Sticking with the online RPGs a little longer, I recently had a few days worth of play on the World of Warcraft beta test. My time was limited, and thus I couldn't delve too deep into some of the more advanced game mechanics or garner any idea how it'll play in the long term, but I
can at least run through my initial impressions of this much hyped multiplayer adventure.
The Future of Online Role Playing?
 | | World of Warcraft is full of grand sites and epic environments |
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Basically this is a MMORPG incarnation of Blizzard's ongoing Warcraft series. Word of mouth and early previews have led us to believe this was to be a very special addition to the genre too; one that would fix many of the ongoing problems that have plagued so many of its type, as well as introduce exciting new concepts and inventions at the same time. Does it deliver on that promise?
Well that's a hard one for me to answer at this point, having seen barely a small percentage of the game (and in an incomplete state, to boot). So far though, from a design point of view, WoW felt reasonably similar to its competition, albeit towards the upper end of the quality spectrum.
However while fundamentally there didn't seem to be a whole lot I hadn't seen before, on a more practical level, the game just feels a
heck of a lot more fun than any other MMORPG I've experienced thus far.
You can put this down to the developer's apparent love for the genre – it's like they've grabbed all the best elements of similar games, gutted the main problems and really amplified the highlights. Sure, you're essentially doing all the same stuff you've always done – exploring, fighting, levelling up, trading, and socialising – but it all just feels so much more organic and richer than it's felt in the past. Nothing ever strikes you as a chore, and you never seem to say to yourself, "Oh God, I'd really rather not be doing this right now".
 | | Hide the red hankies when this guy's around |
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As usual, the first thing you'll do is create a character. There's eight races split into two factions, along with nine sub-classes. It doesn't end there, as later you can start learning skills and professions too (but really the
Official Site details how this all works way better than I ever could). After that you get to tweak your character's look slightly with the sadly underwhelming visual choices.
In fact from a graphical standpoint the visuals could be accused of simplicity at times. Characters are rather chunky with a low polygon feel to them, and many static world items fair similarly. This really isn't a huge problem when it boils down to it though, as the artistic talent on offer more than shines through such limitations, and if anything, the blocky feel to the world comes off as a stylistic choice, rather than one of technical limitations.
Pretty As a Picture...ish
 | | An example of Warcraft's beautifully expansive cities |
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Most importantly of all though, this low overhead on the graphics not only allows the game to run at blisteringly smooth frame rates, but also frees the engine up to render absolutely enormous environments at will, even on maxed settings. The animation is well above average too, and the only aspects letting this side down somewhat are the lame user interface and occasionally low resolution textures.
With all that in mind, WoW just about comes off looking rather striking as far as visuals go, even if not perfect, and really it's a heck of a lot prettier than I was expecting from early screenshots. Take the stunning city of Stormwind for example; an enormous castle containing an entire town within its moat riding walls. Walking through its main gates into the bustling streets and meandering alleys for the first time was a wonderful experience.
 | | Moments later I was skinny dipping |
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The epic views don't stop there either. Venturing out into the wild I saw some of the most convincing forests ever seen in a MMORPG. No massive fogging, no last minute pop-up – just hundreds of trees in all directions. Coupled with serene rivers and playful animals, everywhere you look is a picturesque view just begging for exploration. For those that remember it, the WoW universe vaguely resembles the one seen in Rune actually.
Sound wise, the music is impressive and frequent. There's even a near perfect opening theme with more than a passing whiff of Danny Elfman’s Batman score thrown in there for good measure.
Gollum Would Be Proud
 | | Those crazy gnomes |
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I've spoken in the past of my preference for a futuristic setting over the various medieval ones we're usually lumbered with in a game of this type, and yes, sadly WoW is (yet another) of the latter.
You'll be mingling with dwarves, orcs, elves and all the other same old stereotypes we know and love (or hate), but while WoW's influences may lack originality, the game's still presented with enough pizzazz to differentiate it from the masses. For instance each race has its own distinct areas and lands that reflect its culture and people, and it really helps draw you into this place as a believable universe, much like Lord of the Rings did.
In fact I find WoW captures many of the better qualities from the LOTR franchise now I think about it - at numerous points I actually felt like I was exploring sites from the movies. How the upcoming Middle-Earth Online will compare on that level should be fun to see.
As much fun as I had tinkering about the opening city of Stormwind and its surrounding forests and caves though, it wasn't until I took to the air that I found myself in genuine awe.
Fly My Pretties!...Continue the Research
 | | Gryphons are a great way to tour the game world on your first day |
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You see, bearing its aforementioned setting in mind, WoW still manages to utilise an ingenious method of long distance transportation; the use of Gryphons.
These overly large eagle-like creatures act as taxis, ferrying your character from one faraway landmark to another for a moderate fee. In perhaps the highlight of my entire beta testing experience, I was amazed to see that these trips are all done completely within the game - no loading screen cop-outs or the like.
We follow the Gryphons in real-time as they zoom through towns, high above mountains, and down between vallys, you on back the entire time. Players on the ground can even look up and see you soaring through the sky above them.
These marvellous journeys are a great showcase of some of the various environments to be seen in the game, places I would no doubt have been venturing into more closely had my time been more in abundance. Passing below me I saw everything from the beautiful to the terrifying; snow capped mountain peaks, colourful farm lands, and ash covered hell holes resembling the orc towers of Mordor.
Straw Trek
 | | Mordor She Wrote |
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While these eagle-esque creatures show off the immense size of the land in WoW, they don't seem to be in a huge abundance from what I saw, so there's still a large amount of manual travelling on foot to contend with. I must say though, I absolutely adore the idea of those long cross country treks through such incredible vistas.
Much like Frodo and his boyfriend, there's that exciting sense of kitting up for a long arduous quest out into the unknown - where the journey there is just as eventful as what happens when you actually arrive. To me that's way more interesting and engrossing that simply jumping on a shuttle from one planet to another. What's great is that there's also more than enough to see and do along the way too.
Grind This
Speaking of quests, this is perhaps where WoW truly outshines its competitors in strides. You can happily level up by just completing quests most of the time actually, and even though you'll still be doing the same old delivery and destroy missions at heart, WoW disguises that fact so effortlessly that you don't even notice it.
The way the quests are presented is fantastic. They're large in quantity and all of them feel enticing. Not only that, but there's a great feeling of progression to many that liven them up no end.
 | | Environments range from the bright and colourful to the dark and dank |
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For instance while out exploring the mountains on my second day, I stumbled across a small band of dwarven salesmen flogging their wares to passers by. Speaking to one, I find that not only do I have the option of simply buying goods from him as per usual, but I can also enter into further dialogue that would lead me onto accepting a quest from him.
In this particular case, he'd mistakenly received a bunch of mail that was meant for someone else, and with that in mind wanted me to head on down the trail to the next encampment and pass it onto the rightful recipient.
Now in any other MMORPG, you'd simply take item A (in this case, the undelivered mail), take it to point B, then return to the quest giver for a reward, but in WoW things are a little more involved.
I mean sure enough, I delivered the mail to the appropriate person and completed the quest, but then it turns out that this guy has been having problems of his own - specifically nearby beasties who have taken up home inside a cave close by. Naturally he wants me to go clear them out for him.
Now I have a choice to make; go back to exploring the mountains as I was before, with the first quest complete, or follow this new twist and see where that leads me.
Of course I chose the latter, and in fact the journey continued with even more offshoots and sub quests after that which kept me busy for hours. All this stemmed from just speaking to one random salesman miles away. I love that.
It just all flows so well, never lapses into monotony, and you often find yourself going off on great little adventures like this all the time, when let's face it, in any other MMORPG you'd just be grinding experience points that whole time instead.
World of War
 | | Enemies are both large and dangerous |
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The same comparitve logic applies to the combat system. Yes, it's all pretty much standard RPG turn-based fodder, but it just feels so much better here than it ever has before.
As a low level newbie with the most pathetic of armour and a weapon barely one step better than a big stick, I of course had a hard time defending myself in a tussle at first. However after gaining just a couple of levels, experimenting with my various special attacks, and just basically getting to grips with the game in general, I found myself turning into quite the bad arse in combat.
I was then able to take on foes nearly twice my level and just about scrape together a victory, the important part being only through thorough use of tactics, balancing my specials (which are all time delayed), and ultimately sheer determination could I pull it off.
I've always hated turn based combat for the very reason that it often feels like he who is of the higher level will always win, and you can do nothing but sit back and watch while that plays itself out. WoW's combat is way more interactive than that though, it forces you to use your wits, and requires 100% full-on concentration if you want to stay alive.
Needless to say, even at this early stage, the game struck me as
exceptionally well balanced. Not naming any names, but this outshines many commercial MMORPGs that still struggle with such combat balance issues even after launch.
Flies in the Ointment
 | | Ya know they say the size of your mallet is equal to the size of your...oh who am I kidding? |
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There were a few negatives. While the combat is great for an RPG system, you can't help but wonder why real-time fighting wasn't implemented regardless. The technology's there, as we've seen in the likes of Planetside, Neocron and next month's Jump to Lightspeed, and I was hoping the days of this old school click 'n' wait style were long gone by now.
Then there's the lack of ambient sound, making the world seem a little empty at times. The first person perspective doesn't work so well either, feeling a little shoehorned in compared to the default third person.
Possibly worst of all though, the key mapping is very strict indeed, with the unorthodox default controls a little tricky to get used to (you need to hold down a button every time you use mouselook for instance).
 | | At last a game that puts wookies in their rightful place |
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Then again, we don't have a finished product here yet, so who knows what'll get ticked off that list of complaints between now and launch.
I could easily go back to praising it too, telling you about the fast, infrequent load times, the enormity of the game world, the fact nearly all the buildings are enterable, the ingenious death system where you come back as a ghost, and best of all just the wonderful sense of visual detail in the game world. Taking a stroll around town on my first day for instance, I saw a school teacher taking her class out for a walk. Just one of a thousand small moments of coolness that bring this world to life.
Debt Consolidation Here I Come
I'm quite intrigued by WoW after my all too brief play test. Having had my eyes set on Star Wars Galaxies, Middle-Earth Online and possibly The Matrix Online as well, I'm sure both my bank balance and my free time wouldn't appreciate yet
another subscription game vying for my attention, but Warcraft was just too good to ignore.
This is one more game I'll have to keep an eye on up until its release date, and may well be making that final purchase when the time comes around.
