Why World of Warcraft is all it's cracked up to be...
Why did I rate as I did? Let's take a look...
NOTE: I was really big on getting the best computer out there for gaming when we bought a new computer, so your results may differ from mine due to connection speed, RAM, graphics card, etc.
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
In my experience, WoW is an extremely smooth-running game, even when you have IE or Firefox running in the background. It is excellent at being an immersive and huge game, while not taking up all of your memory.
As far as the non-superficial gameplay goes, WoW offers a good variety of ways to earn experience, from exploring to questing to killing monsters. However, if you prefer a free-form MMO (i.e. one without relying heavily on quests), WoW might not be for you. Huge amounts of experience come from quests. A good point about quests for those who do not like to be running back and forth doing stupid things we'd rather not do (including myself), quests are there to guide you to areas that present you with a challenge, but will not kill you. Wander too far away from these areas, and you could be in grave danger.
GRAPHICS: 10/10
For those who love console games, WoW will not let you down, giving you about the same graphics you've come to expect from the newer consoles. The world is colourful and bright, but not cartoon-y. It gives it just that slightly fantastical touch that a fantasy MMO needs to make it perfectly surreal, something I never found satisfactory in other fantasy MMOs.
SOUND: 8/10
This is where the game is rather lacking. I prize a game with good sound and music very highly and will love it, if only for its music. As far as the normal SFX, they are accurate, if, at times, slightly over-the-top. The music is what needs work. It doesn't stand out as anything special like Ragnarok Online's does.
VALUE: 9/10
For an MMO, WoW has a pretty good value: $20 for the program and $15 per month of game play (first month free!). However, the $15 fee, like all other MMOs means you're coughing up $180 per year once your free month is gone. For players who don't have good income every month and/or have just coughed up $40 for Burning Crusade, that gets to be a lot of money.
REVIEWER'S TILT: 10/10
For my reviewer's tilt sections of reviews, I choose a part or two of the game that stands out as being really good or really bad. This time I chose: CINEMATICS.
When you first start up WoW, you get to see its intro cinematic and can play it again afterward whenever you like at the login area. When it says "Blizzard Entertainment presents..." you feel like you should be eating popcorn in a movie theatre. It's just that good. If every CG movie ever created looked like that, all the actors but voice actors would be out of a job.
OVERALL SCORE: 9.7/10
Warcraft started out as a PC fantasy strategy RPG series and was always on the cutting edge. It never got the attention it really deserved. With World of Wacraft, it's still the best out there and finally getting its just desserts.