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A Thing of Beauty and a Joy Forever!"
Graphics/Style:
The graphics in this game are, quite simply, amazing. Your jaw
will drop as you gaze out across the moonlit desert, or see the
sun shining off the waters of a tranquil bay. Plus, the quality
of the graphics is not dependent upon high-polygon models, but
on expertly crafted textures. What this means is that even basic
graphics cards can handle this game, still looking good with a
decent frame rate!
A high point of this game are the incredible visual styles
Blizzard has achieved. From the creepy forests of the Undead, to
the rolling grasslands of the Tauren lands, the game never
ceases to look fresh and exciting as you travel across Azeroth.
Of course these environments are not uninhabited - the monsters
you fight range from the unusual (the frog-like Murlocs, with
their distinctive gurgles) to the terrifying (60ft ancient gods
of fire and earth). The cities scale from tiny settlements to
sprawling metropolises, hubs of trade and industry.
The characters are nicely presented as well. Ragged Undead,
purple Night Elves, noble Humans, doughty Dwarves, massive
Tauren, fierce Orcs, stringy Trolls and cute Gnomes; each race
looks interesting and exciting. The customisation options with
each character are about average - more ability to design your
avatar would be nice, and hopefully we'll see more scope for
personalisation soon.
Sound:
World of Warcraft has an excellent musical score, from the
foreboding title music, to the tension-building strings of a
spooky cave, to the military drums of a vast city. The only
complaint I have is that there could be more music in the game.
However, this could reduce the pulse-raising impact of a track
suddenly starting up when you discover a new area.
Sound effects are good as well; roars, the crunching of bone,
the ring of steel, the crackle of powerful magic all sounding
believably realistic. Speech is well-recorded and
professional-sounding.
Gameplay:
What separates this game from other online role-playing games is
the focus on quests and story. Rather than killing random mobs
in order to make your character more powerful (very boring), in
World of Warcraft, questing is the key to progress. Everything
you kill, everywhere you explore, should be part of a specific
mission. These quests vary from race to race, with each race
having its own distinctive flavour. You might find yourself
hunting down thieves for the local militia, collecting mushrooms
to make a poisonous brew, following tribal visions to hidden
caves or seeking ways to cleanse tainted magical forests. Quests
keep the levelling curve constantly entertaining. I found I
wasn't just questing in order to level-up, I was actually
levelling-up in order to complete my quests! Quests reward
players with experience and new items, as well as giving them
reasons to travel to new areas.
Each of the nine classes has their own set of unique abilities
and their own playstyle. Rogues specialise in lightning-fast
close combat and stealthy sneaking; Warlocks burn their foes
with hellfire and summon demons to aid them; Priests are masters
of healing allies and smiting enemies with shadow magic.
All classes have their own roles in the game, but the player can
choose their own specialties by putting points in Talents.
Talents are gained every level and are the means by which one
can make their character unique. A Warrior might choose to
specialise in Defensive Talents, making him/her a powerful
damage-absorbing "tank", Fury Talents to turn the Warrior into a
powerful damage-dealing attacker, or Arms Talents giving the
player a more versatile approach to killing enemies. It would be
nice to be able to also choose which statistics to raise when
levelling up, but instead your strength/agility etc are raised
automatically for you.
Players can also choose from a number of tradeskills to
specialise in, including herb-gathering, tailoring,
blacksmithing, enchanting and skinning. These skills let you
create items for yourself, and to trade with others, either in
person or through the auction houses in-game.
Unlike most other Online RPGs to date, World of Warcraft gives
players unprecedented opportunity to play solo. Whilst groups of
players will be needed to take on harder content and obtain the
most powerful equipment, players can still reach the level cap
of 60 playing entirely alone, should they so wish. This makes
for a far more accessible game, allowing players to log on for
half an hour and still get quests done without spending 20
minutes gathering a group.
The eight races are split into two factions: Horde and Alliance.
The two factions are at war, and cannot talk or trade with one
another. Players pick from Player vs Environment servers (where
the opposing faction can only attack you if you agree to it) or
the Player vs Player servers, where opposing players outside the
starting zones are fair game for attacking. At the time of
writing, Blizzard have yet to fully implement their PvP reward
system, but features expected are rewards for successful PvPers,
punishment for those killing lower-level players, and
Battlegrounds, areas where large-scale conflicts can be enacted,
with vast armies taking to the field.
Overall, World of Warcraft is that rarest of jewels, a Massive
Multiplayer Online RPG that manages to be both rewarding and
exciting to play. The game is fast-paced yet strategic, vast and
yet intricately detailed, a wonderful shared experience whilst
feeling very individual. All that stops the game being perfect
are a slight lack of customisation options, but this is a minor
issue when looking at the game as a wonderfully polished whole.
From entering the starting area of your chosen race, to seeing
your character's breath hang in the air as you explore an icy
mountain cave; whether you're taming wild beasts or making
yourself a new suit of armour; from discovering a hidden jungle
valley, to taking on a vast dragon with your Guild and
triumphing, World of Warcraft keeps the player enthralled,
entertained and enchanted.
World of Warcraft comes very highly recommended - grab yourself
a copy and join the struggle for the future of Azeroth!… .
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