World of Warcraft

World of WarcraftWoW. Where to begin… This game has got me hooked. Most games have a month or two max lastability with me, but I got this back in May and I’m still playing it – and I can still see a couple of solid months play remaining, at least. While I have my head raised from my WoW sumbersion I’d like to take the opportunity to try to explain where the attraction lies… (Warning: Game nerd ahead)

World of Warcraft is a MMORPG from Blizzard Entertainment involving multiplayer team co-operative and PvP action, along with aspects of role playing in a fantasy Lord of the Rings / Dungeons and Dragons kind of setting. It is an exclusively online game (broadband is a must) where you can fight, team up and interact with thousands of other players at any one time. According to recent reports, the total number of current active users has exceeded 4 million.

World of Warcraft

WoW presents the player with a beautifully designed and virtually seamless 3D world environment where you can travel freely, almost completely without any waits for loading, within a vast landscape spanning two continents. There is a monthly subscription to play (on top of the cost of the game) which goes towards the continual improvements and general evolution of the game.

With so many players around the world playing WoW, many communities have formed around the game, including various dedicated forums, sites and even podcasts (Taverncast, World of Warcast). There are also communities within the game itself, namely guilds, where people join quests and raids together, or just generally chat and hang out.

World of WarcraftAnother thing about this game, which is an improvement on previous MMORPGs is that it rewards casual play, so you won’t be majorly disadvantaged if you don’t play day-in-day-out. That being said, there is so much variety in what you can do in this game that you could virtually just live in the game non-stop. There’s the action/questing/fighting aspect. There’s the social aspect. There’s even professions, trade and auctions in the game – it has its own self-contained economy. The different modes of play are part of the addictiveness of this game. I’ve played with some players who are always on (more than me!) who really do seem to live in the game. This is testament to the fantastic playability of this game, but it’s also something to be wary of when playing… keeping a balance – too much of a good thing, etc. Sufficed to say, it’s addictive.

I’ve never been a Fantasy or Role Playing Game type guy, so that’s all new to me. I come from a Doom, Quake, Battlefield action genre as well as a real-time strategy gaming (Age of Empires, Starcraft, etc) background and I’ve certainly had no background in the whole Dungeons & Dragons phenomenon so it took a little getting used to some aspects of gameplay and the player culture, but a bit of practice along with tips from many helpful players will have any novice quickly up to speed. This is also one of those few games that gamer girls have embraced wholeheartedly as well as guys, which is always a formula for massive sales (ala Sims 2).

So that’s a small glimpse into the dark solipsistic world that is World of Warcraft. Now if you’ll excuse me, WoW is calling…

4 comments

  1. You’ll like this: fellowcraft.ytmnd.com

  2. The guy at work was talking about a friend of his who is lost in WoW to the point of unhealthy-ness. But he also pointed out he was the same with Tetris, and thats just stupid falling blocks.

    I say its fine – unless you start choosing gaming over going to the pub. Thats un-Australian.

  3. Dave Chappelle didn’t abandon Chappelle’s Show due to drugs… it’s far worse.

  4. yup this ame is that bomb