World Of Warcraft

With millions of people playing the game now, it was only a matter of time before we at Collateral Otaku did an article about World of Warcraft, so I decided to do it now. World of Warcraft is one of the most played video games in the world right now, and is the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) ever. It currently has over 13 million players worldwide.

In the game you create a Hero. You can choose from 2 different factions (the Horde and the Alliance) and within those factions, you can choose from 5 different races and 9 different classes. After you’ve created your Hero, you’re set loose into the world. For such a popular game, the goal is quite simple. Complete quests to gain loot and experience to level your Hero up. There are many different types of quests, but the most common will be killing different enemies in the world, although there will always be the occasional “grab me the book from downstairs” type of quest. The more quests you finish and the higher your level, the further the story of the World progresses; a story which, in my opinion, is one of the better, more complex stories in the video game world. If you want to get the whole story of the World, I recommend playing through the first 3 games and maybe even reading the numerous novels that have been written. It’s a really gripping story. One of my favorite things about the game is how vast the World is and how much there is to do in it. If you get sick of fighting things you can always sit down and start fishing, or you can go browse the auction house for some new equipment. You can meet up with friends in the game and have a few beers in the tavern. Each player can learn two professions which can range from leatherworking or tailoring to herbalism or enchanting and can be leveled up just like the character themselves.

When the game was released, players could create a character and level them up to level 60 gaining loot, experience, and reputation. At level 30 you had the option to get your first mount. Your mount allowed you to travel the map at a faster speed than normal. At level 60, you were able to get your epic land mount, which would increase your speed even more. Throughout the game there are dungeons that the players can conquer, usually with the help of a group of other players.

Since the release of the original World of Warcraft there have been two expansions released as well, each one increasing the level cap, the size of the world, the coolness of the loot you can find, and also the amount of dungeons you could traverse. The first expansion (The Burning Crusade) introduced flying mounts to the game, which were a huge step up from the regular ground mounts you had. Also, the level cap was raised to 70. It also added Outland (the otherworldly home of several of the Warcraft races) to the navigable map. The biggest change to the game, however, was the addition of two new races (one for each faction). The Blood Elves joined the ranks of the Horde while the Draenei became the newest race to join the Alliance. Before Burning Crusade there was one class that the Horde had that the Alliance didn’t, and vice versa. (The Horde had Shamans and the Alliance had Paladins.) But, with the introduction of the new races, those restrictions were lifted. The Blood Elves brought with them the Paladin and the Draenei the Shaman.With the second expansion (Wrath of the Lich King) players were introduced to the frozen wastes of Northrend. Flying mount upgrades were also added allowing players to fly faster and the level cap was raised to 80, but possibly the biggest addition to the game was that of the first Hero Class: The Death Knight. Death Knights are the risen warriors of the Lich King himself. In order to create a Death Knight, a player has to have at least one character at level 55 since the Death Knight starts play at that level. Death Knights are one of the few classes that can be played by any race, since they are undead and anybody can die. If you know your World of Warcraft history, you’ll know the story of Arthas (The Lich King). When the players arrive in Northrend, they start to run into Arthas more and more. No, you don’t actually get to fight him in any of the expansions yet, but people are crossing their fingers and hoping that they can in the next expansion.
My Score: 4.5 out of 5

The bad points: As great and involving as the game is, there are certain parts that are really hard to slog through (level 35-55 is one of those). As great as the expansions are, they seem to be expanding the world as well as shrinking it. If you decide to start a brand new character, it’s going to be harder and harder to find groups for the difficult quests because everybody is already completely leveled to 80 and aren’t going to be hanging out in the “noob” areas, so good luck with that. Probably the biggest downer to the game is that you have to pay $15 a month to play. (But, hey, Blizzard has got to make money somehow.)

The good points: World of Warcraft is a role playing game, but also a social game. It’s great to be able to play with friends across the world. The story is long and involving and seems like it will continue to be so as long as there are new expansions, which there will be. (Blizzard makes too much money to let the game die.) Although spaced apart, the expansions continue to add more to do for the players. The game play is not so complicated as to make it hard for casual gamers to pick up and play, but is enjoyable enough to keep the hardcore gamer intrigued as well.

I highly recommend at least giving World of Warcraft a try. You’ll probably find that you like it.

~Bryson