World of Warcraft Review
There are, unfortunately, two major problems with PvP action in World of Warcraft. The first is endemic to the genre: give people the ability to do anything they want -- such as kill players at will -- and it's inevitable that some subset of players will get their rocks off by ruining other people's fun. World of Warcraft is hardly immune to this problem and players who choose to participate on the game's PvP servers will quickly find that certain provinces have become "no-go" zones because of higher level players who enjoy killing much lower-level players, then "camping" their corpse, doing it again when the player returns to life.

Initially, there was supposed to be a system where players would get "dishonor" points for killing much lower-level players, but that was dropped at launch, meaning there's currently no effective behavioral regulator on jerks that seem to pop up regularly in these sorts of games. Imagine if Disneyland allowed patrons to shoot each other with Nerf balls in a "Nerf BattleZone" attraction. Then imagine what would happen if they allowed Nerf guns anywhere in the park. That's effectively what Blizzard is allowing on PvP servers.

The other issue is that there's currently little in the way of PvP content. The majority of the game's design is clearly geared toward PvE style play, and while there are currently plans for PvP-style "Battlefields," as well as tying high-level quests into PvP, very little of this exists in the game at the moment. Ultimately, this comes down to your view of PvP in general. In my own case, I don't really care much for PvP; it may not be implemented well, but it's not going to affect my enjoyment of the product one whit. I'll be over on the PvE and role-playing servers having fun and meeting new people, not squatting in my basement planning the digital equivalent of hitting kittens with rocks.

Naturally, an MMO is more than just the game itself. Unlike single-player titles, MMOs require an extremely elaborate back-end in order to function properly. There are billing systems, customer feedback systems, and constant server maintenance issues to deal with. After all, when players pony up $15 a month for 24-hour access to a game, it makes little difference how good the game is when they can't get in. Unfortunately, MMOs are notorious for launch problems, and this is where Blizzard's inexperience in the genre really showed. Somehow, Blizzard underestimated its own popularity by a massive margin, and after a rush first-week sales, there was a crush of players on too few servers. The results were angry players who often waited in 40-minute queues in order to log on, badly overcrowded zones where most of the indigenous wildlife had been wiped out, and nasty lag that caused everything from stuttering to a 10-minute wait in order to do anything with your inventory.

Blizzard, to its credit, acted quickly to rectify the situation. It added dozens of servers and tried to encourage players to join less crowded ones. It also offered credit on trial periods for days when servers were down for "maintenance". Some two weeks after launch, these problems are finally starting to subside as players give up characters and begin to migrate, and Blizzard learns how to better distribute the load. New players should have the easiest time of it, as their initial server choices will obviously gravitate toward a less crowded server. There will still be problems for a while, but Blizzard seems to be on top of the issue.

A World of Beauty

A fellow employee here at GameSpy HQ once quipped that he "wanted to marry Blizzard's art department." Pushing the idea of inbred families to the side for a moment, I can appreciate the sentiment. World of Warcraft's art design, architecture, and terrain-building skills are nothing short of astonishing.

Technically speaking, the engine that World of Warcraft is built on is no great shakes. Building, character, and landform poly counts are pretty low, contributing to a raw, cartoony look for the world. Blizzard turned lemons into lemonade, however. Not only does the low-impact engine contribute to smooth, mostly stutter-free gameplay on modestly-powered systems, the cartoony style established in previous Warcraft RTS games proves to be a perfect fit for an MMO.

Everywhere players travel in the world; they'll be treated to displays of breathtaking scenery, beautifully designed buildings, and spectacular set-pieces that would make awesome desktop wallpaper. The game makes extensive use of color, with each zone having a dominant color scheme that lets you know exactly where you are, and provides subtle clues that help you find your way around. Despite the world's size, it's exceedingly rare to become lost in World of Warcraft because the handcrafted look of the landscape provides an abundance of visual landmarks.

The Final Word

The worst part of reviewing any MMO is that, because of their huge size, it's impossible to discuss every little nuance in the space of one review. As I look back over the things that really impressed me about the game, I realize that I haven't said a world about the beautiful simplicity of the game's interface. I haven't gone over the excellent auction system, or how brilliant the concept of an in-game mail system is. I haven't talked about the great NPC voices, or the music. I haven't gone over about a million little "Wow, they thought of everything!" details that demonstrate time and again just how good Blizzard is at designing games. That, alas, is the nature of discussing such a huge subject in a finite space.

Suffice it to say, though, that if you're a Blizzard fan, you will want to play this game. If you're a fan of MMOs, you'll want to play this game. If you're not a fan of MMOs, but are a fan of great games, you will want to play this game. Hell, if you're a gamer who's ever wanted to pull another person into the hobby, you'll want to play this game and share it with a non-gamer friend. Blizzard has once again lived up to and surpassed its reputation as one of the finest game developers on the planet. World of Warcraft is a stunning achievement destined to be become a classic.

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