been in previous rpg titles. the proffessions is one of these. the player is able to choose several desired proffession, e.g. Blacksmithing, Engineering, Mining and Cooking to name a few. these proffessions allow you to create goods and sell them to other players for added cash, or just use them yourself.

Add a comment

You need to be logged in to add a comment.

Read the latest Game Reviews like this World of Warcraft review at GameArena. Then check out our Game News & Features, Game Downloads, Game Forums, Ladders, Servers, Server Rentals or Competitions. Or browse our online Games Shop for PC Games, Mobile Games, Web Games, Gift Certificates. Shop online for the cheapest prices on the top games. Our online store is secure. BigPond Games is the most convenient way to play games in Australia.