I have been a proud WoWer since the game's release, and World of Warcraft was my first experience into the world of MMO game play. Needless to say, the game did not disappoint. World of Warcraft is a true RPG, in every sense of the genre. Right off the bat, each player will create their own character and unique identity to your new home of Azeroth and there is no shortage of variety to World of Warcraft. Players will pick which faction they want to be allied with, either the Alliance or Horde, and whichever faction you choose comes with its own set of races. These races include anything from humans, dwarfs, and gnomes, to things like Orcs, Trolls, and Undead just to name a few. Each race also comes with its own set of sub classes for the player to choose from, like warriors or stealthy rogues. There are many more, and some races have classes unique only to them. Each race and class has their own unique set of perks, and fill a vital role in completing a group. No one combo can do it all, forcing the aspect of being a social game.

  After you've created your in game identity, you start off a level 1 in a unique starting area depending on which race you decided to play as. It is in this starting area you will learn how World of Warcraft is played, well at least the main mechanics of the game. Reading the manual that comes with the game is highly recommended, but for those who just want to jump right in there are some tutorials to pop up and guide you on your merry way. The game play itself isn't overly complicated to begin with. Player's will use a tool bar that contains their attacks, and will either use the related hot key, or mouse click to activate the action they have chosen to use. This tool bar is easy enough to use at the start of the gaming being each new character only starts off with a few actions to choose from, but as a player levels higher and higher new actions will become available after speaking to a class specific trainer. This will continually add more actions to the tool bar making the player even more powerful, and learning what actions work best at the right time is a skill that is crucial to master. Players will also be able to specialize their skills by using talent points that are earned from level 10-60. These points allow the player to customize how they would like to play the game, whether it be PvP (player vs. player), or dungeon crawl. Talents points are a hot topic of debate between hardcore Warcrafters, and many in game strategies are formed around the talent trees alone. In the end, I suggest that each player finds what works best for them and don't let anyone try to sway you otherwise. Once you enter the World of Warcraft, your in game experience becomes your own unique to how you wish to play it. As each player progresses through the game, earning money is every beginner's nightmare. Azeroth's currency is broken down into copper, silver, and ultimately gold. 100 pieces of copper make 1 silver piece, 100 silver pieces makes 1 gold piece...sounds easy enough. World of Warcraft is unique to the fact that questing isn't really the way to riches in this game. Sure you can make some money continuously questing, but the player will ultimately be strapped for cash. World of Warcraft is designed around an actual in game economy. Players will have to learn one of the many trades, like blacksmithing for example, and put their skills to good use. Players have to pay one another for particular services, and unwanted items can be sold over a server wide auction house. Some higher level characters even offer themselves as mercenaries, running low levels through dungeons for a fee. Nothing is handed out in the World of Warcraft, if you want to make your way to riches, you have to get creative.

  There are three distinctive play styles to World of Warcraft. The game is broken down into Player Vs. Player aspects, where people engage in large battle grounds where each faction dukes it out for victory, or go on large raids to devastate a rival faction's main city. PvP is where people can flex their internet muscles, and is a rewarding experience. The hardcore fans of WoW however prefer to dungeon crawl, or what's known in game as Player vs. Environment (PvE). Each player is free to choose how he or she prefers to play, and there are dedicated servers just for PvP, or PvE. Players who want to experience all aspects of WoW are sent to a Normal Server, where the majority of Warcrafters play. Blizzard, World of Warcraft developer, is also keen to the fact many people drawn to this RPG style of game play want to nerd it up with some role playing and have developed special realms specifically for that purpose. These RP servers strictly enforce the fact players must remain in their character at all time, its very nerdy even by my standards...but to each is own.

  Almost every aspect of World of Warcraft encourages the fact that WoW is a social game. Players must rely on other players to advance through dungeons, work as a team in battle grounds, even to earn their riches as I stated previously. As a game World of Warcraft itself is great, but the social networking is the major draw. Players are free to make a name for themselves on their server, make in game friends and enemies, which only deepens the RPG style of game play. The social networking is also a double edged sword however. As great as it can be, it can be as equally bad. There are plenty of jerks in the world, and some of the worst are angry nerds which Warcraft draws in great numbers. It isn't uncommon for the nerd rage to start flowing through the chat channels, which can really make for an unpleasant gaming experience. All I can say for people that might be turned off about that is, World of Warcraft is a game that is well worth putting up with some rage once and awhile. The game features an Ignore list...so you can at least silence a few gamers you wouldn't prefer to play with. For those who are considering jumping into Warcraft, try to keep this in mind. World of Warcraft has players of all race and age groups. The night elf you're about to tear apart might just be a 10 year old that doesn't know any better. We play games to have fun, take the good with the bad, and remember its only a game.

  I could continue for hours writing about World of Warcraft, and in this review only scratched a small surface of what this game truly offers. World of Warcraft isn't a game for everyone, but anyone who is willing to give it an honest chance its well worth the monthly fee. Few games can transport players into another world, and keep them literally addicted for years. It is a game that's constantly evolving, and ultimately rewarding. World of Warcraft is unlike any other game out on the market.

Written by RB

Over and Out

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