Community
Go into a sixth grade classroom, hand them a bunch of swords, give them a license to kill, and let them say any profanity they wish. That pretty much sums up the World of Warcraft community. People are generally very rude in this game, and would rather gank (kill) you than provide any assistance. Now don’t get me wrong, many can get rather lucky and avoid that for some time, but not forever.
Prepare to hear the word “ghey†every ten to twenty seconds or get ganked just as much both will likely happen at the same time. It is a general belief that Warcraft died with the release of Warcraft 3, which in my opinion is quite true. They made WC3 way too friendly, and it cost Blizzard a lot of loyal fans, including me.
A lot of the WC3 fans undoubtedly moved into this game when it was released, because you can expect the same kind of treatment in the previous game as well. It doesn’t make the game very fun when most of the people playing it are rude and obnoxious. The game can kill most of the fans with just that.
The Dreaded Level Grind of Doom
Ok, maybe that was a ridiculous title, but almost every game has it. World of Warcraft does a fairly nice job of masking the level grind for a good part of the game. Level 40+ is when you really start to feel the grind, some say it doesn’t start until 50+ so it does vary. But you will feel it, I guarantee it. There really isn’t much to say about the level grind, it’s pretty much straightforward.
Gameplay
Ah, this is where it really matters. That one word is simple yet can split up into so many different aspects of every game known. WoW is definitely no exception; however, the tastes of the gamer decide just how good it is. I’ve seen people say they hate it, I’ve seen people say they love it. So I’ll try to cover both sides here as well as I can. However, I’m just one person, so I can only stay neutral for so long.
The interface and controls in WoW is easy to learn and live with. Period. It’s much easier then Guild Wars but there is something to note in that. They made the controls/interface a little TOO easy. Is there such a thing, you ask? Why yes there is. I didn’t know it was possible until I played this game. The interface/controls are so easy that a nine year old could easily pick it up and start playing. So this is kind of a good/bad thing.
Character creation in the game is nicely done, although the graphics are somewhat cartoonish. Another good/bad thing there as you can see. You get a decent selection of “limbs†but the graphic style is another big reason the younger generation has turned WoW into its home base. However, even though the selection is decent, that doesn’t mean you won’t see clones of yourself walking around. You will, so get used to it.
Now even though the graphics are cartoonish, that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. It still looks rather good and not to horrendously painted on as most games do. After awhile, if the graphics didn’t take to your liking before, they kind of grow on you and it’s hard to hate them anymore. Combat in the game can be surprisingly fun, and it really does make up for much of its cons.
It can be a lot like your typical hack and slash but Blizzard did something good with it and made it enjoyable. But like I said, the level grind will kick in.
Customer Support
Well…this is an interesting subject for WoW. Too put it simply, yet bluntly, the Customer Support would be better if a bunch of country hics did a hostile take over. Let me explain a few things about this games Customer Support. Lag in the game can be horrible quite a bit, but even if you had a government supercomputer, the Customer Support always blames it on your computer.
If there is ANY problem with the game, it’s usually your fault NEVER theirs. So don’t contact customer support. Really, just save yourself the frustration and find out yourself. You’ll likely get a response back faster if you just make World of Warcraft 2. Blizzard, please work on that if you have any hope of gaining me back as a player.
Replay Value
Err¦replay value!¦right!¦Umm. Ok here we go, you just go to level 60, you enjoyed the game, and you owned everyone in your path! What next, you ask yourself. You can farm a lot, or fight instances over and over, which takes hours, to gain more items and stuff. But that gets old in like what, a week? Should you start a new character? Sure! But then you would have to do all those quests over again!.ok not so much fun sounding all of a sudden.
Through all of that you can pretty much see what I’m saying. The game has replay value, but do you seriously want to waste $15 more dollars a month doing the same stuff all over again? Some would, many wouldn’t. I know I didn’t. This game could be fun for almost anyone the first time through; even then it’ll chip away at the gamers, shortening them down to the real hardcore fans, or those who have no life.
Then there will be the absolute fans out there that will stick with the game until they are the only ones left. They are the fanboys, and most fanboys cannot be reasoned with, so I avoid them. Overall, is this game fun? Definitely! Is it playable? Hell yes! Is it Replayable? Little chance in hell. Should you buy it? Yes it’s worth a try, you can usually find out if you want to play it during the trial period.
My score?
5/10
Score: This game just really doesn’t quite cut it. If you look at a comment in my Guild Wars review, one of the people told me to play WoW, that is a typical player in the WoW community. Thanks, you gave me the PERFECT example to go by. This game is NOT worth $15 a month. I feel like I HAVE to play the game or I’m wasting my money and that’s sad. This game can do it for a lot of people, but for anyone who has pride in their skills, minds, and gaming aptitude, this game is no better then Knight Online.
