World of Warcraft is an MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. This means that at any given time there are several thousand players on the same server (game instance) as you. A relatively new genre of gaming, and one that has enticed this gamer for the past 5 years. I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to play WoW until a friend graciously gave me a second Beta account that he had acquired. I was hooked immediately and anxiously waited for November 23 to arrive.

The graphics are unlike any seen to date. Rich in color with a slightly over-exaggerated cartoon affect, they have realistic tones, and deep 3-D complexity. The framework is so solid that you never really have those "falling through parts of the ground" that we have come to expect as online gamers. The User Interface (UI), while not very customizable is simple, easy to use, and is overall very good considering its limitations. The controls are what we have all come to expect. Click and drag items and camera movements, WSAD movements, and mouse wheel zoom (although you cant zoom out very far)..

If I had to hazard a guess, I believe that Blizzard went for quality over quantity. You don't have as many options as one would like. For instance character customization, camera zoom, UI, etc, but what you get is a very easy to use/play game that more than makes up for the lack of options. This seems to be a re-occurring theme with WoW - fewer options but a very high quality. They have taken the knowledge they learned from the Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft series and built them into a server-based real time game. This is why to many it will feel so familiar. And if you haven't played those games (like me) you won't feel left out. As long as you have patience and a willingness to learn the WoW UI, it's easy to master given a little time. I do have to say that it's annoying not having a lock option for the tool bar. I keep accidentally removing my spells from my quick click bar during combat!

The creativity of the WoW team is incredible. Their art department is second only to DaVinci. They have really outdone themselves. The models move in a very life like way. For example, when you ride a gryphon or hippogriph - which by the way is one of the most amazing aspects of the game - the models react to the beating of the wings, jerking back and forth. When you get hit you cringe. When you are on the other end of a "knockdown" attack you fall backwards and then hop back up. When you're stunned you slump to one side, looking as if you are about to drool. The detail of the models is simply unsurpassed. They very obviously spent a lot of time on every moonkin, dragon, trog, bear, spider, and rabbit. WoW is not just a game it's an experience that anyone can appreciate. I have family members who come into my room and stare at my screen, and they don't know the first thing about computers.

The sound track is amazing, giving every forest and barrens a true sense of panoramic and photo realism. It's a dream come true for those who have always wanted to live in a fantasy movie. The sound effects are not over the top, but rather in tune with what you would expect to hear in the midst of battle with an ogre.... although who really knows what that would be like!

World of Warcraft, while very in-depth and complex, is very playable. There is always a quest to do, an item to attain, a level to achieve, a raid to take part in, or a friend to talk to. The concept of WoW is derived from the Warcraft I, II, and III series, which included multiple expansions. The concept is rooted in its own created history, much to the note of Tolkien's world. It runs deep with stories, and gives motivation to get out there and fight for your king. If the Horde isn't trying to take you down, the Burning Legion is. And if that isn't enough, then there is always the perilous corruption of the land due to Fel Moss or other some such disease. The WoW developers truly did their best to bring all of Warcraft's immense multi-cultural history together and stir the pot with war and need. The Alliance NEEDS your help! Their call to action is strong, and your desire to answer is almost unquenchable.

One aspect of the concept that needs help, but is no surprise to this gamer is the PvP (play versus player) aspect. It is very difficult to design a game that will function without problems for both PvP and Player Versus Environment, without one aspect being too powerful for its intended purposes. Playing mostly as priest for my main character I see the worst of it. Priests die quickly due to lack of armor, and thus you quickly become acquainted with death and running to your corpse. The PvP system needs help. Aside from priests being weak, and classes like Warlock overpowered with their Fear, it seems to function reasonably. There is rumor of an honor system that is to be implemented in the foreseeable future, which is intended drastically change random killing, and ganking (called so when several members of an opposing faction take down one lonely character where there is 0% chance of survival - also known as gang killing). There will be consequences for killing someone below your level when unprovoked, killing quest NPC's, etc. Until this comes to fruition, the PvP system has some flaws, but none that can't be overcome by a large group of your friends wreaking havoc on those who did you harm.

The environment design is directly related to your level. As a starting Night Elf you're on your safe island of Teldrasil, a giant tree created by the druids. You start in a woodsy environment, with creatures that do not attack you until you attack them first. As you level higher, you enter into more desolate and hopeless looking venues for combat opportunities. Each race has its own style of town and starting area based on their history, which just adds to the already very in-depth immersion into the universe that is Warcraft. Each level brings an opportunity to enter a new area, and while you could go there before that level you simply perish more quickly. An amazing experience for me was the first time I encountered an Ancient Protector. These massive beings are treants. If you not familiar with this genre its just a giant walking, talking tree in the form of a human. When these things walk by, the ground shakes, an effect I am particularly fond of.

The difficulty of the game is never more than you can learn to handle at your level. If you can't hack down the creatures of your level, then you just need to invest some time learning better ways to play your character. I always suggest asking a random person who is the same class as you and is a higher level. They almost always have some advice for you. WoW introduced "elite" characters that are baddies that indicate that they are level 25 (or any level for that matter) but are much tougher than any other level 25 creature, more like level 28 or 29, akin to a boss monster. These usually require two or more people to kill unless you're a skilled character with great armor and a sharp axe! Most Elite creatures can be found in the special instanced dungeons which are set up for group play and will never be for individual players unless that player is 10 levels or more higher than the beasts in the dungeon. Finding one is rarely much of a problem. Instanced dungeons, as I have said in my blogs, are one of the greatest inventions for MMORPGs. They are the future and from 2004 on you will be hard pressed to find an MMO without this type of dungeon. See our WoW blogs for more information.

The game on the whole was researched well and is the product of 5-6 years of online gamers giving feedback from other games. It is the closest thing I have seen to a perfect online game when launched. It has its flaws but none of them, even in combination are a reason not to play this game. In fact, I recommend you stop what you're doing right now (well, after you finish reading this) and play this game. Blizzard deserves every bit of credit they get from me, this site, and any monetary fruits they receive from their labors. It is the most well made multi-player game I have ever encountered, and already has me looking forward to my next step - a mount at level 40.

Lastly, I wish everyone who reads this to know that all MMORPGs are ever changing, and that what doesn't work today could work tomorrow. It is very hard to write a review of an MMORPG because there are quite literally months upon months of content to explore. So, I advise you to try it yourself. Whatever you do, get out there and play! But always remember, Real Life comes first. Good Luck and Good Hunting to you all.