Video Games : World of Warcraft (Mac/PC)

Rating: - World of Warcarft vs. Guild Wars (no comparison)
Like all previous reviewee's who wrote about this game before me, I have to agree that this game has a lot to offer any fantasy RPG fan. The world is extensive, the possibilities are pretty much limitless and it is so detailed (especially the characters and towns in which there is too much to comprehend).

I played Guild Wars for almost a year and thought that Fantasy on-line role playing games could not get any better, until I started to play WoW. The game is simply ten times better..... and I mean ten times better.

World or Warcraft is all linked so you can see other on-line gamers wherever you go (unlike Guild Wars where gamers can only meet in towns). This is brilliant, because if you are having trouble killing one beast and you are on your own, you can grab a passer by to help you out.

The armour and weaponary is absolutely vast in WoW as well as the character weaponary choice, unlike Guild Wars where the highest level players all walk around with the same armour and weaponary.

The player levels go up to level 60 in WoW unlike Guild Wars where it is level 20 and takes no time at all ( a bit of an anti climax when you get there).

You can walk, run, swim, jump, ride horses, fly on griffins and other beasts in World of Warcraft to get to your destination where as Guild Wars only gives you the option to walk or run.

You can choose different races, different alliances, different professions, different sorts of Guilds, where as Guild Wars you simply allows you to choose a Guild and that is it.

WoW allows you to go fishing, mining, herb collecting, learn cooking, first aid, armour making etc... So if you get bored questing you have loads of other stuff to do. Where as Guild Wars only allows you the option to quest.

The cities and towns in WoW are HUGE and you can buy anything from fishing tackle to bread to fireworks to a horse. In Guild Wars they are all relatively small and you can only buy a select number of products for your character, each town offers the same product only slightly better in progressive towns.

In WoW you can choose to fight other on-line gamers anywhere on the map if you so please to make the world a little more realistic. You can offer challenges, fight the opposite alliances which adds to the game and makes it more tense. Guild Wars only allows you the option to fight other on-line gamers in arena's or Guild vs Guild battles.

The different quest options in the later stages of your character progression (level 40 plus) are again massive in WoW, there is so much to do with PvP and new dungeons etc.... Guild Wars only allows you to play the same quests again or play PvP and that is it.

There are only two down falls of World of Warcraft compared to Guild Wars and they are:
(1) In Guild Wars you have to pay a monthly subscription of about £9 per month (but believe me it is worth it). WoW is forever expanding as a result and you will never get bored where as Guild Wars is static and will never offer anything new to the existing game.
(2) The early quests in WoW (up to level 30 plus) are a little repetitative and basically result in you killing 10 spiders, then 20 skeletons, then 10 hog frogs etc.... This could have done with a little work to make the quests a little different and more exciting. However there are plenty of other things going on to keep you totally gripped to the game.

I am not totally ripping into Guild Wars as it is a great starter game for new Fantasy RPG players, and it is a relatively addictive game. However if you love fantasy and want to be involved in a more realistic, constantly expanding world, I would thoroughly recommend WoW over Guild Wars.

So if you dont mind paying a monthly subscription (not a bad thing as keeps annoying kids off the game) and you are prepared to put the hours in, Wow is the best fantasy on-line RPG you will ever play until Blizzard release the next installment. Probably 'Planets of Warcraft'.

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Rating: - Do not buy this game!!!
As the title says, don't buy this game. If you do, and you are a fan of roleplaying type games with huge real player interactivity then you wlll lose your life and soul to it! This game sucks your life away with it, and is prehaps the most addictive game I have played in about 20 years of gaming.

Graphicsally its a joy to play, and while I have seen better graphics in games the ones that do beat it for visuals don't do so by much. Some of the character models are not always the most appealing, but the overall world and majority of bosses/mobs/characters are fine and look good. The general enviroment is great and makes you feel as if you are part of the world as you move around it.

This brings me onto the world itself. It is utterly HUGE, and will take you weeks/months to explore it all and do all the quests the game has to offer you. You have 2 continents to explore with massive areas ranging from desert landscapes to forests, or jungles, or huge cities on each of those two continents. To make it that much better the movement around these places are seemless with no loading screens for the majority of the time. The only loading screens you will ever see are when you sail from one continent to another, or if you enter an instance (dungeon), which is due to it loading off seperate servers.

What can do in the game? I would be here for days trying to tell you to be honest. On entering the game you get to choose if you wish to play on the Horde or Alliance side, and while the factions are at war technically, neither should be considered good or evil, and so its up to you really which you pick based on the type of character you wish to play. The Alliance has Humans, Dwarfs, Gnomes, or Elves for you to choose from, and the Horde lets you pick from Undead (Forsaken), Tauren, Orc or Troll. Each race has varieties of class you can decide to play. These are Hunter, Warrior, Mage, Warlock, Rogue, Priest, Druid, Shaman or Paladin. You can then choose if to play on a pvp server (player vs player), Normal, or RP (Roleplaying) server. If on a pvp server you will automatically be set to be able to be attacked by players from the opposite faction while in areas they are fully in control of, or areas that are considered neutral. If you decide to attack another player that is flagged as hostile is up to you totally. If you do and kill them you gain honour if they are of similar level to you, and this can gain you ranks in your factions military and that gives you rewards (you pay for) like armour/weapons/mounts etc. RP servers are for those that wish to roleplay with each other more while playing. Normal means you won't be automtically flagged as hostile unless you choose to turn it on.

When you start playing, you start at level 1 as you would expect if you have played this type of game, and you have the scope to level up to level 60. This will take most players about 15-20 days of GAME PLAYING time to do from the vast choice of quests in the world to do. Even when you do get to level 60 Blizzard are constantly adding new content that is often directed towards level 60 players so as to keep them in and playing the game. This is normally in the form of new instances that are made to be played with parties (5 man groups) or raids (10-40 man dungeons normally). Some of the end game instances that require 40 players to do are really hard, fun and get you really interacting with fellow players.

There is also a multitude of trade and game skills you can learn. These can help you make items to use, or sell via trade channels, or on auction houses in the major cities. Becoming the best at a trade, or learning every type of item that trade skill can do can take months of work, and can be rewarding and fun for many people.

Overall this is one seriously great game, and like I said at the start, one of the most addictive games I've ever played. If you want to lose your life to a game buy it, if not don't buy it, or if given it as a gift bury it in the garden and move home, as this game calls to you in your sleep, assuming you ever get any!

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Rating: - What a great game
What a fantastic game. I brought this in October last year and am still spending too much time playing it. the scope of the game and the landscape across which it is played is vast-for instance there must be at least a hundred different types of Battle-axe in the game-each with its own unique name and combination of stats/benefits. (Actually I've just noticed -why is it HONOR points in the game but Battle AXE and not AX?)The graphics are sumptuous in a cartoony sort of way, but the lack of photo-realism mean that it will run smoothly on even a very modestly specced PC (although you do need a good and reliable broadband connection)

It is the first time I have done an MMORPG and the combination of vast content, different types of game styles to play (carrying out quests solo, entering unique dungeons (instances as they are known) with groups of people you have never met before to carry out some of the tougher quests, PvP (player vs. player) where you enter specific zones and battle against other players for reputation and experience (anyone who was in the Scouts/Guides-imagine British Bulldogs/Hare and Houunds type games played with Mages, priests, gnomes etc, all controlled by other indiviuals who may be English, or Scandinavian, or Hungarian......) are great fun. You can log in for a couple of hours and dip into whatever type of gaming suits your mood-but woord of warning, some of the instance dungeons (even the lower level ones) which you can elect to to with up to 4 other players frequently require significant time commitment to complete, (2-4 hrs uninterrupted gaming): dropping out of an instance halfway through is considered very bad form as it can make it difficult or impossible for the remaining players to complete the dungeon-especially if you are the party healer or tank (main warrior), so only do this if you know you have the time.
My 2 minor gripes with the game are:-

1. The repetitive nature of a lot of the quests-take this from here to there (used as a plot device to get you to explore a new area of the game) kill X of these, get Y of these items from this type of monster, etc.

2. The game mechanics dictate that most of the normal (non-elite) monsters which are a challenge at one level become laughably easy only a few levels later. This sometimes makes it tricky to game with friends on line unless you are all very close in level (and at low to mid levels, you can pick up one or two levels in an evenings gaming, so unless yo are playing together all of the time, disparities quickly creep in). This makes for a frustrating experience with either the higher level character able to kill the monsters very easily or the lower level character repeatedly being killed by them.

These gripes aside this is an outstanding, groundbreaking addictive game.

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Rating: - STONKING game!!!
What a fantastic game! The addition of real people into a fantasy game plot is quite tremendous. Yes, sometimes there are tremendously helpful and nice people - I have chatted with Norwegians, Greeks, Germans and indeed some other Brits too. There is an in-game habit of blessing people you are passing with spells and blessing of power etc which is quite tremendous. Yes, sometimes there are some idiots online but then that just makes it even more like real life!

The game is huge! I cannot quite get over the enormity of the world to explore, or the tremendously creative ways the makers have come up with the properly engage you with the world they have created. For example, if you have a game problem (not PC technology related) then you talk to in-game characters who are real people whose job it is to be in the world ready to help out.

The endless chopping down of monsters could, I suppose, get boring after a while but there a many quests which involve guile and cunning as well as ganging up with as many other players as poss and beating the life out of the monsters. The game encourages co-operation and friendships between players and in that has a growing social dimension as well as a stonking fantasy plot. Apparently the game is updated and developed on a regular basis which is only to be expected if they want to justify the monthly online fee to play.

If you want to get into online gaming buy this.

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Rating: - " Dawn of the new MMORPG "
After I purchased this game from amazon.co.uk months ago, I was completely " dazzled " by its assorted, rich gameplay contents. I must say, it truly is a amazing, unique of its kind, Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Blizzard, the creator of this game, whom had been developing this game for years to be released, was almost better than expected. Although the maximum level is 60 (which can be fast to reach that level for some real gamers), they continuously add new features to the game, some major and some can be minor - but you are definitely sure to keep in mind that, World of Warcraft doesn't really " end ", in my view, it is always fun and theres tons of things to acmomplish in the game. I would say the graphics are excellent, along with the sounds and music reflect well.

You can create or join guilds which establish friendship with guild members and overcome end-game instances, or simply gain some support and then help others :) Professions are also great to develop, but you are limited 2 of the main ones, so choose wisely, and know that if it is suited for your class. Doing quests and instances at your level range is vital to level up your character, you will be doing many of that.

Firstly, the game consists of some Warcraft III storyline elements - which those players can enjoy and find interesting, but this doesn't mean new players to World of Warcraft do not understand any history or additional information about the 8 races. A trailer when you first start off your character plays, but can be skipped, this basically " fills " the player some information about the race of the character he/she chose. Alliance and Horde factions are in war - so you cannot communicate properly with each other in text, and they are " split apart " in lands during the gameplay at your early levels. You begin your adventure at level 1 - but do not be discouraged, its very logical that as you reach higher levels, you become stronger and get to participate in end-game dungeons if your persistent to work hard, and co-operate well with a guild.

The player chooses any realm they like after their login and then create their character between 4 races in one faction, as the alliance and horde are in war and up to 1 of 6 classes in that race. He/she can then customize the features of the character and name it, which will be permanent throughout the game. You can create more than one character anytime, but I think it is limited, on each realm. (Unless it violates blizzard's terms and agreements, they can change it with notification, so also please do read the terms and agreements). Each hero class is unique, and each race is unique, they consist of many abilities in terms of combat, travelling, escape and such. For example, a mage is one of the best damage dealers due to their high damage spells and area of effect spells, but have cloth armor which makes them one of the most vulnerable classes in the game, to melee combat clases such as warriors and rogues. Basically, the player chooses his/her gameplay style as the class will influence on many aspects of the game; each class has specific roles in later stages of the game and have advantages/disadvantages over other classes. I chose a Warrior due to their high armor, endless damage because my abilities rely on rage and I can never get enough of it when doing alot of damage and I'm needed for tanking in a group or raid which is also vital. Gear (Equipment) is also one of the most essential parts of your character - it determines the damage, stamina, and other attributes to your character, it helps defeat other players easier as well as other enemies in the WoW, mobs.

The land of World of Warcraft is gigantic - they are two contineants which have tons of areas for players to do questing, instances and such. Each faction has their own Capital cities, which are enormous and consist of many vendors, a auction house, the leader of that city, and literally almost anything you'd need in your adventures. You have travel access such as flying beasts depending on your race, they take you to many far places quickly then you running there. There are also ships, the tram if your alliance and zepplins if your horde. The flying beasts cost a few silvers which wheras the ships, zepplins and trams are free.

Access to mounts become enabled at level 40, which cost quite alot of gold, but if you saved up, they will prove extremely useful in travelling purposes. At level 60, " epic " mounts are available for purchase which allow the fastest travel. Each race has their own unique mount also, the price doesn't vary.

PvP (player versus player) is also a challenging and enjoyable experience. Battlegrounds enable full PvP action, there are 3 battlegrounds which players can participate in, and yes, all are Alliance vs Horde. PvP can be a huge part of a WoW player, as you must fight well and win for honor contribution points which then every week the player can either lose, stay or gain their PvP ranking bar. PvP also gives players oppotunities to experience and work on their character's pvp capabilities. You do get rewards also as you progress into higher reputations on the faction for that battkeground.

Overall, world of warcraft can be addictive, challenging, unending and a beautiful game for almost anyone, especially those who like RPGs, like Zelda.